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My Jinyong reviews
Jun. 1st, 2008 12:33 amA friend asked me to suggest Jinyong novels to her students. This is what I wrote to her. Maybe it's helpful for others, too? I've ordered them by length and in general appeal, but it really depends on the reader.
The Short Ones
Jinyong has two novellas and one short story: 鸳鸯刀, 白马啸西风 and 越女剑.
I like 越女剑 more because it's historical and it's got love in it and fighting between countries and a hint of the fantastic, and the ending lingers a bit in your head. Plus it's short.
白马啸西风 is not bad, either. It's a depressing story about a Han girl living in Mongolian tribes. It's about not fitting in, and alienation, and of course, a secret treasure. Stars teenage girl.
鸳鸯刀 is stupid.
The Novel Ones
1) Ode to Gallantry - S: 侠客行
-- Really, you can't go too wrong when the main character is called "Bastard". I think of this as Jinyong's Shakespearean Comedy. The entire premise is based on mistaken identity, and people are generally very solemnly silly in this novel.
2) A Deadly Secret - S: 连城诀
-- I call it Jinyong's Count of Monte Cristo. Young bumbling man framed for murder and imprisoned (for much the same reason as Edmund Dantes). Finds a martial arts mentor, escapes via similar manner, tries to seek revenge but is stopped by ex-love, etc. Only, he's not the brightest and gets mistaken for being an evil Tibetan monk. It's really about the greed in man's base human nature, the masks people wear, and that maybe, simplicity/ignorance is bliss.
3) Other Tales of the Flying Fox - S: 飞狐外传
-- This is a prequel to 雪山飞狐. The theme is heroism, so you get more of a traditional chivalrous hero. The main character goes from early teens to early 20s, so one of those books that would really appeal to teenagers. The main character sticks to and fights for his ideals. Plus he's a smart brat.
( 1 more and 2 we don't really care about )
The Epic Ones:
1)Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils - T: 天龍八部 S: 天龙八部
-- The Buddhist novel. I mean, the title is even Buddhist. There's 3 main characters, and two of them are very buddhist and very dorky. The third one kicks ass in that "save the world" humanism sort of way. Monks come in and out of the story, but they play a key role in the tone of the book.
2) The Deer and the Cauldron - T: 鹿鼎記 S: 鹿鼎记
-- Is this even a martial arts novel? As Jinyong's final novel, martial arts is mostly incidental to the plot. The main character is a brothel kid who lies and cheats into adventures. It's awesome in that Jinyong manages to insert a teenage punk into major moments of Chinese history. He was aide to Emperor Kangxi. He lead the charge on Russia, and then negotiated the peace treaty. He helped catch Wu Sangui and started the reclamation of Taiwan. He also chases massive tail.
3) The Legend of the Condor Heroes - T: 射鵰英雄傳 S: 射雕英雄传
-- The patriotic one with lots of theatre tropes -- starts with a storyteller, includes a fight with music, and the "let's hide behind this place and happen to witness important events" type thing. The novel that made Jinyong famous. Features Genghis Khan from his Temujin days. Like "Shu Jian....", it's a solid one with interesting characters. I like it for the Mongol stuff and the explanation of Chinese advanced math
( And 3 more... )
Well, hope that helps a bit...? For reference, I loved 神雕侠侣 as a teen, and then loved 鹿鼎记as a history major, and then I really liked 天龙八部.
The Short Ones
Jinyong has two novellas and one short story: 鸳鸯刀, 白马啸西风 and 越女剑.
I like 越女剑 more because it's historical and it's got love in it and fighting between countries and a hint of the fantastic, and the ending lingers a bit in your head. Plus it's short.
白马啸西风 is not bad, either. It's a depressing story about a Han girl living in Mongolian tribes. It's about not fitting in, and alienation, and of course, a secret treasure. Stars teenage girl.
鸳鸯刀 is stupid.
The Novel Ones
1) Ode to Gallantry - S: 侠客行
-- Really, you can't go too wrong when the main character is called "Bastard". I think of this as Jinyong's Shakespearean Comedy. The entire premise is based on mistaken identity, and people are generally very solemnly silly in this novel.
2) A Deadly Secret - S: 连城诀
-- I call it Jinyong's Count of Monte Cristo. Young bumbling man framed for murder and imprisoned (for much the same reason as Edmund Dantes). Finds a martial arts mentor, escapes via similar manner, tries to seek revenge but is stopped by ex-love, etc. Only, he's not the brightest and gets mistaken for being an evil Tibetan monk. It's really about the greed in man's base human nature, the masks people wear, and that maybe, simplicity/ignorance is bliss.
3) Other Tales of the Flying Fox - S: 飞狐外传
-- This is a prequel to 雪山飞狐. The theme is heroism, so you get more of a traditional chivalrous hero. The main character goes from early teens to early 20s, so one of those books that would really appeal to teenagers. The main character sticks to and fights for his ideals. Plus he's a smart brat.
( 1 more and 2 we don't really care about )
The Epic Ones:
1)Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils - T: 天龍八部 S: 天龙八部
-- The Buddhist novel. I mean, the title is even Buddhist. There's 3 main characters, and two of them are very buddhist and very dorky. The third one kicks ass in that "save the world" humanism sort of way. Monks come in and out of the story, but they play a key role in the tone of the book.
2) The Deer and the Cauldron - T: 鹿鼎記 S: 鹿鼎记
-- Is this even a martial arts novel? As Jinyong's final novel, martial arts is mostly incidental to the plot. The main character is a brothel kid who lies and cheats into adventures. It's awesome in that Jinyong manages to insert a teenage punk into major moments of Chinese history. He was aide to Emperor Kangxi. He lead the charge on Russia, and then negotiated the peace treaty. He helped catch Wu Sangui and started the reclamation of Taiwan. He also chases massive tail.
3) The Legend of the Condor Heroes - T: 射鵰英雄傳 S: 射雕英雄传
-- The patriotic one with lots of theatre tropes -- starts with a storyteller, includes a fight with music, and the "let's hide behind this place and happen to witness important events" type thing. The novel that made Jinyong famous. Features Genghis Khan from his Temujin days. Like "Shu Jian....", it's a solid one with interesting characters. I like it for the Mongol stuff and the explanation of Chinese advanced math
( And 3 more... )
Well, hope that helps a bit...? For reference, I loved 神雕侠侣 as a teen, and then loved 鹿鼎记as a history major, and then I really liked 天龙八部.
