I am just completely infatuated by R.F. Kuang's writing at this point. I really loved The Poppy War (this book's predecessor) as well as Babel (her standalone novel released earlier this year) so I had high expectations eading into this one. Even then I was totally blown away by The Dragon Republic. I've spoken before about how writing the second part of a trilogy can be tough because it lacks the excitement of a new beginning that the first part has while also missing the satisfaction of a conclusion that the third part has. I've seen authors try to tackle this conundrum in a few ways but Kuang has done it in the simplest way possible: by writing an undeniably intriguing story. The Dragon Republic expertly builds upon everything that was started in The Poppy War and expands it. The characters here are excellent. We have all of our old favorites in Rin, Kitay, the Cike etc while also adding the prominent figures behind each of Nikan's provinces. The main one we are introduced to is Vaisra, leader of the Dragon province and Nezha's father. He is just a blast to read here as this commanding, seductive figure. Kuang deserves a lot of credit for writing the scenes between him and Rin with underlying sexual tension that feels so wrong and yet so desirable. He's a big part of why this book is so good and I can't wait to see his role in the trilogy's conclusion. I also want to shout out Nezha, who was introduced in the last book but is explored with much more complexity here. He shines a lot in his role and elevates the book in a similar way to his dad. If I were to say one reason why this book is so good it's these two. I... honestly don't know what else to say at this point. This isn't my favorite Kuang book but I do think it's her best that I've read up to now. I'm sure she'll surpass herself with the conclusion to this trilogy.
I've really been trying to diversify my reading, not just in terms of genre but in terms of format as well. I've really delved into audiobooks recently and now I've read my first graphic novel. I'm glad I did! I think Persepolis is pretty perfect. It tells the story of Marjane Satrapi as she grows up in war-torn Iran, studies abroad in Austria, returns to Iran before leaving her homeland once again. Coming into this I thought graphic novels were relatively childish compared to novels but I think the format allows Satrapi to tell her story more effectively. Even though this Persepolis is entirely in black and white, Satrapi manages to inject so much life into her illustrations and contrast each setting beautifully. She fully takes advantage of her skill as a writer as well as her talent as an illustrator to make a comprehensive story that works on every level. And I really mean that. You can look at Persepolis as the story of two very different settings and cultures. You can also look at it as one woman's coming-of-age story. Or you can look at it as everything in between. That's the beauty of Persepolis. It doesn't fit into any one box. It's funny. It's depressing. It's inquisitive. It's stupid. It's optimistic. It's pessimistic. It is all of these things and more and yet it never feels confused. Satrapi deserves all the credit in the world for taking her remarkable life and putting it into a compact 330 pages (filled with pictures as well as words) without making anything feel rushed or incomplete. Overall this is a fantastic first graphic novel for me and I look forward to trying out more.
This is a book I've been excited to read for a bit now. I heard about it a couple of years ago but didn't decide to give it a try until I read Babel, Kuang's most recent book. I think Babel is an absolute masterpiece. Not only did I think it was a masterpiece, it felt like a very intentional masterpiece created by someone who is a master of her craft. Kuang made so many smart writing decisions throughout Babel that I felt I had to check out her other books to see if she was always this good. As it turns it, she hasn't always been quite that good, but she's always been incredibly talented. The Poppy War is seriously excellent. I love pretty much everything about this book so I'm just going to go ahead and lavish a whole lot of praise before I get into the very small critiques that I have. Kuang is a master at subtle worldbuilding. While there are many fantastical elements in her stories, she always keeps her settings quite grounded in reality. It's so easy to imagine yourself in one of her worlds sitting on one of her characters' shoulders. This ease allows the reader to be immediately invested in her stories and I find that this is an underrated aspect of good fantasy. You can have the most elaborate world with maps that rival an actual atlas, but if I can't imagine what it's like to be there, the corresponding story will inevitably fall flat. Kuang does not make any of these mistakes. She feeds the reader a little bit of info at a time, enough to make the reader feel like they're learning something, but never too much as to make them feel overwhelmed. This attribute also contributes to the fact that her books are an absolute blast to read. For me, reading good fantasy feels like riding a roller-coaster: yes the author has total control of the story, but the ride they take me on is so exhilarating that I feel unbounded within their creation. Kuang delivers that feeling so many times throughout this book and each time it's more fun than the last. I also want to give Kuang credit for how she balances the fun aspects of the book with the very dark realities of her world. The Poppy War takes place in a country called Nikan, which is clearly based on World War II China. Nikan gets invaded by a country called Mugen, the Japan to Nikan's China. Kuang does not pull any punches when describing the wartime atrocities Mugen commits, some of which seem to be word-for-word descriptions about the Rape of Nanking. These are some of the most disturbing passages I've ever read, but they are absolutely necessary to understand the motivations of The Poppy War's protagonist Rin as she allows herself to become more vengeful by the page. Rin is a wonderful character who changes considerably throughout the book but never in a way that feels forced. We see what she sees and feel what she feels so that by the time the book ends, we understand her decisions even if we don't agree with them. Once again I will give props to Kuang for making her main character in her debut novel one that is conflicting. There were many times throughout the book that I had to remind myself that this is Kuang's first novel and that she wrote it in her early 20s. She clearly has some excellent innate writing instincts. With all that said, there are points in the novel where Kuang's inexperience shows. Here I'm mostly referring to her handling of Altan. For me at least, Altan's character shift between his time at Sinegard and his time as leader of the Cike feels very awkward. Altan post-Sinegard is great and I don't think Kuang does anything wrong with his progression from that point on, but he straight up does not feel like the same person he was before then. This would be excusable except for the fact that it's mentioned that he's always been like this. The whole thing just feels so jarring and it really stands out when put against Rin's very smooth character transformation. This is a pretty small nitpick but with a book this good all critiques are nitpicky. I love this book dearly and can't wait to check out its sequel.
Since really getting back into reading a few years ago my general reading style has stayed the same. I can read pretty fast and I actively enjoy the process of doing so. That's not to say that I skim, but I'm not the type of person to linger over a page or a sentence that really strikes me. I just take a note of it and move on. The Luminaries is the first book that I've read not only this year but this decade that has made me change that. I read this book a lot slower than I normally do because each page and sentence is worth savoring. For a book that's over 800 pages, that is a serious feat. I'm not quite sure how to describe The Luminaries so this paragraph may be a bit unstructured. It definitely has mysteries but it can't really be classified as a mystery novel. It takes place in the past but it's not really historical fiction. It has thrilling sections but I can't in good conscious call it a thriller. It's just... a damn good novel. The basic gist of it is that 12 people convene in a smoking room in a hotel during the New Zealand gold rush due to a few odd events that have happened over the past few weeks. Over the course of the novel we learn a lot about each of these 12 as well as many others in this small mining town. Catton explores her characters in such lush detail that I feel like I know all of them personally at this point. As we learn more about the characters we also learn just what happened in order to set off the events of the novel. It feels like Catton is really challenging her readers with the way she writes at points. While many of the loose threads are explicitly tied up at various points throughout the novel, many others are finished in a more subtle way, rewarding those attentive enough to notice the tiniest of details in her writing. One of my favorite things about reading is the feeling you get when you realize someone is truly amazing at the act of writing, and I felt that many times while reading The Luminaries. She really makes writing seem like a beautiful art form with the way she crafts this book and the sentences within it. I can't help but... be in awe of her talent. If there is one criticism I have it's that I feel like the book starts out stronger than it finishes, but that is the tiniest of nits that I am picking. I think the first 500 or so pages are a 10 out of 10 and the remaining 300 are a 9 out of 10. Well done Eleanor Catton, your book is super fucking good.
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