emma reviewed The Orphan of Zhao and Other Yuan Plays by Stephen West
Worth the effort
4 stars
An academic text on a subject I didn't know anything about wasn't necessarily the wisest choice for me these days, but I've been watching a fair bit of Asian drama series, including some in historical Chinese settings and it's about the only non-mainstream book available through the e-book system our library uses so I wanted to give it some love in hopes of encouraging them to add more niche topics. I'm in no position to comment on accuracy. I found the contextual essays readable enough and I've learned bits and pieces of history and culture, like a section on filial piety, which have helped me better understand a few of the modern telly dramas. My impression of the longer versions of the plays is that they're prone to long Wagneresque narrative monologues rather than dialogue and action and it's all of course very male-orientated. The only play I enjoyed reading …
An academic text on a subject I didn't know anything about wasn't necessarily the wisest choice for me these days, but I've been watching a fair bit of Asian drama series, including some in historical Chinese settings and it's about the only non-mainstream book available through the e-book system our library uses so I wanted to give it some love in hopes of encouraging them to add more niche topics. I'm in no position to comment on accuracy. I found the contextual essays readable enough and I've learned bits and pieces of history and culture, like a section on filial piety, which have helped me better understand a few of the modern telly dramas. My impression of the longer versions of the plays is that they're prone to long Wagneresque narrative monologues rather than dialogue and action and it's all of course very male-orientated. The only play I enjoyed reading was a more philosophical one called The Bamboo-Leaf Boat. But it was worth the effort and finishing it certainly feels like an achievement.