Rate this book

Peach Blossom Pavillion (2008)

by Mingmei Yip(Favorite Author)

3.63 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0758220146 (ISBN13: 9780758220141)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Kensington

review 1: Edit: I was too nice in my review because its too easy to criticize this book but now I think I should - the main character, Xiang Xiang, is often fickle, arrogant, spoilt, selfish and shallow - some of this may just be due to her culture rather than personality, what she's been through and what was expected of her. Also there is an awful cliché at the end, that this author seems to be fond of, as she has done the same in her other stories. However, I am glad I read this book. If you are interested in Chinese culture, especially its history, the decadent kind, then this book is definitely worth reading. China is a country shrouded in mystery and I feel this book sheds light on its darker traditions.In Peach Blossom Pavilion women are treated as little more than decoration... more, most not even that and men are hailed as saviours and clung to, this was frustrating but that is exactly as would’ve been in 1920s China and, sadly, in some places still today, so, that put it into context for me and allowed me to appreciate this story for what it is and I felt like I learned something – how these women really felt, why and the ways they found to cope.Also as it is set in basically a brothel, there is a lot of sex and you are not spared any of the nitty gritty – that is laid bare in repulsive detail but at the same time in a poetic, traditional Chinese, unique way that I have never read – it was intriguing and added a tangibility.Written with a sure hand, it flows effortlessly and is so completely free of pretence that I could forgive the clichés and numerous sexual innuendos - It reads simply like a memoir, not to please the reader but just to tell her experiences from her own unique perspective and in her own words –often vulgar and sexist but also strangely beautiful, poetic and graphic with lots of Chinese proverbs and riddles. In fact it is as if absolutely no thought is given to the reader at all, and I love that, it makes a book much easier to read.Like the Chinese saying – the lotus blossom blooms in the mud – despite the sleaze and filth around Xiang Xiang, she somehow managed to thrive among it and there were times when it was so lovely and coquettish, I felt like I had truly entered the mind of a 1920s courtesan of Shanghai.
review 2: Underholdende bog om Xiang Xiang, hvis far bliver henrettet for et mord han ikke har begået, hvor efter hendes mor går i kloster og hun selv bliver givet som slave til et bordel. Sidste år læste jeg Jennifer Cody Epsteins bog Maleren fra Shanghai, der er baseret på maleren Pan Yuliangs liv. Hele første halvdel af denne bog, lignede den fortælling fuldstændig, hvilket jeg ikke synes var særligt originalt. Men på trods af det var den en fin fortælling. less

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