Arthur Meursault (Translator of The Flock of Ba-Hui and Other Stories)

Arthur Meursault rated a book it was amazing Mr Concatenate: and Other Stories by Arpad Virag	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
When reading, lost in paperback trance, spine cracked, eyes slack, fingers smudged with lunch, then notice the room’s gone oddly quiet, and the sentences start breathing on their own. And slowly it dawns you’re not reading the book — the book is read ...more
Jan 20, 2026 12:47AM · 1 like · like · see review
Arthur Meursault rated a book liked it The Tao of Poison by Isham Cook (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
On page 193 of 234 in Isham Cook’s The Tao of Poison, just when we are starting to see the end of the book in sight, one of the characters exclaims “I can’t keep all these names straight.” You and me both, Yaoyao. A summary perusal of Goodreads will re ...more
Oct 22, 2025 12:08AM · 3 likes · like · see review

Arthur Meursault rated a book it was amazing

Mr Concatenate: and Other Stories
by Arpad Virag

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When reading, lost in paperback trance, spine cracked, eyes slack, fingers smudged with lunch, then notice the room’s gone oddly quiet, and the sentences start breathing on their own. And slowly it dawns you’re not reading the book — the book is read ...more

Arthur Meursault rated a book liked it

The Tao of Poison
by Isham Cook (Goodreads Author)

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On page 193 of 234 in Isham Cook’s The Tao of Poison, just when we are starting to see the end of the book in sight, one of the characters exclaims “I can’t keep all these names straight.”

You and me both, Yaoyao.

A summary perusal of Goodreads will re On page 193 of 234 in Isham Cook’s The Tao of Poison, just when we are starting to see the end of the book in sight, one of the characters exclaims “I can’t keep all these names straight.”

You and me both, Yaoyao.

A summary perusal of Goodreads will reveal that I have reviewed numerous books by Isham Cook and generally am quite favourable. Isham always has a knack with wordplay, even when the topic is not one of immediate interest to me. However, I have stated before in my reviews of his fiction and non-fiction that Isham may be in danger of becoming too self-referential by focusing in ever decreasing circles on his go-to topics of China, drugs, polyamory, and massage.

In his new fiction book, The Tao of Poison, long-time followers of Isham Cook will be unsurprised to discover that the plot focuses on the four themes of China, drugs, polyamory, and massage.

Isham is an accomplished writer, but in this tale of a cast of dozens of characters and how they deal with the tumultuous happenings of the White Lotus Rebellion that took place during the mid-Qing dynasty, the protagonists have a tendency to inevitably be pulled back into discussions on the merits of polyamory, the benefits of massage, and the mind-opening qualities of natural drugs chapter after chapter. Many situations in the book result in everybody stripping off and raping or grabbing the closest person next to them. I didn’t live in Qing dynasty China but I wondered at times how society could possibly function when everyone was too busy raping at every possible minute. Sometimes the sex scenes baffled me. Two women cross mountains and dangerous territory to escape from danger, but inexplicably the main character stops to force her travelling companion to lick her vagina, despite knowing that it will most likely kill her. I still don’t understand why she did this.  

A lot happens in the book. After the initial few chapters I was never quite clear exactly what was going on. Everybody is either escaping from somewhere or heading to somewhere else. Sometimes they are fleeing rebels and bandits; sometimes they are following rebels and bandits. Towards the end the cast of characters find themselves involved with a full-on rebellion against the government and in charge of an army. It was hard to find the motivation of why all these characters were always so busy crossing provinces and engaging in impromptu orgies. Often they seem to fall into situations rather than having individual agency - though perhaps that could be a true reflection of how life in China has been for its population throughout history.

One of the reasons for the confusion is the naming of characters. There are dozens of characters in the book that come and go: new characters are still being introduced to the story even in the very last chapter. Some characters seem to disappear never to materialise again; others appear and reappear. However, the Chinese names are hard to keep track of even for this reader familiar with the Chinese language. To compound matters, characters in the book frequently change name - sometimes more than once - and many characters share almost identical names like Jue’yi, Jue’er, and Jue’san. At some point you just give up trying to keep up.

The tone of the book is sometimes inconsistent. Certain chapters are mostly written in short lines of dialogue while others (especially when describing medicinal herbs or historical incidents) transform into a dense and scholarly tone. At one point in the second chapter the narration turned to the second person and referred to me - the reader - as a washer woman, but this was never repeated again. Was this an editing inconsistency, or was it intentional? I don’t know.

This all sounds particularly harsh, but it is only because I do wish Isham would turn his accomplished penmanship to other topics. As demonstrated in his essay collections, Isham is at his best when displaying his vast range of knowledge on an eclectic range of topics as diverse as medieval musical instrument craftsmanship to the interior decor of modern coffee shops. I still recommend The Tao of Poison, especially for the deep level of historical research Isham has put into this work (not to mention the in-depth knowledge of medicinal herbs), but I do wish he would write a fiction novel that focused on some new motifs. ...more

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	The Flock of Ba-Hui and Other Stories by Oobmab, Akira (Translator), Arthur Meursault (Goodreads Author) (Translator) 4.03 avg rating — 66 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Party Members 4.08 avg rating — 61 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars