Alexander, Alma - The Secrets of Jin-Shei
Mon, Jan. 8th, 2007 03:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oyceterI was very wary about picking up this book because it's about a) a mythical China and b) sisterhoods. I am normally very pro-a and -b, but when they go wrong, I start frothing at the mouth and attempting to chuck things at walls.
I was almost going to write a glowing review in which I talked about how the author didn't fall into the associated traps that I thought she would, how refreshing I found that, how awesome it was to get a book with eight different female characters and their relationships.
And then the ending fell into all the associated traps and I avoiding chucking the book at the wall only because I didn't want to pay for any potential damage (to the wall, not the book).
Sigh.
In the fantasy China analogue Syai, women can swear into a bond of sisterhood, called jin-shei (the sworn sisters are then your jin-shei-bao). Tai somehow manages to become sworn sisters to the Empress, the circle increases, and much plot ensues.
The potential traps that I was desperately hoping to not have to read about were: 1) the circle of friends falling apart because of envy of each other, 2) the insane-sounding character from the cover flap to be the insane envious character who ruins everything, 3) tragic fates befalling everyone except the narrator, and 4) circle of friends falling apart because of envy. I know 1 is 4, but this is very important to me.
I have a vague feeling that many stories of sisterhood tend to end up with the sisterhood falling apart because of envy or jealousy, but I cannot substantiate this at all. I also have a vague feeling that many stories of brotherhood tend to not fall apart because of envy or jealousy, but I also cannot substantiate this at all. Mostly, I have a general impression that whenever female friendships are written about, the focus is on competition and cattiness (unsubstantiated generality on my part).
I was very, very happy with this book at first. The eight women all had different personalities and different jobs; there were writers and healers, empresses and warriors. It wasn't limited to one specific thing. And the author didn't seem to be weighting one occupation over the other. I also liked that the women listened to each other, that they respected each other in spite of their differences, that there weren't Stupid Misunderstandings.
Alas and alack, Nhia lost her personality mid-way, the empress indulged in multiple Stupid Misunderstandings, as did nearly everyone else, and the story collapsed into what felt like largely pointless gloom and doom.
I feel that if you want the gloom and doom to be less pointless, you should not write a prologue that strongly foreshadows said gloom and doom and generally makes the reader not care about characters that they know won't make it.
Also, in the very end, despite the diversity of the characters in the beginning, in the end, the happiest ones are the ones who have gone away from the public sphere and settled down with a husband and kids.
I am even more mad because the book was going so well until the last two hundred pages or so! I mean, I liked the China analogue! It felt real and non-cliched and non-stupid.
Needless to say, by the end, I really wanted to throw the book at something.
Giant honking spoilers so I can rant at everyone
- Why the rape of Nhia?! WHY? It would have been ok, except after that, she lost any semblance of a personality and instead had to be protected by everyone. And was never any discussion after that about continuing with her path, or any mention of what she was doing as Chancellor.
- I froth at the mouth on what happened with Liudan. Blah blah blah wounded Empress destroys country through her own hubris blah blah blah. Could we for once not have this storyline? Particularly when said empress is the first one who tries to rule without an emperor? And her increasing insanity and instability is completely unconvincing, as she is very rational in the beginning. I also hate the portrayal of the woman who is so insecure and jealous that she cannot do anything but destroy all her relationships.
- I liked Tai a lot. I did. Then there was all the verbage about Tai having the perfect happy life and the perfect happy husband and the perfect happy children, and how she had something that all the other women (who, by the way, were pursuing other things) didn't, and how the other women who were pursuing medicine and helping the poor and learning alchemy and etc. felt unfulfilled when they looked at Tai's happy family life.
- That message could have been undercut, but was instead reinforced when Tammary escapes the city and is happy with her husband and child and Khailin escapes and also reproduces.
- May I also mention the completely needless deaths? Having Yuet stoned by a crowd was unnecessary and felt like it was just there to be dark. Then Xaforn gets herself killed for Qiaan. This might have been touching, except Liudan condemns Qiaan to be put to death in the most painful way possible (because she must seem insane), and Nhia gives Qiaan poison so she can poison herself. Then Nhia drinks poison meant for Liudan. All dead, so long, bye bye.
- And then, of course, at the end of the book, everything is set to rights again. There is a male emperor on the throne. Tai is playing with Tammary's grandchildren.
- I don't think Alexander meant to put all this subtext in, I really don't. But when the plot has all this happen, it's very hard to read it as otherwise.
