#6. The Walking Boy by Lydia Kwa
Originally posted at 50books_poc on March 16, 2008, 08:51:00.
The story takes place in 8th-century China but it's not strictly a historical novel. The author describes it as transhistorical because of the more modern ideas explored and also because there are some supernatural elements. I admire the book for some of the ideas it brings up - about gender identity, sexual orientation and the relationship between gender and power - but I agree with some reviewers who say there's a lack of conflict or that the characters don't develop very much. Obviously very subjective but it reminded me of 1984, in that I thought the ideas were really interesting but I didn't really care about the characters. I'd recommend this book for the ideas it brings up but it's not a strong endorsement.
The story takes place in 8th-century China but it's not strictly a historical novel. The author describes it as transhistorical because of the more modern ideas explored and also because there are some supernatural elements. I admire the book for some of the ideas it brings up - about gender identity, sexual orientation and the relationship between gender and power - but I agree with some reviewers who say there's a lack of conflict or that the characters don't develop very much. Obviously very subjective but it reminded me of 1984, in that I thought the ideas were really interesting but I didn't really care about the characters. I'd recommend this book for the ideas it brings up but it's not a strong endorsement.