Reviews

Hospital by Han Song

jessdone's review against another edition

3.0

Not for me. It was a very interesting idea with a lot of setup in the Prologue--ideas I was anxious to see come to fruition. But overall it felt a bit meandering. There's a surrealist and absurd element I'm pretty sure is intentional but it wasn't quite working for me. I'm quite curious to see how people who read it in it's original language found the experience as the book "feels" like a translated work and like I'm missing some nuance.

anyajulchen's review against another edition

1.0

No se engañen por la portada, el libro es aburrido, lento y confuso. El primer capítulo no tiene nada que ver con el resto del libro. Si es una metáfora, está puesta a calzador. Hay detalles de Budismo y de la vida en China, pero he leído libros de autores chinos que tratan estos temas de forma mucho más llamativa.
Aparte, al ser un escritor hombre de un país tan machista, sobran las escenas de gore, de incesto y de sexo sin razón aparente al caso. En el primer encuentro con la doctora, el protagonista tiene una erección que ni al caso.
Si desean una mejor lectura de la sociedad china actual, busquen autoras mujeres. Tienen muchísimo más tacto y sensibilidad.

escapevelocitycollection's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Peter - ****(*)
 

Hospital is science fiction in the tradition of 1984 and Brave New World, an idea taken to its absurd extreme to show the reader where a society could be headed if no precautions are taken. With Hospital, Song deserves to be listed among the likes of Orwell and Huxley – though as may be expected, this literary bent means that Hospital is not exactly a light read.

Hospital is definitely worth the effort it takes to read, though. Like Yang Wei, the reader is dragged ever deeper into the clutches of a bizarre vision of a hospital that starts Kafkaesque and ends in utterly deranged cosmic vistas. Song masterfully takes the reader by the hand and pulls them away from sanity one step, one chapter at a time – every chapter I felt like what I was reading had to be the weirdest Hospital was going to get, but a few chapters on I would think back to that moment and feel that the book still made sense at that point.

The chapters are nicely bite-sized, so even though the book is not exactly light, it is not difficult to get through in small steps and twenty minute sittings. This is also the sneaky way Song makes you accept the bizzarities of each chapter quickly before moving on to the next surreal idea before you have time to recover – stretching your suspense of disbelieve ever further. I expected the rubber band to snap at any moment, but Song manages to make me accept things I never though I would.

It is a pity I am not more familiar with the particularities of modern Chinese society, though the translator’s afterword is invaluable in this respect. From my perspective, it is clear Hospital criticises a system that brainwashes naïve citizens, takes away their agency, takes away their ties to anything that is not the system, mothers them, makes decisions for them, paints a picture of the world with clear enemies, tells them only trust in the system can save them, and mercilessly assails them if they attempt to break free. Corruption, ambition, incompetence and abuse of power are rife. It is not difficult to understand why the Chinese Communist Party eventually bans most of Song’s writings.

Hospital and illness are perfect metaphors for this message, since even in the West, trust in doctors and modern medicine is a given, with only conspiracy theorists (given an impulse by the recent pandemic) questioning the system. This means it took me a while too before I definitely decided that Yang Wei was being taken by the nose.

Please don’t be put off by the first chapter – it is just a taste of what is to come, and by the time Hospital ever gets that surreal again, Song will have made you feel as comfortable with it as is humanly possible.

Overall, Hospital is one of the most intriguing books I have read in years, a unique reading experience that is as much about the reader and their reactions to it as it is about Yang Wei’s descent into madness. It is also a singular window on one of China’s masters of the genre that only opened because of Michael Berry’s brilliant translation. Hospital is nothing like the escapist tales we usually review here, but a definite recommendation and a top-tier thought-provoking conversation starter.

Lotte - ***(*)

 

Going into this book, I didn’t really know what to expect except that it would be “kafkaesque”. IT certainly was that. From the moment Yang Wei enters the hospital, a sequence of events unfolds that is at times intriguing, funny, horrifying and sometimes just plain confusing. I should warn you: this book does deal with a couple of topics that some may consider unpleasant or even triggering: it features body horror and sexual scenes (even some rape). If these themes are something you don’t want to read, this book probably isn’t for you.

The book also discusses a lot of philosophical and political topics. To be honest, that’s not something I usually super enjoy in literature, as I suck at reading between the lines and interpreting. I also tend to read just before bed and just after waking up, which isn’t exactly when I’m at my most astute. This is definitely the kind of book that reminded me of reading literature in high school. The only problem is that I didn’t have spark notes to explain the themes of the story to me as I read.

While reading, I also really wished I was more familiar with Chinese culture and Buddhism. These two themes played a big part in the book, and I feel like I didn’t quite have the understanding to fully appreciate the references. It’s clearly written for a Chinese audience.

One of this book’s strongest points is how short and snappy the chapters are, and how they always end with another twist that compels you to read on. It wasn’t hard to keep reading at all, though the book did lose some momentum at around the 75% mark. It managed to pick back up near the end, but be warned: this is part of a series, so you don’t get a fantastic conclusion after reading 400 pages, which is a bit of a bummer.

I wouldn’t recommend this book to everyone, but here’s who I would recommend it to:

• People who may not take sci-fi seriously as a genre and need to see that it’s not all just laser blasters and lightsabers;
• People who want to read non-western sci-fi;
• People who like very philosophical books;
• People looking for a book for a book club. There’s definitely lots to discuss here.

 

justgina93's review against another edition

Had to return to the library and the story wasn't hooking me enough to keep reading on

benbert's review against another edition

Just felt like a meandering mess, couldn't get into this at all.

kimbui's review against another edition

Omg. I never ever give up on books but this was a strange and long twisted dystopia that had no redeeming quality to it

worm_blizzard's review against another edition

2.0

2.5 stars. I'm convinced this had the potential to be a phenomenal book but the story was repeatedly fumbled and we're left with this arduous mess. Oh and it's book 1 of a trilogy? No fucking way am I reading all that

magneticcrow's review

This was extremely disjointed especially near the end, it really felt as if the author was making it up as he went. It had some interesting ideas packed in there, and I do like a non traditional narrative structure usually, but it’s hard to get around the sexism and like, the main character having sex with a teenager while envisioning his own preteen daughter. 😬 yeah I finished it somehow but this is the end of the series for me 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Medical trauma, and Vomit

radbear76's review against another edition

1.0

This book had some interesting ideas and had a touch of Kafka about it. That being said it was so bad I gave up 2/3 of the way through. I'm not sure if it was the writing or the translation but it badly mangled biological concepts, and is tinged with sexism and homophobia. On top of all that it really drags and at times is completely nonsensical.

itsonmytbr's review against another edition

A man in a Buddhist society gets sick on a business trip and taken to a big ole dystopian version of a modern hospital. It costs more than patients can pay, they can keep patients as long as they like, it's basic the exact same as a regular hospital but everyone is Buddhist.

The first several chapters were a drag and I'm reliably informed it gets slower and more depressing from there. The translation was very hard for me to get into. Could not finish.