Rebecca F. Kuang is a Marshall Scholar, translator, and award-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Poppy War trilogy and Babel: An Arcane History, among others. She has an MPhil in Chinese Studies from Cambridge and an MSc in Contemporary Chinese Studies from Oxford; she is now pursuing a PhD in East Asian Languages and Literatures at Yale.
I'm starting to think that Kuang could write out her shopping list and it would make me sob.
I highly recommend the audiobook, which can be accessed on Kuang's website or on Spotify/Apple Podcasts. Burton narrates this beautifully, and his analysis of the story at the end was so perfectly done.
I'm surprised that ŷ doesn't mention that this is part of The Poppy War universe anywhere. It pretty unambiguously takes place in the same setting. I also can't recommend it enough to readers of that trilogy who'd like to see the Nikara Empire in a different light.
This story was first published in the period between The Dragon Republic and The Burning God. And good grief, when was the last time there was any lasting peace in this troubled nation? That's one of the great joys of reading (or, in my case, listening) to this story - it shows us what things are like when the country isn't in turmoil.
We head to Arlong as we follow the story of a pair of sisters. We've never seen Arlong as anything more than the bastion of the Dragon Republic, a belligerent in the never-ending mess that's engulfed Nikan.
But The Nine Curves River isn't just great in relation to The Poppy War trilogy. It's just a really nice and sweet short story that gets really bitter towards the end. R.F Kuang doesn't stab you in the back with the ending - you're always aware that this isn't going to end well. But you just hope to be proven wrong, and the hope'll get you nowhere. Even LeVar Burton was upset about the ending.
Speaking of him, not only is this audio narration of the story free on Apple Podcasts and probably elsewhere, but it's a beautiful presentation, too. Burton is obviously an accomplished narrator, and the story is embellished with music and sound effects and voice processing. It made me want similar productions on the books themselves.
I think Kuang has really cemented herself as one of the great writers of her generation. I'll always be looking forward to what comes next.
I have complicated relationship to Kuang's writing and my feelings about this short-story reflect that. This is a very painful short-story, painful in a very uncomfortable way similar to the way Babel was painful (and no, I didn't like that one). This is a story told in a second person - and let me tell you, I expected that to be a catastrophe, because not everyone is , but it turned out alright. The story is told by older sister in an internal monologue as if to her younger sister, but almost none of it is voiced aloud. The sisters are on a journey together and I won't tell you towards what exactly, but you can tell from the beginning that it's nothing good.
Gradually, we get to know the back story of the relationship of the sisters and basically this is a take on the "evil older sister" trope (though the narrator is more of a gray character), which... has been done million times and I think in more inspired ways? I kind of dislike that the main motivator here was the jealousy of the younger sisters beauty. And mostly just fuck the parents! What is wrong with you guys?!
As an older sister myself, I really hoped that we'll finally see some action from the MC, whether it be confession or something more substantial, but we get almost nothing. Which I think creates the feeling of the tragedy, but I was also frustrated with this.
None of the mysteries of the story get really solved and I was unsatisfied with a lot of things, but I should also say that I have been very emotionally engaged. I felt the turmoil of the older sister, but I couldn't fully sympathise because of some of the spoilery thoughts above. The closing line of this short-story is very strong, but at the same time I feel like there were too many themes left hanging loose. This wasn't so bad though, I might read another short-story by Kuang, I think she is a writer with a lot of potential and I hope her writing will mature into something great over a couple next years. This short-story is also originally part of an anthology which has been on my radar for some time, I checked what authors contributed to it (so many great authors!) and I think I'll try to read it soonish... (next year hopefully...) ___________________________________ Thoughts right after finishing: Huh... I... have to sit on this for a bit to decide how I feel about this. 1. I feel that I'm a little bit biased, because this is me giving Kuang second chance (I wasn't happy with Babel). 2. I felt like similar themes were already done in better way. 3. I still almost cried, the story is very emotionally charged. 4. The ending made kind of Frankenstenian point, which I didn't see coming and... I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it in this context. I probably need to eye-read the ending before committing to an opinion.
More definitive thoughts once my feelings settle? 🤞🏽
i read solely rf kuangs contribution in the anthology so i could not in good faith review the whole book esp not when i cannot think of something other than tpw (maybe when i’m not consumed by this aching despair i can come back to the whole anthology..someday)
but i still wanted to review the short story which is why i listened to this episode.
nine curves river is heartwrenching because everything rf kuang writes is heartwrenching. there’s nothing i can say more rf kuang knows how to write bittersweet characters and relationships in a fantasy like no other. surprisingly, the audio is also really great as well! im truly not an audiobook girl, i’ve tried so many times, but the immersive audio in this was phenomenal and kept me from getting bored/tuning out .
that’s it really. now i’ve fully completed all the books/stories in the poppy war realm and i am so. i am feeling so many emotions i can’t even describe them. rf kuang when i catch u�..
