"The Poppy War" First Impressions - *No Spoilers*

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

How's it going so far?

Please hang on to comments about characters and plots until the full discussion thread opens on the 7th!

This book also merits a few content warnings: (view spoiler)[ Sexual assault, graphic rape, self harm, mutilation, war, drugs, child abuse. It is advised that those with strong reactions to these topics proceed cautiously with or skip Chapter 21. (hide spoiler)]

[Gabi]

I'm listening to the audiobook - a first for me. And I'm glad that I chose this option (cause it's the 3monthFreeTrial for audible). So far the story is too generic for my personal taste. I'm not into it at the moment.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

I'm almost 40% in and it's fun? It is a bit of the usual--I have some comments on that which I'm reflecting on ahead of the full discussion. Nervous for when the book comes into its own.

[Rachel]

I hear the tone of the book changes wildly at some point - I’m very interested to lurk and see how people react

[Gabi]

Rachel wrote: "I hear the tone of the book changes wildly at some point - I’m very interested to lurk and see how people react"

I'm hoping for that point.

[Michael]

I'm a little over half way through the book and enjoying it. There are some issues I'll bring up in the full discussion later but for now I'll keep reading.

[Gabi]

What I forgot to add as first impression: I love the cover!

[Sarah]

I love the cover too. I’d heard about all the content warnings from friend reviews, which meant when I started reading the book, I was really surprised at the tone. It wasn’t *quite* as dark as I was expecting. I think I haven’t gotten to the part where dark turns darker but I’m almost there.

[AMG]

I'm pretty excited about this one solely because of the cover. I'm such a sucker for pretty covers. It definitely adds at least a star to some of my reviews because I'm shallow like that.

[Ariana]

Allison wrote: "I'm almost 40% in and it's fun? It is a bit of the usual--I have some comments on that which I'm reflecting on ahead of the full discussion. Nervous for when the book comes into its own."

I'm in the same boat. I was considering skipping it because of the content warnings, but it came in at the library and I started a few days ago. So far, pretty fun (if a little familiar)!

Rachel wrote: "I hear the tone of the book changes wildly at some point - I’m very interested to lurk and see how people react"

Urk.

[Travis]

I read this a couple of months ago and really appreciated how it played with my expectations. I have other thoughts about the second half, which I'll save for the spoilers thread. Fully agree about the gorgeous cover!

[Frank]

It is strange. It has the grit of grimdark but the characters and tone of YA.

[Kaa]

I just finished part one. I enjoyed it, although there wasn't anything really surprising in the story yet. I thought this part did a good job of setting up the world-building for the rest of the book.

[Michael]

I'm a little over 3/4 of the way through the book and my initial enthusiasm has been lost.

[Donald]

I've got this out from the library before I remembered the various comments that it's based off the Rape of Nanking which scuppered any interest I had in reading it, but from the comments here so far it's not as bad as it sounds?

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Hard to say in a way that isn't somewhat spoilery. I can message you, Donald, if you'd like maybe small spoilers (i.e. what level of grimdark to expect when).

[Donald]

Allison wrote: "Hard to say in a way that isn't somewhat spoilery. I can message you, Donald, if you'd like maybe small spoilers (i.e. what level of grimdark to expect when)."

That'd be appreciated. I have a fairly high tolerance in general, but I've skipped out on completing histories of the real life actions of Japanese during WWII because it was just too awful so I'm nervous on this one.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Yep, yep! No explanations necessary, message incoming :)

ETA your profile is private, so I did my best!

[Gabi]

Okay … now I know, why there are content warnings …

[J.W.]

Over the opening with the test scene. Makes me think of high school and the ridiculous standardized tests.

[Mareike]

I'm up to chapter 5 now and I'd have to agree with Gabi that it is very generic so far. But I do like Rin and the worldbuilding, so I'm not too bothered. (Younger me was a sucker for these types of stories, so it brings up fond memories.)
People have hinted that there's quite a shift at some point and I'm looking forward to that.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Glad you're finding things to like so far, Mareike!

[Oleksandr]

Chapter 4 so far, not overly impressed so far. I know a bit of Chinese history (not only XX century) and I see the allusions. What I don't see is fantasy :)

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Hang on, it'll show up!

[Kim]

Glad to hear I'm not the only one who thinks this story is "meh". I've finished through to chap 7 and have not fallen in love with Rin. She doesn't feel real to me yet. I'd have stopped reading it by now if it wasn't for this book club.

I especially don't like how much it sounds like a less eloquent version of Harry Potter.

[Michel]

LOL! Perfect


Amanda wrote: "I'm pretty excited about this one solely because of the cover. I'm such a sucker for pretty covers. It definitely adds at least a star to some of my reviews because I'm shallow like that."

[David]

I know I’m late on reading this but after seeing it in the monthly books , and reading the description it sounded too good to pass up. I read the first chapter and enjoyed the setting very much . So far I have no problems with it it’s too early to tell but I have a feeling I’m going to love this book .

[Monica]

First impressions are that so far I'm enjoying the book. It's interesting. I'm 25% in. My only irritation is the running joke about the way that Rin pronounces her "r's". This is China, right? Where as dialect I'm sure is a handicap in some places, I'm pretty sure they aren't describing those differences in terms of the Western alphabet. #culturalfail

[Oleksandr]

Monica wrote: "Where as dialect I'm sure is a handicap in some places, I'm pretty sure they aren't describing those differences in terms of the Western alphabet. "

Chinese 'dialects' are farther away from each other than some say, European languages, but all can be written by the same hieroglyphics. However, writing a book for English readers, it is hard to give all nuances I guess

[Anthony]

I’m way behind this month, but finally started the book today. I’ve been cautiously optimistic, seeing some folks’ comments here. The main character’s voice is an interesting one, much more modern than I would have predicted, which I think is smart, because there would have been a danger of a cliché in having her speak in an overly formal way. I can’t say that the story is leaping off the page and grabbing my heart but it’s definitely intriguing.

