The Courtesan
Alexandra Curry
From a treasured life as a loved Courtesan’s daughter, Jinhua takes a step back into the dregs of where courtesans are made – from feet binding to orifice rape. This is her story from misery to misery.
You’d think that since I was up until 1am finishing this book (and doing some other writing) than means I enjoyed it. Honestly, I’m not sure that I did. There were huge time gaps and gaps in Jinhau’s memory that made me fall out of the novel time and time again.
The violence, particularly sexual violence, seemed not to add very much to the story. I would have been far more excited if the rape had lead to death, rather than just another one occurring. By the end, I was basically no longer worried about it – they’d easily get out the other side. Rape just became part of the landscape. Isn’t that a horrible thing to say?
Perhaps it could have meant more to me if I was familiar with the historical period it was set in. I have to say my grasp of China’s politics, in addition to its geography, was very slim on the ground. All countries have a horrific past, and some are still that way (I’m an Australian, and i can tell you that horrible things are still going on). This one was nothing new.
I think it takes courage to write a novel like this one, where it is based on a well known (to the Chinese) folk/fairy tale / legend. That doesn’t mean I loved it. Jinhau just gave me no reason to love her. Her best friend seemed just as weak. What am I to say of weak though? I admired the woman before Jinhau – at least she was sensible enough to put herself out of her misery!
Why couldn’t I love this? Was it the detailed writing that put me off? The graphics of everything that made it difficult for me to get into the story? I don’t know. But I’m reassured to see that some other people didn’t love this novel either. I’m tossing up between 2 and 3 stars – I did at least finish it afterall.
I put off reading this novel for a very long time, because I knew it was the second in the series. Finally, in a bid to cull down the number of older novels I had sitting on my shelf, I decided to pick it up. A quick google of the first novel in the series seemed to suggest that I didn’t need to read the first one – this was definitely the case.
This was such a slow novel. I was halfway through and saying to my partner that I wasn’t sure I could face keeping on reading it. I started out being a bit wary of it, because of the changing perspectives.
I wasn’t won over by the way there were ‘bytes’ of information from the way that Scarlett and Lucas thought. I didn’t like the consciousnesses changing, and I thought Avery was an idiot. A rich, spoilt idiot.
Oh yeah, who’s going to cheer for that entirely surprising ending? Uh, that would be me. I didn’t see that coming at all. Should I have? Were the signs there? I can’t remember.
This novel is filled with ‘F-bombs’, sex and a rather disgusting sense of humour. But that being said, I laughed out loud at some of the dialogue, and although I’d never purchase it on my own, I think it’s a good read to borrow from a friend.
I read this novel a while ago now. I thought I had read it a long time ago (pre-blog) and so when it took my eye again while I was rearranging my shelves, I thought I’d better give it a review. Turns out I’d never read it, or I hadn’t read it closely enough.
By the feel of things, I think the authors had a wide scope of what they could write. For me, I hate poetry. I especially hate random poetry where I can’t work out any of what is going on. Other examples were of not-true stories. What is the point of writing expository fiction if your reader can’t connect in any way with it?
Leila is challenged by her Persian background, and I learnt a lot about that culture just reading this novel. I particularly loved the way Leila’s older sister was characterised. I could have had more here!
From the very beginning you already know there is something wrong about the way the twins have been treated. The more you read, the more you work out what is going on – even if it is exactly what the burb described and you aren’t ever really confused.