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Peach Blossom Pavilion (2014)

by Mingmei Yip(Favorite Author)

3.63 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0007570120 (ISBN13: 9780007570126)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

AVON, HarperCollins Publishers

review 1: Peach Bloosom Pavilion is the story of Xiang Xiang and her journey into life as a famous courtesan. The book was recommended for those who enjoyed 'Memoirs of a Geisha', but while I did enjoy the former, I found little joy in this read. It some parts of the story seemed predictable, other bits appeared to be too full of twists and turns. However, Yip does manage to weave in some magic into this tale to keep you just about going till the end.
review 2: You can't even read the blurb to this book without having Anchee Min's Empress Orchid or Arthur Golden's Memoirs Of The Geisha being brought to mind, in fact even the GoodReads write up mentions both books above but this book, while it may be a similar vein, is quite different than both. Empress Orchid is about co... morencubines, Memoirs is about geishas but Peach Blossom Pavilion is a book about prostitution, but not the seedy kind of prostitution you immediately think of when you hear the word prostitute as the world of prostitution we're talking about isn't the on your back 24/7 kind but a highly ritualised version, just as ritualised as being a geisha, concubine or courtesan.The book revolves around the life of Xiang Xiang, a beautiful girl who is given to her aunt after the death of her father when her mother decides to become a nun. Her mother has no idea that the aunt is the madam of a whorehouse (or turquoise pavilion as they are known as) and thinks Xiang Xiang is going to become a maid for a rich family. That would have been a very different existence for Xiang Xiang that the hell she find herself in when she join Peach Blossom Pavilion and begins her training to become a high class prostitute. Her life as a result is a tale of highs and lows, happiness and tragedy and makes for a beautiful story as Xiang Xiang almost blunders into situation after situation and you have no choice but to blunder on with her as the story is a riveting one and personally I loved every single page.I have been in love with historical tales of Asian culture and after reading both Empress Orchid and Memoirs Of A Geisha there was no choice in whether I should read this or not as I read all about concubines and geishas many, many times before but not about the prostitution culture in China in the earlier part of the 20th century before and found it all fascinating. Yes, the book is full of sex (not to mention all of the 'jade stalks' and 'golden gates') but it's not in your face sex, it's mainly subtle references to it while the book focuses on Xiang Xiang, or Precious Orchid as she become know as professionally, and her feelings about her strange life and the people in it. It's not always pleasant to read about but it's interesting nonetheless and keeps you gripped from beginning to end while you watch her face all the toils and trouble she faces ( from lesbian tendencies to murderous intent). As I said it's all so fascinating to read about.The author has taken the approach to write the book in the form of a kind of verbal memoir where an aged Xiang Xiang is telling her life story to her great-great-granddaughter Jade Treasure and Jade's American fiance and it's an approach that works well as it gives the author an opportunity to add a touch of humour to the tale as Xiang Xiang toys with her family while telling her tale and its a humour that is well needed to balance out the rest of the book and the sadness often involved in her heartbreaking but surprising story.The book itself is so well written and while the strange references to sexual parts and acts does grate a little towards the end it's a fantastic book to read. It's the kind of book that surprises you with it's content and has the kind of impact on you that takes your breath away. The imagery is rich and you can almost imagine yourself to be there alongside Xiang Xiang, suffering with her, feeling what she feels. You find yourself wondering how people lived like that and why they would want to but often the girls had no choice in it as they were sold into the pavilions and like the geishas had to earn their way back out of them, unfortunately many could not even do that. It's a very sad way of life and in some ways Xiang Xiang was luckier that most.If you have read either Empress Orchid or Memoirs Of A Geisha then I would highly recommend anyone to read this too as it gives you another view into Asian culture, one that while thought seedy is a very interesting topic indeed and this book is a rich and vivid insight into that world. less

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