#yangsze choo

[charliejaneanders]

Every month I try to review books that I

A) enjoyed

B) want to geek out about

in my @washingtonpost SFF review column. But please believe me when I say that all five books I review this month are *extraordinary*. I felt so lucky to be able to review them.

Paywall-free link: wapo.st/3IebriZ

#books #reading #science fiction #fantasy #writing #premee mohamed #phillip b williams #rae giana rashad #yangsze choo #robert jackson bennett #book tumblr #book worm #book wyrm #book reviews

[liquidlightandrunningtrees]

The Chinese considered the moon to be yin, feminine and full of negative energy, as opposed to the sun that was yang and exemplified masculinity. I liked the moon, with its soft silver beams. It was at once elusive and filled with trickery, so that lost objects that had rolled into the crevices of a room were rarely found, and books read in its light seemed to contain all sorts of fanciful stories that were never there the next morning.

Yangsze Choo, The Ghost Bride

#quote #yangsze choo #the ghost bride #chinese #moon #yin #feminine #negative #energy #sun #yang #masculinity #soft #silver #elusive #trickery #lost #books #read #fanciful #quotes

[mydarlinginej]

read my full review of the fox wife by yangsze choo here.

Some people think foxes are similar to ghosts because we go around collecting qi , or life force, but nothing could be further than the truth. We are living creatures, just like you, only usually better looking . . .

Manchuria, 1908.

A young woman is found frozen in the snow. Her death is clouded by rumors of foxes involved, which are believed to lure people by transforming themselves into beautiful women and men. Bao, a detective with a reputation for sniffing out the truth, is hired to uncover the dead woman’s identity. Since childhood, Bao has been intrigued by the fox gods, yet they’ve remained tantalizingly out of reach. Until, perhaps, now.

Meanwhile, a family that owns a famous Chinese medicine shop can cure ailments, but not the curse that afflicts them―their eldest sons die before their twenty-fourth birthdays. Now the only grandson of the family is twenty-three. When a mysterious woman enters their household, their luck seems to change. Or does it? Is their new servant a simple young woman from the north or a fox spirit bent on her own revenge?

New York Times bestselling author Yangsze Choo brilliantly explores a world of mortals and spirits, humans and beasts, and their dazzling intersection. The Fox Wife is a stunning novel about a winter full of mysterious deaths, a mother seeking revenge, and old folktales that may very well be true.

my review:

I’ve loved Yangsze Choo’s previous novels so I was really excited to hear about her next one! The summary sounded intriguing and atmospheric, and I was dying to read more of her gorgeous writing. Mysterious and mischievous, The Fox Wife unfolds a story of a mother seeking revenge in a world where fox spirits run amok.

In 1908 Manchuria, a private detective named Bao is hired to investigate a woman’s mysterious death that his instincts can’t help but point him in the direction of the fox spirits he’s been obsessed with ever since he was a child. Unbeknownst to him, one of these fox spirits, Snow, is looking into her own mystery, tracking down a photographer in revenge of her child’s death. Soon she crosses paths with an old friend-slash-enemy Shiro, who puts her in the path of Kuro, someone she had never wanted to see again.

As usual, I adored Choo’s prose! She has this way of writing that fully immerses you in a world and the character’s mind. The Fox Wife, in particular, reminded me of both of her previous works, with the mystery of The Night Tiger and the heart and levity of The Ghost Bride. I definitely want to reread the latter now after reading this book.

read my full review here.

#the fox wife #yangsze choo #book reviews #reviews #booklr #mine #link #q

[suzannahnatters]

Can fiction be a form of research? I think so! THE GHOST BRIDE by Yangsze Choo is set in 1890s Malaysia, not 1890s Hong Kong, but it's still a book about the 1890s Chinese diaspora by someone with deep personal or family roots in that culture - and even more, it contains the kind of vivid detail on day-to-day life, which an academic history book might be too focused to cover. Fiction is no substitute for the academic reading - but a really quality work like this gives me lots of notes for things to bear in mind while I'm writing my own (very different) book!

#currently reading #the ghost bride #yangsze choo #history #1890s #writing tip #writing advice

[vinca-majors]

Yangsze Choo in conversation - St. Louis 2/21/24

Yangsze Choo is one of my favorite authors (The Ghost Bride is one of my favorite books ever) and last week she came to STL for her The Fox Wife book tour! I wrote up a little summary of the things she said about herself and her novels for anyone interested.

