Dream of Red Mansions Vol 1
I’ve finished the first volume of Dream of Red Mansions. I have too much to say about it and can’t really expression how engrossing it is, except maybe to say that this is like a telenovela of its day, that being mid 18th century Qing China (wealthy family with imperial connections).
But as a writer an interesting thing I note is how fast it moves, how scenes are fairly short and very concentrated and then succeeded by another scene, and so on. This is as fast-paced a book as many a book today. Also, way more sex, and although I expected this it is still really really fascinating to read through the lens of a society that is not filtered by the morality USA readers are so often accustomed to.
It’s kind of funny for me to read bits and pieces of quotes from academics and critics calling all over themselves to create these edifices of intellectual reasons one should like the story, but let’s face it: This is high level soap opera with smut. That’s why it’s so great, and timeless, and human.
On to Volume II.
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