Well, this is probably the CliffNotes reimagined version of the 18th Century Chinese classic, Dream of the Red Chamber...which is 2,5000 pages and includes 400 characters. This 350+ page version focuses on about 40 characters but mostly the women...wives, orphans, servants, and concubines in Beijing mansion of the mighty Jia family. Forutnes come and go, secrets are bared, kindness and snarkiness abounds...I loved it but am glad not to have been a woman in the 1720's in China. Since I couldn't pronounce the names of the characters, I made up nicknames for them to keep them straight and referred to Wikipedia several times about the Qing Dynasty, furniture, civil service exams, and more. Need to scout up something similar to read next.