[Jemppu]

I am finding myself belonging to the "likes the second half better" group. But am still relying heavily on possible 'imagined' symbolic readings of the narration, so it doesn't all appear too much of the generic YA magical school kids story, that it's 'disguised' as.

Remains to be seen if any of those notions will end up meaning a thing in the end, but at least they're keeping my interest level up, where it would've definitely otherwise dropped by now.

[Anthony]

Two chapters in now, and there’s a depressingly familiar feeling to the boarding school dynamics. I hope that clichés won’t abound...

[Anthony]

Just finished chapter 7 and I’m thoroughly enthralled now. It’s juicy fun, with some intriguing mysteries emerging.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Glad it 's picking up for you! Also glad to see more conversation flowing in on this book :)

[Soo]

Okay, I have a few questions.

1) Is the YA tone in the whole book?

2) Does the dialogue stay this weird modern? Because the swearing is a total turn off in the way it's done and how it's put on the page. It doesn't fit the the character role or culture in the time period.

3) How far do I need to go to see if I like it enough to finish?

The tone & pacing is off for me. I'm on the fence about the book. I bought it. So I feel like I should read it.

I could live with the modern writing style & dialogue but Rin swearing is completely out of character for the supposed world this story takes place in. *shrug*

[Anthony]

I just finished Part 1 and I feel like the YA feel has definitely morphed a bit.

As for the choice of having modern vernacular, including modern cursing, it seems like that will recur throughout.

[Dawn F]

Just spent my Audible credit on this one and will be listening alongside Babel-17. I do wonder if I’ll like this book, it sounds like it could go either way!

[Gabi]

Soo:(view spoiler)[ the language stays, YA changes, the book completely changes tone around the middle. That's why there seem to be two fractions of readers who either like the first part and are put off by the second - or the ones who don't care for the first part, but are fascinated by the second. (I'm one of the second readers) (hide spoiler)]

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Hey y'all, can you please just put answers in spoilers? I think it's important it stays to answer the question but the responses are beyond first impressions. I'd hate to accidentally spoil anything for folks :-)

Thanks!

[Jemppu]

Anthony wrote: "...As for the choice of having modern vernacular, including modern cursing, it seems like that will recur throughout."

(view spoiler)[This sticks out constantly to me as well, as something quite out of place, but I choose to believe perhaps it serves a purpose, helping younger audience to identify with the characters better if they speak in familiar terms (condescending as that might be). (hide spoiler)]

[Gabi]

Allison wrote: "Hey y'all, can you please just put answers in spoilers? I think it's important it stays to answer the question but the responses are beyond first impressions. I'd hate to accidentally spoil anythin..."

Done! Thanks for reminding. I'm absolutely unsure what counts as spoiler.

[Soo]

Yup. It works. I do it all the time.

For me, the YA tone was there in the whole book. The modern language use stayed consistent to the end.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Soo and Jemina, can you please move these posts? I don't mean to make life hard. People use the first impression thread to basically get a "hold/cold" reading on the book, but anything about where the book ends up, character or plot arcs etc. should go in full discussion for official group reads.

Thank you!

[Jemppu]

Allison wrote: "Soo and Jemina, can you please move these posts? I don't mean to make life hard. People use the first impression thread to basically get a "hold/cold" reading on the book, but anything about where ..."
Aagh! Sorry, you are right of course. Just followed a notifications link blindly. Moving them right away ^^

Done. Thanks for noticing, Allison!

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Much appreciated! :-)

[Dawn F]

I'm about 16 percent into the audio book (three hours) and finding myself really enjoying this. The style is uncomplicated and easy to get through. I think that's exactly what I needed after a couple of confusing, unintelligible reads, haha. I think I'll breeze through this one.

[Richard]

Monica wrote: "My only irritation is the running joke about the way that Rin pronounces her "r's". This is China, right? Wher..."

That’s definitely *not* a “cultural fail”, but a quite accurate appropriation. The northern dialects of Mandarin do have a frequent terminal “r” sound. See details at https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erhua

This was part of my difficulty with the book. There was a tremendous amount borrowed from China’s history, but because stuff was taken from many eras, that caused more confusion for me than help.

For example, the test at the beginning was a clear allusion to the exams used during many centuries of Imperial rule — the Chinese famously invented the Civil Service Exam. And those first chapters also borrowed The Confucian expectation that people’s place in society is stable within an ordained hierarchy.

But then the Poppy Wars themselves mix together the much more modern Opium Wars and the Japanese imperialism that culminated in WW2. The mix ‘n’ match got a little confusing.

[Oleksandr]

Richard wrote: "But then the Poppy Wars themselves mix together the much more modern Opium Wars and the Japanese imperialism that culminated in WW2. The mix ‘n’ match got a little confusing. ."

I guess it was done so that the story wouldn't be too predictable, at least for people, who know that history.

[Grace]

Oh no I was supposed to take this slow and be about done in time for Jan 15th. I am 50% in. Haven’t been this engrossed in Fantasy for a long time.

First impressions - reads like YA, thought I wouldn’t be interested to continue, but apparently I am in the mood for a hero trope.

Side comment - can’t believe RF Kuang is born 1996!

[Anna, Circadian heretic]

Yes, it starts very YA, but I do want to warn people that the second half has some pretty hefty content warnings! See Allison's starting post for details.