The Apothecary Diaries, Volume 1

Picked this up because I really liked the manga, and I immensely enjoyed the novel form as well. It highlights all the little details that are easy to overlook in the manga. Not sure if the manga will take a different approach eventually, but as far as the first volume goes, it's a pretty faithful adaptation of the novel.

Maomao is an apothecary training under her adoptive father, living in the capital's red-light district until she was kidnapped and sold into the rear palace as a serving woman. At first she's rather detached to her surroundings and mostly keeps to herself, but everything starts to change after she solves the issue of infant deaths in the rear palace. From there, she works on a series of cases that may seem unrelated to each other at first, but all lead to the same major issue in the end.

What I like the most in the novel is that we don't only see things from Maomao's perspective, but also from Jinshi's side. Maomao's behavior and thought process are also explained better, so she feels more like a human with her own concerns. The first volume of the novel covers Maomao's arrival at the rear palace, up to the resolution of Ah-Duo's arc. Maomao has been reluctant to get promoted because it means putting more money in her kidnapper's pockets, but that issue is also taken care of by the end of the book.

The translation can come off as rather pretentious at times, especially with the usage of fancy words that are uncommonly used, but it actually works for this book. Not only because of the settings, but also because the original is also like that. The flow is good too, so no complaints in that aspect.

Oh but this was a delight! The way I think of this is that Maomao is kind of like Sherlock Holmes, except she???s stuck in a period intrigue drama set in the rear palace of the Chinese imperial court and has to negotiate all the etiquette and conspiracies in THAT particular setting while also solving mysteries. Which, given all the conspiring, there are actually plenty of.
While the mysteries are pretty interesting, what REALLY hooked me was reading about Maomao interacting with the consorts and their ladies-in-waiting. The way Maomao views herself (low-ranked servant/food taster/apothecary) stands in direct contrast to the way the REST of the inhabitants of the rear palace view her (poor unfortunate waif), and there???s plenty of hilarious moments where Maomao does or says something that makes the other rear palace residents react in a certain way, and she does NOT for the life of her understand WHY. It???s not that she can???t READ people, because she CAN; she just doesn???t seem the least bit interested in anything that might necessarily apply to HER. On one hand there???s a pretty good reason for that: she firmly believes no one would care about her because she???s so low in the overall hierarchy that she doesn???t think anyone would care about her welfare. On the other hand, she???s just the type of person who???s not easily impressed by anyone. She knows how to act in front of her social betters, but that???s just manners; she doesn???t go out of her way to impress anyone because, in her opinion, it???s a waste of time.
What this means is that Maomao has some entertaining, and often outright HILARIOUS, interactions with the other residents of the rear palace. There is a moment in the novel where some ladies-in-waiting concoct a tragic backstory for Maomao that Maomao finds annoying - not only because it gets the facts of her life wrong, but also because it prevents her from working as much as she used to. Despite that, though, she tends to let it slide because the privileges she gains from the misunderstanding allow her to do OTHER things that are more aligned with her preferences. There???s a lot of ???It is what it is, I should just make the most of it??? to Maomao???s outlook in life, which is juxtaposed against her intense curiosity and willingness to go to any lengths to find the answer to any question she might have.
And then there is Jinshi: the beautiful eunuch who is constantly giving Maomao migraines. At first he???s an almost adversarial character, but that???s only because the reader first sees him through Maomao???s THOROUGHLY unimpressed eyes. It becomes clear later on that Jinshi isn???t all that he seems to be on the surface - something that Maomao figures out herself later on, though that doesn???t lessen her annoyance at him. It???s also through Maomao???s interactions with Jinshi and his assistant Gaoshun that the reader gets a sense of something brewing in the palace - something that goes beyond the games and intrigues of the imperial consorts and their ladies. Still, it???s clear his and Maomao???s dynamic is something to keep an eye on, and it???s easy to see why they???re popular as a ship in the manga and anime fandoms.
Overall, this is a very quick and entertaining read. Maomao???s an absolutely endearing character, both because she is extraordinary and extraordinarily flawed. The way she interacts with the characters around her and navigates rear palace politics often make for hilarious moments, but they make for some pretty interesting mysteries for Maomao to solve as well. It???s interesting to see where Maomao???s curiosity will take her, and what mysteries she will unravel - not just in the rear palace, but perhaps in the Imperial court itself.