The Wild Orchid: A Retelling of The Ballad of Mulan in Once Upon a Time

Jul 18, 2008 Allison rated it it was ok

Shelves: 1owned

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I was so psyched to read this installment of the Once Upon a Time Series that I went so far as to preorder it. Besides the fact that I was interested to see how the series would present a non-european tale, I was very excited because I'd never really heard the story of Mulan (disney film excluded, of course). I started off loving it, but by the end....let's just say I was a bit disappointed.

I have four main complaints:

1) Mulan never truly meets a foe she can't face. Although she does encounter o I was so psyched to read this installment of the Once Upon a Time Series that I went so far as to preorder it. Besides the fact that I was interested to see how the series would present a non-european tale, I was very excited because I'd never really heard the story of Mulan (disney film excluded, of course). I started off loving it, but by the end....let's just say I was a bit disappointed.

I have four main complaints:

1) Mulan never truly meets a foe she can't face. Although she does encounter obstacles, she seems able to pass by them with little more than luck and determination. As a result, it seems that things "come easy" to her, which subtracts greatly from her heroic deeds. Although it is clear she works hard for her skills, the author's desire to show Mulan as a determined strong woman overrides the realism of the story. We do not see Mulan frustrated because she can't hit a target, and we never hear about Mulan falling off a horse. In fact, if she could just keep quiet, it would seem this Mulan could do no wrong.

2) Because of the length of the book, important characters, such as Mulan's father, stepmother, her lover, or MOST importantly Prince Guang (who the author seemed to think was the main antagonist, despite the fact that he does NOTHING in the book) get almost no "screentime". Because of this, Mulan's "close" relationships with them seems forced, while relatively minor characters, (such as her childhood friend, Li Po) get a lot of mention, despite the fact that they play a minimal role in the story.

3) Part of the reason I read this series is because it presents me with a unique version of beloved fairy tales. My favorite books in the series are the ones that alter the "traditional" tale, either by changing the story itself (as is the case with Golden and The Crimson Thread), by placing the story in a non-traditional context (As Water Song did by taking the classic tale of The Frog Prince and setting the story in the middle of World War I), or by slightly altering an important aspect of or point of view in of the story. Perhaps this is just because I don't know the story well, but I felt that this version of Mulan had NONE of these qualities. Sure, there was a unique, independent, forward-thing heroine, but in every other way I assume this was a typical retelling of The Ballad of Mulan.

So it seems to me that the very fact that it is not a european story makes it "unique" enough to be included in the collection. And although the story's origin DOES make it special, I don't think being ethnically different from the other tales in the collection makes this story a truly unique retelling.

4) The book itself seems very unbalanced, with the first 50 pages alone focusing on Mulan's early childhood. Although I am normally a huge fan of backstory, in a book of less than 200 pages, the author does not have the leisure of using 1/4 of the book's volume just to discuss the protagonist's childhood. This is especially frustrating in this tale because these 50 pages seem to suggest something horrible looming in Mulan's immediate future- but in actuality, the arrival of her father and new stepmother are ultimately POSITIVE changes.

This, in and of itself would not necessarily ruin the book. However, the author adopts a rather leisurely pace, and so Mulan does not actually leave her home until page 112- leaving the heroine a mere 87 pages to establish herself as a soldier, meet the love of her life, worry about her hidden identity, experience camp life, see battle, fall in love, take down the Huns and save all of China. And yet, despite the small number of pages, the author manages to make Mulan's heroic deed and blossoming romance less interesting than the girl's quiet country childhood.

I can't say I hated the book. It was cute, and I did enjoy Mulan's narration- as misleading as it was. I also liked the "asian flavor" this story brought to the series, although it still seemed very European to me. But due to poor planning, the novel managed to be short AND meandering, which is, in my opinion, quite a feat. Perhaps this was Dokey trying to adopt a more eastern style of writing, or perhaps she was merely trying to stretch out a very short story. Whatever the case may be, I can honestly say this was not my favorite installment of the Once Upon A Time Series. Still, if you liked the Disney film, or are a fan of the series as a whole, you may want to pick this retelling up.

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Aug 20, 2009 Marie rated it really liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Apr 28, 2009 Steph rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, fairytales, women-warriors

Loved this book! This is a great series and I was thrilled that they did one of of Mulan.

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Nov 07, 2009 Emily Eastman rated it really liked it

Shelves: once-upon-a-time

I REALLY REALLY LIKED THIS ONCE UPON A TIME BOOK! It isn't much of a retelling (It's just like Mulan wit ha few added details) but it's still a great story. I think by making this less of a retelling the author also was able to provide more details. It is really a great story even though it's 199 pages it feels like a 300 page book. It may be short but it found a way to have planty of details without dragging. ...more

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