Attempting to catch up on many stories that don't have reviews due to academic burnout. This is the first.
To start off, RF Kuang is incredible. The Poppy War is one of my favorite series ever, so when I found out this was a novella set in the same world, I had to read it.
The Nine Curves River is a story about the Dragon of Arlong, the god patron who gave Nezha his gifts as well as his curse. The Dragon wants, above all, to possess beautiful things. In exchange for rain, the dragon asks for perfection. In this story, perfection is a beautiful young girl.
This novella takes place entirely inside the headspace of the sacrifice's older sister, as she narrates the lifetime of apologies she owes to her perfect younger sister who is to be sacrificed to the Dragon at sunset.
The story pulled at my heartstrings, as RF always does, while giving us a wonderful glimpse into the everyday world of the Poppy War. I also enjoyed the second person format.
RF Kuang writes, always, with a purpose, and because of that, her work always sticks with me.
LeVar Burton, the extremely popular host of for over 25 years now has an adult reads show, LeVar Burton Reads that is broadcast on several platforms, including where I listened too The Nine Curves River. The narration and audio quality are everything that you would imagine that it would be. To be clear, this is not a child friendly show or story. As for the speed at which it can be listened to, it depends on the platform options. Spotify does allow for slowed and increased speeds, which I found to be clear and understandable. As I am unsure of connection issues or whatnot, I am not going to make a declaration of the speeds as I usually do.
The Nine Curves River is a short story available as one of the shorts stories in , as well as found in other publications and platforms including LeVar Burton Reads,
The story is fantastic, including an insane amount of character building for a short story. There is a nice build with a little bit of mystery as the story opens and the reader isn't sure what is happening, but knows that there is an air of importance or weight in the air.
If you choose to read with Burton, you will be treated to a couple of things to ponder before the story commences as well as some reading after thoughts, discussion points and opinions at it's conclusion. If you have listened to Burton's program, you know what to expect. If you have not, I suggest you consider trying it out as he provides a well rounded experience and if you like it, perhaps you have opened the door to another way of listening to great stories and discovering new authors.
LB: “The depths of human suffering; our ability to deny ourselves the things that we need the most, and then, in turn, beat ourselves up for it�. “It’s scary to admit we have desires� these are our dragons� I listened to this for the length it took me to straighten my hair, and as I went over the last strand, I wanted to say sorry for every thing I’ve ever done. How RF Kuang can write something so gut wrenchingly devastating even in short novel form is something I cannot compute. What I can compute is that I will always support an older sister who’s been pushed to the side, her rights and her wrongs. I’m so glad I’ve been introduced to Levar Burton.
R.F. Luang is just so freaking talented. It should be impossible to build such an understandable, deep character in a short story. I’m convinced of witchcraft.
R.F. Kuang stuns in this short story! Very nuanced tale of sisterhood, sacrifice, and superstition. I listened to the audiobook narrated by LeVar Burton so you know I was obsessed
You did it again. R.F. Kuang. I'm on book hiatus, still heartbroken after I devoured the Poppy War trilogy, then Babel. And now this.
This is the story of 2 sisters traveling to Arlong, told from the older sister's POV. At the beginning, it sounded like they were visiting for the New Year Festival though later revealed the older sister is taking her little sister to the dragon as a sacrifice so they can have rain. It is emotionally charged and I can feel the jealousy, sorrow, regret, and apology of the older sister deep in my bones. It's a wonder that R F Kuang has once again been able to pull a reader's heartstrings this well in such a short story. I of course didn't expect a happy ending from the author, but I didn't expect the story to be this deep.
What will happen to the little sister? The dragon in Poppywar verse is a mystery. We know for sure the dragon is connected to the dragon of the pantheon but we don't know exactly how the dragon came to be. According to Nezha's narration, it was a dragon shaman who lost control and became a dragon in the grotto. From Chaghan's speculation, it's a sea animal stumbling into the grotto power and was stuck there - in the source of its power and also its prison. What we know is the dragon does eat humans, as it ate Nezha's little brother. The dragon also collects beautiful things, as it is in its instinct to possess beautiful things. In this story, the beautiful thing turns out to be a beautiful little girl with a tragedy.
