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A Single Swallow
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IBR - A Single Swallow by Zhang Ling
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Ok, so I have started this, but it's been pretty much abandoned in favour of Ulysses. 😆
Mod
Now that I've finished Ulysses, I can concentrate on this one.I've only read a few pages so far. Not a suge fan of the soliloquy format so far (they can't all be as brilliant as Molly Bloom's in the above mentioned book! 😉), but we'll see where that goes...
Mod
Not a problem! We have until the end of the month after all 😁I am a cardholding member of the League Against Book Caps. They make me sad. And frustrated. And grumpy.
Mod
I'm wondering if this just hasn't translated well... it may make more sense in Chinese?"Exhausted like a fish that had been over-salted"
Say what now???
Mod
AI translation bot? I'm having flashbacks to that weird intergalactic whatever book I wasn't actually daft enough to try and read😂
I actually think it got a lot better Once it switched to Liu Zhaohu's POV. He's simply telling his story, so it's more of a first person history, which I have no problems with. It was the first two and their soliloquising at each other that was awkward, as it kept slipping into 2nd person and I really, really hate second person narration (I blame The Fifth Season. I have PTSD...)
I'm only about a quarter of the way through, so it could well change again.
The translation is definitely all over the place though, and I'm guessing done by a native Chinese, rather than English speaker. They're constantly mixing American terms, Scottish terms and English ones in there. It's making my brain hurt. Wish they would pick one and stick with it 😆
Mod
I have to agree, it did get better....except for the translation. Whew, not really loving this book.
Note to self - bypass reading The Fifth Season! 😂
Actually, I'm only half way 😆Yes, it's an odd one this. Occasionally compelling, but mostly just messy. should have expected that - it seems to be an Amazon First Reads trademark 😂
there was a phrase that I liked though, but I can't remember what it was and my notes are upstairs. I'll be back with that tomorrow, lol.
Ok, so the phrase I liked was "running tongue and constipated brain", which I thought was a rather great way to describe speaking without thinking 😆
I'm about 4/5th of the way through now, and am going to try to push to finish today.A couple of other thoughts:
Acccording to Pastor Billy, the first thing doctors need is compassion.
...
...
I knew there was something missing from our healthcare here!!
The POV from Ghost/millie that comes about 60/70% into the book seemes forced to me. It was like the author wrote herself into a corner and thought "I need an omnicient narrator here. what do I do? Oh, I know!"
Felt gimmicky and unneccesary.
And what's up with everyone in this book treating Ah Yan terribly all the time? Even when they are supposed to love her?
Mod
I was also going to try to finish it today. That's hard for me to do when I'm not really enjoying the book!
Done!Not a great book, by any means. So frustrating, because it had promise, and there's a good story there, but the execution just fell short for me.
Mod
Reading versus listening didn't help either. I tried to like it, but just couldn't get there!!
Hooked on Books
Books mentioned in this topic
The Fifth Season (other topics)Ulysses (other topics)
A Single Swallow (other topics)
Members Starting the BR: Angie & Sammy
Challenge: Book Quest Adventures
Book: A Single Swallow by Zhang Ling
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