Being an Asian (in any part of this large continent) is a true blessing. That is what I whole heartedly believe. In the long term we may be perceived as inferior compared to Caucasians, I've never felt so. There's a beauty in Asians, a culture so rich and serene at the same time. Why did I bring this up suddenly? Mostly because in order to fully understand this book, I feel you have to fully understand the rich culture we Asians are brought up in. Being a Buddhist myself and being brought up by a very strict Buddhist mother reincarnation is something I have heard since small. For some it many sound laughable but it's the culture and religion that is part of our lives. We are advised to always do good, be careful of our actions, Karma and the repercussions are ingrained in our brains. Buddhism is not a religion for us but a lifestyle, a way of life. We do not divide the two in our lives but rather live in it.
A book such as this, so poetic at the same time giving us a dose gruesome reality of those in power, holds a prefect juxtaposition of our said culture. Despite where we come from, we are all yet humans. Humans who crave power, the greed running through our blood. We have to cultivate years and years of patience in order to let go of all these worldly goods of life. The more greed we pertain in this life, the rougher we have it in the next. Mo Bao Fei Bao gives us a glimpse of this in the novel. The balance of history and modern setting gives the book a new outlook and once again I can easily say how amazed I am at her ability to write such diverse plots. One moment she's writing a cute e-sport romance novel and next we get books such as this. Even though the plot is significantly less heavier than Life: A Black and White Film, there is certain amount gloomier undertones to this novel. The whole novel rather than the sunny context, even with the manor and even the library tower, we are given a rather heavy feeling. It is not that the novel does not have its sweeter moments but rather compared to other novels we are left with a plot with harsher undertones.
One of the best parts of this novel would certainly be the manner how each reincarnation was slowly unraveled. At times the twists were so unsuspected, it left me blank for few minutes. As I have mentioned in a previous review, humans are never black and white. There is no single person we can say is completely pure or dark. We are beings of grey. Our actions always fall in between the two, a place even we can't fully understand. The beauty of MBFB is how she uses that within her novels. With Ji Chengyang we got a rather a selfish ML, with Teacher Gu we got a rather indecisive ML, with Cheng Muyun we have a slightly cruel ML, all of her characters are so diverse and never in the strand of good or bad. This is what grabs the reader of MBFB. The ability to sympathize while at the same time imagine such situations.
I shall not ramble on and on as anyone who knows me, know the love I hold for MBFB. As a final parting note I would like to thank the amazing translators Hoju and Peanuts for their amazing work as always.
"Beautiful bones. Rare in this world.
Those with bone do not have skin. Those with skin do not have bone.
Most people’s eyes are shallow, seeing only the skin-deep appearance and not the ‘bones,’ the appearance of the inside."