There's so little conversation between the sisters throughout the story. In the end, the older sister failed to say anything meaningful before her sister went into the grotto. It's very frustrating but I think it's realistic. We don't know for sure what the boys in the village did to her little sister but it implied rape, burn, and torture among other things. For the older sister jealousy is very real but she never intended any real harm. But the harm is done and nothing she could say would take back the pain her little sister endured. And whatever she says during the journey would only serve to reduce her regret and soothe her conscience. Because at the end of the day, her little sister will die.
It's a tragedy that I think readers, who have read the Poppy Wars series or not, will appreciate.
“You’ve been a good sister. The very best.� This is the line that kills me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Damn bro. This short story was like watching a train crash in painfully slow motion. The audiobook was my first time with an audiobook and surprisingly good, the special effects made the story more immersive and he was better at reading as different characters than I imagined for audio books. I don’t know if RF Kuang is just putting me on a trigger happy five stars streak but my only complaint is that I wish it were longer and there was less ambiguity at the end.
This short story set in the grim dark fantasy world of R.F. Kuang's critically acclaimed the Poppy War Series was written for the 2020 anthology . The very excellent audio book version is performed by LeVar Burton (Lieutenant Georgi LaForge from Star Trek The Next Generation fame), in includes his thoughts on the story after it ends.
It begins with two sisters journeying to a grotto. Along the way, they speculate on which is the true version of the fable told about the dragon that lives in the grotto of the Nine Curves River. A Dragon God that has powers over all water - the rains, the rivers, the oceans, that helps the villagers. In the years the tribute is not sent to the Dragon God, the rains do not come. Arlong's citizens have learned from experience, and chosen to avoid the drought which will lead to famine, starvation and death, by paying the price.
The older sister, the narrator of the story, has been jealous, indifferent, cruel, petty and bullied the younger sister her entire life. It is not until it is too late that she realizes what a terrible person she has been, and still is. This story, will haunt you, and, I'm not going to lie, the last line made me tear up. "You cannot help the way you were made. We cannot help the way we were made. We demand and take everything from you and attribute our ingratitude to fear. We ... don't know another way."
My first R.F. Kuang book was Babel and it is still one of my favorite books of all time; and it also made me a forever fan of her work. I listened to this book on an apple podcast told by Levar Burton. I enjoyed the narration, it was nice to hear Levar Burton read the story; I grew up watching him on reading rainbow. The depth that Kuang is still able to provide in a short story is amazing. You can still expect everything in her short story as you would in Babel or Yellowface. As the story progresses you begin to realize what the big sister has been tasked to do with her little sister; sacrifice her so the drought will end. It makes me wonder, did her parents think it would be easier for her because of the hatred she had had for her sister for so long? But she still feels guilty and battles within herself why she hated her sister, and although she treated her so horribly her sister loved her just the same. At the end the little sister as she goes to be sacrificed assures her older sister that she was good sister. The townspeople tell these stories to convince themselves the sacrifice is not that bad, and no one does anything to save the girl from the sacrifice, because what's one child to the suffering of a whole community. There is just so much to think about in just this short story which is why in my opinion, R.F. Kuang can do no wrong.
The fantasy story was devastatingly beautiful. Told from the older sister’s perspective, two sisters leave their island so the younger sister can give herself willingly to the dragon who will then end the drought in the region. Based on Chinese mythology this story of regrets and sacrifice will rip your heart to shreds. Read expertly by LeVar, he brought the dragon’s voice to life. I now want to read the author’s novel The Poppy War, for this tale is based on one of the character’s backstories.
Listened to this as part of the LeVar Burton Reads podcast series.
Damn... I mean ... Damn...
The story is based around Chinese mythology, but I remember fairy tales with the same theme from my childhood in Denmark and I felt that this is a story that will resonate with people around the world. Here, the archetypes becomes humans of flesh and blood and it is beautiful and heartbreaking.
Mi sono imbattuta in questo racconto breve nel fare delle ricerce per la tesi e l'ho dovuto ascoltare perché devo andare a parlare con la mia correlatrice. Altrimenti forse non l'avrei mai scoperto. Ma per fortuna ho una correlatrice molto precisa che mi fa cercare ogni singolw cosa. Oggi dovrò proprio ringraziarla.
A story told in the second person. Narration was a lil distracting (the way “Jiejie� was pronounced lol). Analysis was W (“That fear holds no weight, no water. We find out that there is no such thing as dragons after all�).
I love RF Kuang and I love the poppy war trilogy and I love the world building and going into this I thought this was just another rf kaung story, not a 0.5 of her series and it was a wonderful surprise. I love her world building and world building style I cannot get enough.