Haley > Recent Status Updates

Net novels and the she era: I’m always interested to hear about internet cultures and how they developed. While this was certainly not a community I’m familiar with, I found it a so so essay. 3 stars.

The mountain and the secret of their names: I generally enjoyed this, but I wanted just a little more. 3 stars.

The woman carrying a corpse: I liked the structure of this, but I have to admit that I don’t fully get it. 3 stars

The painter: not sure if I’m getting burnt out on short stories or what, but I couldn’t get into this one either. Skimmed some, but I just did not enjoy the writing

New year paining, unnamed color on rice paper: I just could not get into this one, dnf

Dragonslaying: I mean, what a concept. But I can’t say I enjoyed reading it. 2 stars

I am having such a fun time with this book!!! The narrator is great, and it’s just a joy to listen to this story unfold

Is there such a thing as feminine quietness?: this essay was a look into the tough work of translation. It was something I’ve heard and considered before, and used Mulan as a very relevant example. However, I wish their thoughts at the end about translators choosing to translate gender may be losing some meaning would have been explored more given the context of this anthology.

A brief history of beinakan disasters as told in a significant language: wow this was a fun idea! I’d have loved to read more in a fully fledged story. 4.5 stars

To procure jade: I liked the start of this, but really disliked the over explanation at the end. I acknowledge that I would not have had the references to understand the story without it, but I wish it was presented differently. 3 stars

The name of the dragon: this felt like three different stories without a strong enough connection, though I enjoyed the style of storytelling. 2.5 stars.

Translation as retelling: this was such an interesting short essay to read, as I’d always assumed translations were extremely challenging across languages that do not share ancestry. This made me very excited to read the next two stories!

The way spring arrives: this was lovely. I see why it’s the cover title. 4 stars

The alchemist of lantian: I simply needed more explanation and understand. The concepts seem strong, but this gave almost nothing. 2stars

A saccharophilic earthworm: I didn’t exactly hate this, maybe I just didn’t get it. Felt disjointed and unfinished. 2 stars

Baby, I love you: a standard sci fi story that was still readable and interesting enough. The characters were a little stilted and annoying, but the concepts and themes were well followed. 3.5 stars

The future of genders in Chinese science fiction: I really enjoyed this introspective look into how gender and culture can intersect in science fiction, and what that means. It was a nice stop gap to reflect on the stories in this collection so far, and framing the next stories. 4 stars

The restaurant at the end of the universe: tai-chi mashed taro: of course I’m a sucker for sci fi, and this had just enough. I liked the concepts overall, though a “theme” felt a little rushed at the end. 4 stars

Blackbird: I liked how this was written, and was interested to see how the story ended. But the ending was a big meh, I simply wanted more. 3.5 stars

What does the fox say: this was an interesting essay on conveying ideas and crafting story. I like it. 3 stars

The tale of wude’s heavenly tribulation: dnf. I could not get into this story.

The stars we raised: 2 stars. Bullies, unclear theme, meh ending.

Salt slow: 3.5 interesting, a unique world and a small piece of the story.

Cassandra After: 3 stars. I liked the writing and exploration of sexuality.

Smack: 2 stars. Just didn’t love this one. I didn’t fully get if there was a larger meaning. Just a terrible woman and some jellyfish.

Granite: 2.5 stars. Another one that was so so,’it felt like there needed more fleshing out (no pun intended haha)

Stop your women’s ears with wax: 2 stars. This just didn’t grab me. I wanted more than it gave me

Formerly feral: 3.5 stars. I enjoyed the writing in this one, but the story was so so for me.