MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - MobileRead Discussion: The Chinese Maze Murders by Robert van Gulik (spoilers)

sun surfer · 10-12-2011, 09:42 PM

Finished!

I would like to later go back and comment on some posts here, but first I'll offer my brief review of the novel:

I liked it. I enjoyed basking in the vivid descriptions of a past era, and enjoyed it more so when I found out that the author was painstaking in his recreation of that era's stories. He has a way with simple, short descriptions with rich impact. I particularly like books with wonderful descriptions of the world inside, that happen to have a good story to go along with them, because those are the books that transport my imagination the most.

The mysteries were nice, but I think the journey and experiencing that world were the more compelling aspects of the book.

I did have an intellectually frustrating problem with one of the mysteries, however. As soon as Chien said "You" as he was dying, I thought he could be referring to the surname Yoo. So the minor frustration was the the genius judge wouldn't pick up on that immediately. But the major frustration was that this book is set in China, so I would assume it would be written as if it were a translation of Chinese language.

Because of this, I thought I must be wrong about you/Yoo since "you" would be a completely different word in the language they're "really" speaking. Of course, in the end it was written as if they were all speaking English in China and "you" did equal "Yoo". For an author who was so careful elsewhere, I found this to be glaring.

ETA - And here are some lines I particularly liked:

"The willow trees borrow their shape from the spring breeze; the rippling waves derive their grace from the autumn moon." (pages 76-78, inscribed on paper weights; I assume van Gulik borrowed this from an old author, as he freely admits he has for other poetic lines)

(Master Crane describing how he made his tea) "The water was taken from where the brook springs from the rocks. Last night I placed the tea leaves in the bud of a chrysanthemum. I took them out this morning when the flower opened in the sun. These leaves are saturated with the essence of the morning dew." (pages 160-162)

(Ma Joong: ) "She nearly knifed me during that attack on our party in the mountains. I really liked her!" (pages 222-224)

10-12-2011, 09:42 PM	#14
sun surfer languorous autodidact ✦ Posts: 4,235 Karma: 44637926 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: smiling with the rising sun Device: onyx boox poke 2 colour, kindle voyage	Finished! I would like to later go back and comment on some posts here, but first I'll offer my brief review of the novel: I liked it. I enjoyed basking in the vivid descriptions of a past era, and enjoyed it more so when I found out that the author was painstaking in his recreation of that era's stories. He has a way with simple, short descriptions with rich impact. I particularly like books with wonderful descriptions of the world inside, that happen to have a good story to go along with them, because those are the books that transport my imagination the most. The mysteries were nice, but I think the journey and experiencing that world were the more compelling aspects of the book. I did have an intellectually frustrating problem with one of the mysteries, however. As soon as Chien said "You" as he was dying, I thought he could be referring to the surname Yoo. So the minor frustration was the the genius judge wouldn't pick up on that immediately. But the major frustration was that this book is set in China, so I would assume it would be written as if it were a translation of Chinese language. Because of this, I thought I must be wrong about you/Yoo since "you" would be a completely different word in the language they're "really" speaking. Of course, in the end it was written as if they were all speaking English in China and "you" did equal "Yoo". For an author who was so careful elsewhere, I found this to be glaring. ETA - And here are some lines I particularly liked: "The willow trees borrow their shape from the spring breeze; the rippling waves derive their grace from the autumn moon." (pages 76-78, inscribed on paper weights; I assume van Gulik borrowed this from an old author, as he freely admits he has for other poetic lines) (Master Crane describing how he made his tea) "The water was taken from where the brook springs from the rocks. Last night I placed the tea leaves in the bud of a chrysanthemum. I took them out this morning when the flower opened in the sun. These leaves are saturated with the essence of the morning dew." (pages 160-162) (Ma Joong: ) "She nearly knifed me during that attack on our party in the mountains. I really liked her!" (pages 222-224) Last edited by sun surfer; 10-12-2011 at 10:04 PM.