I've really wanted to read this for a while now, and everyone I know who's read it has really loved it, but for now the book is too long for me to handle with all the other long books on my must-read-now shelf. (I did finally finish All Clear at least!) I'm planning on probably getting it on my Kindle because that's what I try to do with the super long books, like The Passage. It's so much easier to read.
I'll tell you what, now that I've got a Kindle, I'll be looking long and hard about purchasing those LONG BOOKS as hard copies instead of electronic, because the electronic is so appealing...
Interesting. I'd say Ysabel is out of Kay's normal style, as well. Tigana is great. I also recommend checking out The Lions of Al-Rassan and A Song for Arbonne - those are my two favourites.
I LOVED Under Heaven, too. But I do all my reading digitally specifically to avoid carrying around large, chunky hardcovers!
I'm a longtime Kay fan, though I seem to have completely different reactions to his books than you - I *adore* the Fionavar Tapestry and liked, but didn't love Ysabel.
I loved this one. I gave it 5 stars on Goodreads (though if Goodreads allowed it, 4.5 would have been my actual rating - I rounded up rather than down). Yeah, there were some nitpicky things that bothered me - like you, I really didn't like when he slipped into the second person. I don't remember him ever doing that before in any of his earlier books (I have read them all except his volume of poetry) and it annoyed me. The rest of the the things that bothered you I have come to expect as part of Kay's writing style.
I don't regret having splurged on the hardcover, though I'd rather have a paperback (you're right - it's a BIG book). But I was not patient enough to wait on this one :)
This is the first book I have read by Gus Gavriel Kay, and I enjoyed it a lot. I am always a little worried about fantasy books set in China. There seems to be a lot of "westerner meets opaque culture" stories out there. In this book, I loved that characters were fully fleshed out and interesting while remaining Chinese in their worldview and motivations. I loved that I did not realize Spring Rain was a westerner until I was well into the book and also that she was assimilated into Chinese culture instead of the other way around.
The language was gorgeous, and for whatever reason, I was not bothered by the repetition and other editorial failings.
I too enjoyed the individual friendships portrayed. They felt very real to me.
Overall, I am glad to have read it. It was not on my radar prior to this, so I'm grateful to the bookclub for choosing it and getting me to pick it up.
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I LOVED Under Heaven, too. But I do all my reading digitally specifically to avoid carrying around large, chunky hardcovers!
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I loved this one. I gave it 5 stars on Goodreads (though if Goodreads allowed it, 4.5 would have been my actual rating - I rounded up rather than down). Yeah, there were some nitpicky things that bothered me - like you, I really didn't like when he slipped into the second person. I don't remember him ever doing that before in any of his earlier books (I have read them all except his volume of poetry) and it annoyed me. The rest of the the things that bothered you I have come to expect as part of Kay's writing style.
I don't regret having splurged on the hardcover, though I'd rather have a paperback (you're right - it's a BIG book). But I was not patient enough to wait on this one :)
My Goodreads review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/130970234
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Rain was a westerner until I was well into the book and also that she was assimilated into Chinese culture instead of the other way around.
The language was gorgeous, and for whatever reason, I was not bothered by the repetition and other editorial failings.
I too enjoyed the individual friendships portrayed. They felt very real to me.
Overall, I am glad to have read it. It was not on my radar prior to this, so I'm grateful to the bookclub for choosing it and getting me to pick it up.
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