A review by kumipaul
The Dream of the Red Chamber by Cao Xueqin

3.0

Such a big project for this reader who has so little experience with Chinese literature and culture. Overall I enjoyed it, but I fear that I missed so much along the way. The attention to family names, the social niceties, the social hierarchy among the elites of this period, the rules for how men and women relate to each other, and the generosity. On the other side is the blunt meanness, and the retribution.
I think I understand why this novel is so important to Chinese literature, and I am glad I read it.