en-US Sun, 06 Apr 2025 06:41:05 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg ReadStatus9277193745 Sun, 06 Apr 2025 06:41:05 -0700 /review/show/7466757560 Ila wants to read The Secret of More: A Novel by Tejaswini Apte-Rahm
]]> ReadStatus9277192225 Sun, 06 Apr 2025 06:40:35 -0700 /review/show/7466756433 Ila wants to read The Madhouse: Pagalkhana by Gyan Chaturvedi
]]> Comment287886465 Tue, 04 Mar 2025 02:38:14 -0800 /review/show/2654630723 Ila's review of Love in a Fallen City
by Eileen Chang

Nick wrote: "Chang is a remarkable writer, but I'll offer you a caveat about some of her work -- I think in the sixties -- that was paid for by the US government. I will say that I found her translation of a la..."
Thanks for the recommendation, Nick. I'll keep this in mind. ]]> Comment287780820 Sat, 01 Mar 2025 13:01:29 -0800 /topic/show/22969876-kathleen-s-trying-for-balance-in-2025 Ila made a comment in the Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) group:

Wonderful, Kathleen! Forster was such a gifted writer. ]]> Comment287728009 Fri, 28 Feb 2025 08:57:28 -0800 /topic/show/22970344-wobbley-s-2025-buffet-challenge Ila made a comment in the Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) group:

James Baldwin is always a good idea, Wobbley. I've only seen the Black Narcissus movie based on Godden's book but she's one writer I really need to read soon. Great progress! ]]> Comment287722113 Fri, 28 Feb 2025 06:47:18 -0800 /topic/show/22969870-sara-s-2025-food-for-thought-buffet Ila made a comment in the Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) group:

Two challenges in two months! That's quite the reading done, Sara. And I too read Anne Frank as a child but it's been a long while. The more I read, the more I realize I need to reread. ]]> Comment287720535 Fri, 28 Feb 2025 06:04:15 -0800 /topic/show/22975085-ila-s-2025-hors-d-oeuvres-buffet Ila made a comment in the Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) group:

Thanks, everyone! The Hunting Gun has been wonderful. Updating after a long while, chunksters tend to take a lot.

Love in a Fallen City was stunning. Eileen Chang is a wonderfully detailed and subtle writer. Dark, sharply unhappy stories that force you to look within, but I loved many of them. 4 stars.

Spring Essence: The Poetry of Hô Xuân Huong was incredible and made me blush. My travels to Vietnam made me delve into Vietnamese literature and Ho Xuan Huong doesn't disappoint. Raunchy, deeply evocative, and suggestive poems, many of them champion women's sexuality and have feminist undertones. Quan Su pagoda, Jackfruit, River Snail, Weaving at night, Three mountain pass were some of my favorite poems. What vivid imagery! 4.5 stars

The First Man in Rome was an interesting chunkster novel on Gaius Marius and Sulla on the beginning of the decay in the Roman Republic. Although it started well, the middle sagged under battle and army descriptions, though it picked up in the end. Definitely could have used an editor. I probably won't read the rest of the series.

Eurydice made little sense. I didn't understand Eurydice's surreal conversations with her father. Then again, theatre of the absurd leaves me cold. ]]> Review2654630723 Fri, 28 Feb 2025 05:00:54 -0800 /review/show/2654630723 Ila gave 4 stars to Love in a Fallen City (Paperback) by Eileen Chang
bookshelves: chinese, classics
Eileen Chang is the first female Chinese author I've read and I've fallen in love with her style already. She is an ornate yet subtle writer, some of her descriptions and musings sharp enough to draw blood. Chang also makes on attempt to disguise the brutality of her times. Racism, prostitution, poverty, exploitation, mental illness, family hatreds - all are laid bare.

Aloeswood incense is one of my favourite stories, although its one of the darkest. The title story, Love in a fallen city, another favourite, is the only story that doesn't end in complete disaster but the characters still pay a heavy price for their happiness. Some like Golden Cangue and Jasmine Tea were however a bit too intense even for me. ]]> Review2910156736 Thu, 27 Feb 2025 12:04:44 -0800 /review/show/2910156736 Ila gave 3 stars to The First Man in Rome (Masters of Rome, #1) by Colleen McCullough
bookshelves: historical
]]> ReadStatus9102293241 Sat, 22 Feb 2025 03:57:41 -0800 /review/show/7344403400 Ila wants to read River of Fire by Qurratulain Hyder
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