- It just felt so gratuitously dark and depressing, like the author had constructed the sisterhood only so she could tear it apart and make everyone feel bad.
I was almost going to write a glowing review in which I talked about how the author didn't fall into the associated traps that I thought she would, how refreshing I found that, how awesome it was to get a book with eight different female characters and their relationships.
And then the ending fell into all the associated traps and I avoiding chucking the book at the wall only because I didn't want to pay for any potential damage (to the wall, not the book).
Sigh.
In the fantasy China analogue Syai, women can swear into a bond of sisterhood, called jin-shei (the sworn sisters are then your jin-shei-bao). Tai somehow manages to become sworn sisters to the Empress, the circle increases, and much plot ensues.
The potential traps that I was desperately hoping to not have to read about were: 1) the circle of friends falling apart because of envy of each other, 2) the insane-sounding character from the cover flap to be the insane envious character who ruins everything, 3) tragic fates befalling everyone except the narrator, and 4) circle of friends falling apart because of envy. I know 1 is 4, but this is very important to me.
I have a vague feeling that many stories of sisterhood tend to end up with the sisterhood falling apart because of envy or jealousy, but I cannot substantiate this at all. I also have a vague feeling that many stories of brotherhood tend to not fall apart because of envy or jealousy, but I also cannot substantiate this at all. Mostly, I have a general impression that whenever female friendships are written about, the focus is on competition and cattiness (unsubstantiated generality on my part).
I was very, very happy with this book at first. The eight women all had different personalities and different jobs; there were writers and healers, empresses and warriors. It wasn't limited to one specific thing. And the author didn't seem to be weighting one occupation over the other. I also liked that the women listened to each other, that they respected each other in spite of their differences, that there weren't Stupid Misunderstandings.
Alas and alack, Nhia lost her personality mid-way, the empress indulged in multiple Stupid Misunderstandings, as did nearly everyone else, and the story collapsed into what felt like largely pointless gloom and doom.
I feel that if you want the gloom and doom to be less pointless, you should not write a prologue that strongly foreshadows said gloom and doom and generally makes the reader not care about characters that they know won't make it.
Also, in the very end, despite the diversity of the characters in the beginning, in the end, the happiest ones are the ones who have gone away from the public sphere and settled down with a husband and kids.
I am even more mad because the book was going so well until the last two hundred pages or so! I mean, I liked the China analogue! It felt real and non-cliched and non-stupid.
Needless to say, by the end, I really wanted to throw the book at something.
Giant honking spoilers so I can rant at everyone
- Why the rape of Nhia?! WHY? It would have been ok, except after that, she lost any semblance of a personality and instead had to be protected by everyone. And was never any discussion after that about continuing with her path, or any mention of what she was doing as Chancellor.
- I froth at the mouth on what happened with Liudan. Blah blah blah wounded Empress destroys country through her own hubris blah blah blah. Could we for once not have this storyline? Particularly when said empress is the first one who tries to rule without an emperor? And her increasing insanity and instability is completely unconvincing, as she is very rational in the beginning. I also hate the portrayal of the woman who is so insecure and jealous that she cannot do anything but destroy all her relationships.
- I liked Tai a lot. I did. Then there was all the verbage about Tai having the perfect happy life and the perfect happy husband and the perfect happy children, and how she had something that all the other women (who, by the way, were pursuing other things) didn't, and how the other women who were pursuing medicine and helping the poor and learning alchemy and etc. felt unfulfilled when they looked at Tai's happy family life.
- That message could have been undercut, but was instead reinforced when Tammary escapes the city and is happy with her husband and child and Khailin escapes and also reproduces.
- May I also mention the completely needless deaths? Having Yuet stoned by a crowd was unnecessary and felt like it was just there to be dark. Then Xaforn gets herself killed for Qiaan. This might have been touching, except Liudan condemns Qiaan to be put to death in the most painful way possible (because she must seem insane), and Nhia gives Qiaan poison so she can poison herself. Then Nhia drinks poison meant for Liudan. All dead, so long, bye bye.
- And then, of course, at the end of the book, everything is set to rights again. There is a male emperor on the throne. Tai is playing with Tammary's grandchildren.
- I don't think Alexander meant to put all this subtext in, I really don't. But when the plot has all this happen, it's very hard to read it as otherwise.
- It just felt so gratuitously dark and depressing, like the author had constructed the sisterhood only so she could tear it apart and make everyone feel bad.