Her name is pronounced Yong-shee

She was warm, humble, funny, gracious, relaxed, and genuinely kind

She is very petite (I'd be surprised if she clears 5') and has a lovely, precise British accent reminiscent of Julie Andrews because she attended British schools when growing up

While she currently lives in California, she is Malaysian and spent parts of her childhood in Germany and Japan

This was her first time visiting Missouri and she only had the kindest things to say about it (this was heartwarming to everyone in attendance since flyover states get no love)

She is a slow writer and her drafts always have an excessively large word count

She never uses outlines "because I don't think like that" and blames her slow writing on this; her husband says if she would use outlines maybe there would be "less howling and rolling on the floor"

"There are thousands of good books that people could be reading. I am honored that people choose to read mine."

The Ghost Bride

One of her favorite scenes is the first chapter

She wrote a trial scene in the Courts of Hell but it was cut for wordcount

Pre-publication, she figured only her "mother and her hairdresser" would read it

Her older sister's feedback on a draft was that there wasn't enough romance and that what there was "is creepy"; her father's feedback was that it didn't read like classic literature; "With a family like this, who needs critics?"

She wanted to be the audiobook reader because many of the Malaysian words in the book have a specific pronunciation; she had to audition to do it "because usually voice actors do this unless you're Neil Gaiman"; the audition was in a studio in New York the day after Neil himself had been there ("I was like 'Can I touch everything that he touched?'")

She was in Trader Joe's when she got the call from her agent that Netflix wanted to make a screen adaptation - "'Give it to them! Give it to them!'"

She wasn't interested in writing the screenplay for the Netflix adaptation - "Novel writing and screenwriting are very different things."

She didn't have a problem with the book's ugly villain being played by a handsome actor - "That's Hollywood"

The Night Tiger

Her audiobook recording was an Audie Award Finalist - "My publisher says I should tell people that more often."

The Fox Wife

It is a story about "others", "what's on the other side of the door", first love, and is "a love story for old people"

Her favorite Austen is Persuasion and that inspired the elements of "regret and do-overs"

She said most ancient Chinese myths about foxes are about the human men who subdue the beautiful, wily female foxes and bear sons by them who pass the Imperial Exams; she wanted a story from the fox's point of view

She wrote it practically in the order that it reads and wrote the two timelines concurrently

The margins are wide and include footnotes because ancient Chinese scrolls had margins for readers to write notes in, which were incorporated into rewrites of those scrolls; this was also a way for women to engage with other female readers in a time when only men could gather to discuss literature and philosophy

She loves the footnotes in Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell and was inspired to include asides/short stories in the footnotes of her own novel

Her first draft was 240,000 words long - she had to cut the bulk of the footnotes, a whole character, an entire arc, and "another murder"

She calls herself 'an old auntie' and doesn't know who the hot Asian actors are today, but her fancast for Kuro is Toshiro Mifune

If she could spend the day as any of her characters she would be Snow because she's "always wanted to run along rooftops and along garden walls"

Her favorite scene is—(looking at my bookmark at the halfway point) "Well, I won't spoil it for you. I love the last scene."

4th novel

It's about plants because she loves plants - she regularly listens to the NPR gardening podcast

She has always thought that ginseng root looks like a human baby; this book will be about a ginseng root that is a fairy changeling

At heart it's about parenthood

#yangsze choo #the fox wife #the ghost bride #the night tiger #i almost cheered out loud when she said toshiro mifune bc he was specifically how i'd been imagining kuro

[miithridatism]

In the darkness of a thousand withered souls, it was Er Lang’s hand that I sought, and his voice that I longed to hear. Perhaps it is selfish of me, but an uncertain future with him, in all its laughter and quarrels, is better than being left behind.

The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo

#the ghost bride #yangsze choo #books #quotes

[roseunspindle]

Favorite Books of 2022

Dracula Daily - Partly I enjoyed the story, but also the community of reading it with many people, seeing the comments, fanart. 

#Favorite Books of 2022 #2022 #Favorite Books #reading #my grandmother asked me to tell you she's sorry #fredrik backman #This Poison Heart #Kalynn Bayron #a psalm for the wild built #Becky Chambers #The Ghost Bride #Yangsze Choo #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #Suzanne Collins #Uprooted #Words of Radiance #Brandon Sanderson #The Revenge of Eli Monpress #Rachel Aaron #Dracula #Bram Stoker #Dracula Daily #Raybearer #Joran Ifueko

[quotes-for-the-soul]

If I had known how easy it is to lose your life, I would have treasured mine better.

