Allen Mueller > Recent Status Updates

Where "The Good Earth" was epic on the scale of time and of the human condition, "Pavilion of Women" turns inward to the vastness of Madam Wu's loneliness, and the trials of what we recognize as strength of character can do to the self.

Also I just realized that, all along, I've envisioned Madam Wu in the likeness of Michelle Yeoh. Yes, I know she's Malaysian - but she has acted in Chinese films, so there you go.

This work is more subtle than any of his previous, so I can understand why some are already writing predictable negative critiques in their Amazon reviews. I've seen some things in this book that are no less than holographic in dimension, and it's stunning that all this subtext is able to reach me through a translator. I'm inspired. It's my favorite work of his and I'm not even halfway through.