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rebeccazh 's review for:
The Sword of Kaigen
by M.L. Wang
A solid 4.5 stars. Similar in tone to The Poppy Wars, this is a really solid character-driven fantasy inspired by East Asia. Misaki is one of the most human and well-written female characters I've ever read and I loved how she was written; her growth as a person was immensely satisfying. I am most impressed by how her relationship to motherhood was written. I also LOVE her son Mamoru and was HEARTBROKEN by That Event midway.
IMO the story should have ended after her fight in the last 80-90%. Many others have pointed out the problematic implications of Takeru's narrative. I personally find that if the author wanted to write about Takeru's growth and his and Misaki's marriage as a two-sided conflict, she should have laid the groundwork for it earlier. Instead, he is portrayed as cold, callous, acting in abusive ways repeatedly and consistently in ways that are hard to stomach. The turning point in his arc was thus very abrupt and it seemed as if he and Misaki did a 180 immediately and completely.
I saw a reddit review describe this as a clumsy masterpiece - that it is special instead of perfect. This is a very fitting description of this book.
IMO the story should have ended after her fight in the last 80-90%. Many others have pointed out the problematic implications of Takeru's narrative. I personally find that if the author wanted to write about Takeru's growth and his and Misaki's marriage as a two-sided conflict, she should have laid the groundwork for it earlier. Instead, he is portrayed as cold, callous, acting in abusive ways repeatedly and consistently in ways that are hard to stomach. The turning point in his arc was thus very abrupt and it seemed as if he and Misaki did a 180 immediately and completely.
I saw a reddit review describe this as a clumsy masterpiece - that it is special instead of perfect. This is a very fitting description of this book.