The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo

#The Ghost Bride #Yangsze Choo #know #easy #lose #life #treasure #better #death #afterlife #heaven #hell #appreciation #fantasy #mythology #China #quotes

[rhosynviteri]

Yangsze Choo really said what about one-bed trope but with step-siblings 👉🏻👈🏻

#the night tiger #yangsze choo #books #currently reading #she really made some... interesting choices

[studywithjennifer]

The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo

Book 12/50 of 2022

Date Finished: 2nd February 2022

Rating: 3/5

#books #literature #reading #bookworm #bookblr #the night tiger #yangsze choo #malaysian literature #historical fiction

[quirkycatsfatstacks]

Review: The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo

Author: Yangsze ChooPublisher: Henry Holt and Co.Released: February 13, 2024Received: Own (BOTM)Find it on Goodreads | BOTM | More BOTM Reviews Summary: The year is 1908, in Manchuria. It has not been a quiet year, as several bodies have turned up here and there. Most recently, a woman was found frozen outside of a restaurant. This gets a compassionate investigator to follow the trail and…

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#Book #Book Box #Book of the Month #Book Review #book subscription box #Books #BOTM #Fantasy #Fantasy review #Fiction #Henry Holt and Co. #historical #Historical fantasy #Literary #Literature #Review #Subscription Box #The Fox Wife #The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo #Yangsze Choo

[snowwhitesbookshelf]

POV: You just watched the first episode of Netflix's adaptation for The Ghost Bride after reading the book. For how much I loved the book... I want my 49 minutes back.

#bookblr #book adaptation #tv series #netflix series #the ghost bride #yangsze choo #what did i just watch

[sawreadreviewed]

Very belated addition! Nettle tea (blocking out the library sticker) and The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo. Read it over the weekend without stopping. Not mind-blowing writing, but engaging characters and beautifully evoked setting (1930s Malasia). Bonus points for peppering in not one but several languages in a way that didn’t make suspension of disbelief difficult. I’ll read whatever Choo cares to write!! Also, this book deserves a better cover. They did her wrong.

#the night tiger #adult booklr #tomes and tea #South East Asian literature #yangsze choo

[carica-ficus]

Recenzija: Noćni Tigar

Originalan naslov: The Night Tiger: A Novel

Autor: Yangsze Choo

Datum: 27/05/2022

Ocjena: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

————————————————————————

Obožavam čitati knjige koje me mogu uvući u neki nepoznati svijet ili drugu kulturu, a "Noćni Tigar" ovaj puta mi pruža pogled u život u Malaziju.

Površno, priča zadire unutar neke slabe definicije krimića ili trilera, sa određenom količinom misterija koji obavija glavnog pokretača radnje - nestali prst. No u svojim temeljima, knjiga je prikaz i komentar na praznovjerje, kulturu, društvena očekivanja i predrasude koje naveliko sputavaju glavne likove pri ostvarenju svojih ciljeva.

Makar sam se u potpunosti udubila u radnju i fantastične likove, razvoj događaja možda je previše isprepleten. Choo je očita imala jasnu predodžbu za pojedine događaje u knjizi, no samo povezivanje tih dijelova predstavio joj je problem. Određene situacije su nepotrebne za samu knjigu, a najčešće su to interakcije između likova u namjeri da ih dodatno razradi, što je nepotrebno jer su oni već dovoljno definirani. Mislim da je bar djelomično mogla te dijelove skratiti ili ih uključiti na neko drugo mjesto.

Radnja se odvija relativno sporo i preskače sa jedne teme na drugu stoga tempo ponekad ne odgovara situacijama, no, sve u svemu, knjiga zbilja nije loše. Dapače, meni se jako svidjela te mislim da je vrijedi pročitati.

#moja recenzija #recenzija #reading #2022 #book #knjiga #rc2022 #čitanje #book review #noćni tigar #the night tiger: a novel #the night tiger #yangsze choo

[vinca-majors]

yangsze choo, the ghost bride

#talk about a FIRST KISS #yangsze is not here to mess around #the ghost bride #pan li lan #er lang #yangsze choo #edit: mine #on the shelf

[andtorturedhandssopale]

wait, WAIT... Do both li lan and er lang have the same love language? acts of service? oh gosh

#screaming crying foaming at the mouth #these two idiots live un my head rent free #the ghost bride #yangsze choo