Pauline A. Chen
Hardcover | Pages: 386 pages Rating: 3.91 | 1674 Users | 239 Reviews
Mention Of Books The Red Chamber
| Title | : | The Red Chamber |
| Author | : | Pauline A. Chen |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 386 pages |
| Published | : | July 10th 2012 by Knopf (first published 2012) |
| Categories | : | Historical. Historical Fiction. Cultural. China. Fiction. Asia. Literature. 18th Century |
Narrative Concering Books The Red Chamber
In this lyrical reimagining of the Chinese classic Dream of the Red Chamber, set against the breathtaking backdrop of eighteenth-century Beijing, the lives of three unforgettable women collide in the inner chambers of the Jia mansion. When orphaned Daiyu leaves her home in the provinces to take shelter with her cousins in the Capital, she is drawn into a world of opulent splendor, presided over by the ruthless, scheming Xifeng and the prim, repressed Baochai. As she learns the secrets behind their glittering façades, she finds herself entangled in a web of intrigue and hidden passions, reaching from the petty gossip of the servants’ quarters all the way to the Imperial Palace. When a political coup overthrows the emperor and plunges the once-mighty family into grinding poverty, each woman must choose between love and duty, friendship and survival.In this dazzling debut, Pauline A. Chen draws the reader deep into the secret, exquisite world of the women’s quarters of an aristocratic household, where the burnish of wealth and refinement mask a harsher truth: marriageable girls are traded like chattel for the family’s advancement, and to choose to love is to risk everything.
Identify Books In Favor Of The Red Chamber
| Original Title: | The Red Chamber |
| ISBN: | 0307701573 (ISBN13: 9780307701572) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Rating Of Books The Red Chamber
Ratings: 3.91 From 1674 Users | 239 ReviewsCriticism Of Books The Red Chamber
I was stuck in the beginning for such a long time, I thought that I was going to end up giving up on this book. Next thing I know, I'm halfway through and it's time for me to go to bed. Do I actually sleep? Not a chance. I found that I couldn't stop reading because I really wanted to know what was going to happen next (though I didn't particularly love any of the characters; I was rather fond of Snowgoose though). It takes a while to get to that point though.Definitely good for entertainment ifAfter reading the Intro I put off reading this book, as I thought it was going to be a difficult read- rather like the Russians since it is based on the 18th Century Chinese Classic and also within structures and sensibilities/mores very different than the West. But it was a quick, clean and easy read. This had DRAMA. Short, direct words convey precise nuance. It takes place primarily within a closed environment of a wealthy home of one of the Emperor's ministers. 150-200 people live in this
Wow. This is ... one heck of a story filled in 381 pages. It's the kind of drama and twist-filled story I could maybe compare to a long Netflix or AMC series, only with less violence and misogyny on behalf of the writers.Book content warnings:- incest (cousins ~ time period-specific)In the author's note, Pauline Chen says The Red Chamber is inspired by an 18th Century book that's widely thought to be the most important book in Chinese literature: Dream of the Red Chamber by Cao Xuequin.In
I read this book on account of a Chinese friend of mine who is utterly obsessed with Honglou Meng. "You must read it someday," he says, then adds wistfully, "Oh, but it's not nearly as good unless you read it in classical Chinese."Reading the original may be out of my reach in this lifetime, but I was very satisfied by this English retelling. It has all the elements of a quality costume drama: a lavish setting, household politics, love triangles, the struggle between duty and desire. Books with
From the moment I picked up The Red Chamber, I couldn't put it down. Poor little country girl Daiyu is sent to her well-off relatives in the Capital after the death of the her mother. It is set in early 18th century China. What Daiyu finds in the women's quarters of noble Jia family, is a soap opera of political intrigue, romance and unlikely alliances.Author Pauline Chen based this novel on a famous work of Chinese literature - The Dream of the Red Chamber by Cao Xuequin. She condensed it down,
Holy anachronisms, Batman. This hugely entertaining, if not particularly well-written reimagining of Cao Xueqin's 18th century classic, is full of clunky phrases like "Pan had killed someone. Could he actually escape scot-free?" (it must be noted that "scot-free" shows up not once but TWICE. Does Knopf not hire editors or what?) and hilariously unsubtle observations like "She feels oppressed by the weight of being the perfect daughter". At one point, the phrase "adieu" is used in a riddle, and
The Red Chamber is based on the 18th century China's classic novel, "Dreams of the Red Chamber." Author, Pauline Chen has taken some of the original characters from the book to weave an intriguing tale of life in the opulent women's quarters of a privileged Beijing family of that era. The story follows the lives of three strong women who forge a friendship in a world where they are at the mercy, not only of their husbands, but their older female relatives as well.For anyone wishing to understand
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