As much as I wish to not judge the book literarily pertaining the story it’s telling, I can’t help but not. It’s a heart wrenching story. Every story As much as I wish to not judge the book literarily pertaining the story it’s telling, I can’t help but not. It’s a heart wrenching story. Every story about war, oppression,and fascism is. There is no argument about the emotions and pain behind those words. But I just wish this was written in a better way. It has its strong points. The salvation specifically came with the twist in the middle of the story but I feel the book was more tell than show. But then I might not be the correct audience for this one....more
I think I will always prefer Eileen’s short stories over her longer work. Her stories are a depiction of the predicament of women in Chinese society. I think I will always prefer Eileen’s short stories over her longer work. Her stories are a depiction of the predicament of women in Chinese society. It’s a survival of the fittest in the law of a culture predominantly patriarchal. There is so much darkness in her world. On the face of it, these stories might come out as love stories, but in their depth they are a chain of events of women being subjugated to the norms of society which sees them either as a wife or a concubine.
Eileen’s prose is rancid. At one moment her writing style seems as stifling as the Chinese society she is depicting in her stories. While at others, I wonder if it’s the stories themselves that are blurring those lines. These stories are suffocating, hence difficult to read. I have read a lot of translated literature, but every time I read Eileen I feel we have lost way more than could be found in her work....more
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