nacholas > Recent Status Updates

i had no idea chinese literature got so kinky :3

the fact that it made me read an additional chapter tells how well done this stuff is. however, i wasn't expecting to see the word fuck in a 17th century... but it's the best combo of good translation and contemporary language. i do wonder what was their equivalent of the word fuck, in 18th century mandarin 🤔

i am actually dreading the end of this bc of how well written Cao wrote them, Hawkes who did a terrific job in translating the humour or rather sarcasm or even shyness disguised as boastfulness... i may have to find some way to get the other volumes when i conclude this 😭 but yeah, Grandmama is cool

yes, i know, the original work was essentially a pamphlet which is 'easiest' to get through; i got the clothbound addition so it does stretch it to ard 412 pgs with an insightful commentary alongside the text. as for its influence, im just reading to gain knowledge as i am an independent person with thought so 🤪

a breeze honestly; while there a bunch of added characters, i love how Xue/Hawkes are able to showcase just enough of certain characters to make us intrigued. and the first murder finally happens but somehow, i love that it treats the situation organically. and ofc the usage of nature as poems/metaphors is sublime to read.

i love how accessible this is, really. sure, names were flung around but thank god there's a couple pages dedicated to names. as for initial reactions, the story's told in such an elegant manner, taking its time while trusting the audiences. but it's also so funny, me being chinese myself, i can only imagine how the mandarin names would be for white people 😭

introduction only, but david really weaved his words like painting; giving the backstory, the 18th century regarding the writer, his manner of finding the actual source, the faults with translation and etc... i am so excited for more!

yeah, i turned to LitChart for the remaining 3 chapters bc i just can't be asked to read...

i'm just glad i'll be able to conclude tomorrow bc my thoughts are thoughting

after chapter 6, i see why it has gotten 3/3.5's... mind you, it isn't badly written, it's actually good when it focuses on silas; problem is, it doesn't. it sets up characters so randomly, at points it forgets to be about Silas... which is sad. i'll still continue but goddamn, people back then would just be talking about ANYTHINF

before you make fun, the introduction was 24 pages, so technically 34 pages. other than that, i'm unfamiliar with George until seeing her work listed in a 2nd-hand bookshop; and i'm glad i bought it. while a little glaring in her prose, by the next page i was familiarised. it's detail-oriented analysis of such moments were lengthy but didn't overstay. i also alr relate to it to a certain level so, im hyped!

i am rooting for flory but goddamn bro, i can't help but feel sorrow for him bc of his inability to speak but also has to go through all lot by himself. elizabeth, i think she's fine but idk anything else. for now, it feels a little directionless but as always, orwell is gifted even in slight filler

well that kiss happened... but the whole hunting thing seemed cool and bonding between flory and eli but also felt like time padding but also not really... then talk about that earthquake, love how nature is unscripted and is almost similar to how events may be towards the end 😔

goddamn, elizabeth is the living breathing example of a victim (blinded) of colonialist expansion... how they view anything non white as 'beastly' or 'gross' when it's just another country's culture; but i have hope she'll change, given she hangs with flory. was with Ma Kin until U Po Kin changed her mind... it's not gonna end well for the doctor now, is it? :/

semi freudian slip from orwell but ig it's warranted... again, just how casual the racism is within the elizabeth, is so insane

the whole british occupation thing when flory was talking to the doctor spurred a convo between my mum and i, as they also did occupy malaysia for x amount of years... she also said the same thing, they took a lot like thieves and depriving the nation of its resources... sure we signed a peace treaty back in 57 but even mum said they didn't help at alll. it's just sickening how they used to run things

wow, just wow... it started off like really weird bc of how plopped into the world it was, then we get to know Flory and then the bar omfg, the casual dehumanisation of people that led the colonialist expansion, it's really fucking gross.

while intentionally racist, it was to showcase how up their own asses they were; only Flory & Macgregor seemed the most human. i am so hyped to continue bc of this eerie balance.

i read the summary for chapter 27; i cba to read ramblings in circles bc i was really bored outta my mind.

yeah, i see giving this book a 3... it meanders so much in a moment and takes forever; talk about unrealistic dialogues

bro can't give mina any other place than 'the lady that worries for her husband and finds these men refuge' or how he just elongates such simple menial tasks. not hating, i just kinda am at peace with how he writes; which isn't bad or wtv, it's just more wordy than needed. pta for his time

i mean, bram has been teasing mina being pale, so i'm glad it turned out this way, narratively speaking. must be horrifying drinking your own blood. i am so sat for this cunt to die!

as much as i appreciate Bram writing a woman into the story, she's the most 1 dimensional one to every exist omfg

seward using the phonograph to record his diary was me trying it one time and then continued writing bc i hated how i sound

the theories van helsing is spitting was so absurd as to the closing of the chapter but i love how he incorporated concepts and tells Seward, then seward goes WHAT THE FCUK ????

ok wow that wasn't the twist i saw coming... this shit is actually heartbreaking. lucy didn't even have a chance at marrying :/ poor dear.

what else is there to say? i love the pacing, esp how the focus is on Lucy and her being the victim of dracula (w/o the doctors knowing) and while we do get updated on jonathan, it was just a little .

now i'm more in the groove of how several characters are; and what Nosferatu makes as their protagonist... just literally changing the name and voila 🤷🏻‍♀️ but i do like how in here, Lucy isn't the main, but Nosferatu is literally centred ard Ellen (Lucy) or how Jonathan in here, is essentially Thomas in Nosferatu. pretty excited to read, regardless of some tropes