Helpful Score: 2
I can't speak for the cultural and historical accuracies, as I'm ignorant myself. I suggest reading all these reviews, as there is at least one that explains some of the mistakes that make a "big" difference (unless you don't know about them) In a book like this, where it is supposed to be set in an actual time and place, accuracy is key.
Someone complained that Xing Xing is too obedient. But in western culture we used to prove the same values. Look at our stories, look at Cinderella. She was EXTREMELY obedient and complacent: she was "good." That's the whole story. That's the first argument I have, but there are others. Like considering the time period and traditions. Also in Asia familial duty is highly prized, above all. Even today. Xing Xing isn't given a social peer group that encourages her to think for her self or to rebel. The last thing one should be worrying about is how obedient she is.
I felt as though the book was building up towards something bigger, but it never really got there. That was a bit let down. The ending with the prince...entirely too short and almost thrown away. It's not as if that part is very great in the other versions of Cinderella; it's just disappointing ending after all the details that went into the subplots of the raccoon kit, etc.
The main plot of the story was NOT centered on Xing Xing's self-discovery or self-worth or any real change. It was moving in her journey to follow a traveling medicine man, which, when finished, is another disappointing untied end as you realize, wait, it's all wrapping up. THAT was the build up to THIS? which is, of course, the climax, which isn't much of anything at all.
I read it all in a couple of hours (it's less than two hundred pages), and it read smoothly and easily; it just didn't have a real POINT to it. Nothing very strong. If you're a Napoli fan, as I was, read it, but you might be disappointed. If you're interested in the author for the first time, read The Magic Circle, Sirena, or Spinner. Those are some of the best, and good to get you started.
Someone complained that Xing Xing is too obedient. But in western culture we used to prove the same values. Look at our stories, look at Cinderella. She was EXTREMELY obedient and complacent: she was "good." That's the whole story. That's the first argument I have, but there are others. Like considering the time period and traditions. Also in Asia familial duty is highly prized, above all. Even today. Xing Xing isn't given a social peer group that encourages her to think for her self or to rebel. The last thing one should be worrying about is how obedient she is.
I felt as though the book was building up towards something bigger, but it never really got there. That was a bit let down. The ending with the prince...entirely too short and almost thrown away. It's not as if that part is very great in the other versions of Cinderella; it's just disappointing ending after all the details that went into the subplots of the raccoon kit, etc.
The main plot of the story was NOT centered on Xing Xing's self-discovery or self-worth or any real change. It was moving in her journey to follow a traveling medicine man, which, when finished, is another disappointing untied end as you realize, wait, it's all wrapping up. THAT was the build up to THIS? which is, of course, the climax, which isn't much of anything at all.
I read it all in a couple of hours (it's less than two hundred pages), and it read smoothly and easily; it just didn't have a real POINT to it. Nothing very strong. If you're a Napoli fan, as I was, read it, but you might be disappointed. If you're interested in the author for the first time, read The Magic Circle, Sirena, or Spinner. Those are some of the best, and good to get you started.
Reviewed by Taylor Rector for TeensReadToo.com
Xing Xing is a young woman who is treated like the classic lower class stepchild in Donna Jo Napoli's BOUND.
Her mother died when she was very young and her father then remarried. The woman that takes care of her (if you want to call it that) is her father's new wife. Xing Xing has a stepsister who has bound feet and can't walk, so she is treated by her stepmother as though she were a maid.
The story is told in the classic tale of Cinderella, with the wicked step-family and the prince trying to find the girl who the missing shoe fits. There is even a great mix of Chinese culture thrown in! I learned a lot about the old (and now mostly) unused tradition of binding a girl's feet.
I enjoyed BOUND because I really love the Cinderella story. Xing Xing becomes a character that you want to see succeed and a girl whom you want to find a suitable husband. You care what happens to her and want to know how she survives her mean stepmother.
Xing Xing is a young woman who is treated like the classic lower class stepchild in Donna Jo Napoli's BOUND.
Her mother died when she was very young and her father then remarried. The woman that takes care of her (if you want to call it that) is her father's new wife. Xing Xing has a stepsister who has bound feet and can't walk, so she is treated by her stepmother as though she were a maid.
The story is told in the classic tale of Cinderella, with the wicked step-family and the prince trying to find the girl who the missing shoe fits. There is even a great mix of Chinese culture thrown in! I learned a lot about the old (and now mostly) unused tradition of binding a girl's feet.
I enjoyed BOUND because I really love the Cinderella story. Xing Xing becomes a character that you want to see succeed and a girl whom you want to find a suitable husband. You care what happens to her and want to know how she survives her mean stepmother.
A beautiful quote from the book: "If you fall into water, you my still be saved. If you fall down in literary matters, there is no life left for you." How beautiful is that?
I'm requesting Beast from my library today. I'm so surprised I enjoyed this as much as I did being that I'm way more of a non-fiction and memoir fan than a fantasty/sci-fi/fairytale reader.
How could I read the description on the back of the book and not want to know what that was about? For the most part it felt like a light, fun read but a little more than three quarters of the way through something happened and I felt my breath catch in my throat. Napoli has a way with her writing that really sucks you in and gives you a real feel for something unknown. I know next to nothing about China at all. Much less China in this dynasty, the beliefs of people in Chine, how they look at ancestry, etc. But reading this made me feel like I did,I felt how important that fish was to Xing Xing. I think I actually felt a bit of hatred towards her step-mother after that awful situation.
Loved the "flirting" with the prince too - awesome part! Maybe I found a new genre? I'm wide open for suggestions too!
I'm requesting Beast from my library today. I'm so surprised I enjoyed this as much as I did being that I'm way more of a non-fiction and memoir fan than a fantasty/sci-fi/fairytale reader.
How could I read the description on the back of the book and not want to know what that was about? For the most part it felt like a light, fun read but a little more than three quarters of the way through something happened and I felt my breath catch in my throat. Napoli has a way with her writing that really sucks you in and gives you a real feel for something unknown. I know next to nothing about China at all. Much less China in this dynasty, the beliefs of people in Chine, how they look at ancestry, etc. But reading this made me feel like I did,I felt how important that fish was to Xing Xing. I think I actually felt a bit of hatred towards her step-mother after that awful situation.
Loved the "flirting" with the prince too - awesome part! Maybe I found a new genre? I'm wide open for suggestions too!
This book has intense, incisive characterisation.
This book is a great improvisation on a classic fairytale.
This book introduces us to the original form of the Cinderella tale, set in ancient rural China.
Xing Xing is the stepdaughter of a bitter, widowed second wife. Kind, hardworking, intelligent Xing Xing is subjected to much cruel treatment from her family but faces it all with dignity and a resolve to better her lot and the situation of those around her. This book seemed very authentic and well-researched. I've reread it several times and it still brings a smile to my face.
Xing Xing is the stepdaughter of a bitter, widowed second wife. Kind, hardworking, intelligent Xing Xing is subjected to much cruel treatment from her family but faces it all with dignity and a resolve to better her lot and the situation of those around her. This book seemed very authentic and well-researched. I've reread it several times and it still brings a smile to my face.
