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Review: Strange Beasts of China by Yan Ge
Jun. 1st, 2021 03:11 amStrange Beasts of China by Yan Ge (translated by Jeremy Tiang) is published by Melville House Publishing on July 13. It's already available in the UK.
I received an advance copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Strange Beasts of China is an odd book, and fascinating in that oddness. Each chapter opens with the "known" story of a different type of beast, and closes with a slightly different version of the story, altered by what the narrator learned over the course of the chapter. Throughout the book is the ongoing mystery of the narrator and her past, one that I'm not entirely sure gets resolved (although, does it matter?). This is definitely a book that would benefit from rereading.
I really liked the different stories of the beasts, and the narrator's encounters with them. They were fascinating, and often tragic, and made Yong'an a rich and frightening city. The beasts are human, and inhuman at the same time, and I could have read another hundred pages about the different types of beasts living in Yong'an. The story of the sacrificial beasts was one of my favorites, in that it was devastating on several levels.
The relationship between the narrator and her professor carries through the book- they haven't seen each other in years, they fought often, they cared about each other deeply, there's more to either of them than meets the eye. Unraveling that relationship as the narrator did was both confusing and rewarding. On the flip side was the narrator's relationship with Zhong Liang, which was delightful- I love an older woman and a well-meaning rich boy.
While the mystery mostly came together at the end, I'm not sure how well it did. It may be I simply haven't read enough Chinese literature, and am not used to the format. Based simply off this book, however, the resolution seemed...loose. Not unsolved enough for true ambiguity, but not resolved enough for satisfaction. Rereading the book would very likely alter my perceptions of the ending, but I am writing this review based on one read.
Altogether, though, this book packs a lot in to under 200 pages, and does most of it very well. I would definitely not mind more about the Strange Beasts of China.
I received an advance copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Strange Beasts of China is an odd book, and fascinating in that oddness. Each chapter opens with the "known" story of a different type of beast, and closes with a slightly different version of the story, altered by what the narrator learned over the course of the chapter. Throughout the book is the ongoing mystery of the narrator and her past, one that I'm not entirely sure gets resolved (although, does it matter?). This is definitely a book that would benefit from rereading.
I really liked the different stories of the beasts, and the narrator's encounters with them. They were fascinating, and often tragic, and made Yong'an a rich and frightening city. The beasts are human, and inhuman at the same time, and I could have read another hundred pages about the different types of beasts living in Yong'an. The story of the sacrificial beasts was one of my favorites, in that it was devastating on several levels.
The relationship between the narrator and her professor carries through the book- they haven't seen each other in years, they fought often, they cared about each other deeply, there's more to either of them than meets the eye. Unraveling that relationship as the narrator did was both confusing and rewarding. On the flip side was the narrator's relationship with Zhong Liang, which was delightful- I love an older woman and a well-meaning rich boy.
While the mystery mostly came together at the end, I'm not sure how well it did. It may be I simply haven't read enough Chinese literature, and am not used to the format. Based simply off this book, however, the resolution seemed...loose. Not unsolved enough for true ambiguity, but not resolved enough for satisfaction. Rereading the book would very likely alter my perceptions of the ending, but I am writing this review based on one read.
Altogether, though, this book packs a lot in to under 200 pages, and does most of it very well. I would definitely not mind more about the Strange Beasts of China.
