Tuesday, May 26, 2020
Gwendalyn's Books Review of Tales of Ming Courtesans
It is Day #6 to book release in the U.S., Canada and Asia, and I woke up to this electrifying review on Gwendalyn's Books Blog!
Please allow me to share the salient part of the review:
"This eloquent saga is steeped in real life historical people, living in the turbulent times in between the Ming, and the Qing dynasties, where social classes were defined and woman had little or no voice of their own.
Tales of Ming Courtesans is a richly textured, mesmerising and captivating story that is full of rich history and the most compelling and intriguing characters.....
I can see why this talented author is loved by so many. Poon’s appealing way of weaving fact and fiction, along with her absorbing seamless narration. This is a book that you will find yourself contemplating the lives and struggles of these memorable women, long after you close the book.
A meticulously researched book that captures the historical elements and traditions of the Chinese people. This is a masterpiece of a tale, that depicts the economics and the cultural mind set that was placed on woman during this era. The resilience and the quiet but powerful strength, that these ladies show within the book is nothing short of motivational.
The plot twist with betrayals and longing and much heartache. Poon knows how to transport the reader, with her richly descriptive atmospheric imagery. The lush and vibrant, historical world building is stunning. An emotional book that is quick paced from start to finish."
This review makes all my hard work worthwhile :)
Monday, May 25, 2020
HFVBT Book Tour Kicks Off Today!
The Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tour for my new novel Tales of Ming Courtesans starts today and will continue until June 12, 2020.
Entries are now open for a paperback giveaway. Enter to win a copy!
HFVBT Book Tour Page (scroll down to near the bottom)
Wednesday, May 20, 2020
Book Review - "Orlando" by Virginia Woolf
Before
reading this Woolf novel, I had previously read A Room of One’s Own (long essay) and To the Lighthouse (novel) and had liked both.
Orlando was a
remarkable piece of satirical fiction which deals with the inter-connected
themes of desire and aspiration, memory and illusion, and gender disparities
and sexual orientation. The author takes readers on a 300-year exploratory
journey through Orlando’s biographer’s (the narrator) viewpoint, beginning at
late Elizabethan age right up to the year 1928.
When
we first meet Orlando, he is a handsome boy born into wealth and nobility in
England with literary ambitions. His “life-time” adventures include unrequited
love for a Russian princess, let-down by a famous poet who ridicules his poetic
work, acting as ambassador to Constantinopole and witnessing an insurrection, a
spontaneous sex change into a woman, living with gypsies, return to his/her
homeland in search of love and literary fame, and ultimately finding both after
many experiments.
I
think this must be the most bizarre novel I’ve ever read in terms of subject
matter. It does remind me in some ways of Voltaire’s Candide in the sense of imaginary world building. This novel was
hardly a page-turner, as the writing is at times dense, at times florid and
descriptive, and I found it hard to follow the author’s train of thought. As
much as I’ve ascribed those themes mentioned above to the novel, I’m left with
much doubt as to what central message the author was really trying to convey, although I could detect her mockery of Orlando's (the portrayal of whom is supposedly based on Woolf's lover Vita Sackville-West) mediocre literary skills.
My
conclusion is that I liked the book, but didn’t love it. I’m giving the novel 3
stars.
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