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A review by pages_with_panda
A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Quick note: This is a historical fiction book, definitely not fantasy.
I had never heard the myth of Xishi and so I went into this book completely blind.
The prose is beautiful and the story was overall great, but the pacing and lack of character depth was what threw me off a bit. The book felt like a fairytale, I don't think it was meant to have a lot of details or depth but rather a strong overarching story, but it still felt lacking. It felt like all these things were being set up but then fell apart by the end.
For example, the beginning was built up beautifully. We see Xishi and Zhengdan’s humble beginnings, and this felt like a drama. The pace during the training was fine to me, I actually liked Fanli and XIshi's pining. Their dynamic was set up so well with their devotions to their missions being the most important thing to them. Their few scenes were done so well and I loved their interactions, especially the tea house scene.
However, once we get to the middle in the Wu Kingdom is where the pacing kind of falls apart. Time seems to pass so slowly but we skip years, but Xishi also doesn't really do anything? I also felt like Zhengdan was purely a sidekick and I would've loved to see her actually grow more...The setup for her death was weak as well...It felt like Xishi just needed another reason to hate the Fuchai...
I loved the climax with Xishi and Fuchai. I thought their relationship was soo well done, and really created this gray area between their nations.
Overall, very interesting glimpse into Chinese culture. Wish it would've been fleshed out a bit more!
I had never heard the myth of Xishi and so I went into this book completely blind.
The prose is beautiful and the story was overall great, but the pacing and lack of character depth was what threw me off a bit. The book felt like a fairytale, I don't think it was meant to have a lot of details or depth but rather a strong overarching story, but it still felt lacking. It felt like all these things were being set up but then fell apart by the end.
For example, the beginning was built up beautifully. We see Xishi and Zhengdan’s humble beginnings, and this felt like a drama. The pace during the training was fine to me, I actually liked Fanli and XIshi's pining. Their dynamic was set up so well with their devotions to their missions being the most important thing to them. Their few scenes were done so well and I loved their interactions, especially the tea house scene.
However, once we get to the middle in the Wu Kingdom is where the pacing kind of falls apart. Time seems to pass so slowly but we skip years, but Xishi also doesn't really do anything? I also felt like Zhengdan was purely a sidekick and I would've loved to see her actually grow more...
I loved the climax with Xishi and Fuchai. I thought their relationship was soo well done, and really created this gray area between their nations.
Overall, very interesting glimpse into Chinese culture. Wish it would've been fleshed out a bit more!
"The heart is a fickle thing; it takes and takes. It is easily swayed, and tempted, and made weak. Too many have fallen victims to their own irrational desires. But the mind-the mind is dependable, accurate, deadly. It destroys the enemy, not the self, and ensures that we do what we need to, not what we want."
One could live with almost anything, so long as they had something to life for.
"So this is how it feels...to be cut by your own blade."