Name: Strange Beasts of China
Rating: 3.880952380952381 (21 reviews)
ISBN: 9781612199092

Yan Ge

In the fictional Chinese city of Yong'an, an amateur cryptozoologist is tasked with uncovering the stories of its fabled beasts, which draws her deep within a mystery that threatens her very sense of self.

Strange Beasts of China

Either not for me or I'm just not in the mood for it right now

Jasper

DNF at 30%

Either not for me or I'm just not in the mood for it right now

A New York Times Editors' Choice "Luminous and beguiling . . ."—The Washington Post "Magical Realism at its best . . ."—The Wall Street Journal From one of the most exciting voices in contemporary Chinese literature, an uncanny and playful novel that blurs the line between human and beast… In the fictional Chinese city of Yong’an, an amateur cryptozoologist is commissioned to uncover the stories of its fabled beasts. These creatures live alongside humans in near-inconspicuousness—save their greenish skin, serrated earlobes, and strange birthmarks. Aided by her elusive former professor and his enigmatic assistant, our narrator sets off to document each beast, and is slowly drawn deeper into a mystery that threatens her very sense of self. Part detective story, part metaphysical enquiry, Strange Beasts of China engages existential questions of identity, humanity, love and morality with whimsy and stylistic verve.

Amanda

This book is incredibly strange and interesting. The storytelling is bold and uncomfortable, but also beautiful and engaging. Told as a sort of anthology of tales about different "beasts", the story is held together by the thread of the main character's life. Certain other characters in her life come and go through different chapters, but she remains to hold the story threads together.

The audio narrator does a very good job conveying the feelings of each unique story and they way that those stories effect the main character. The stories have a sort of horror edge to them and twists endings that you rarely see coming, even after having read 5 similar twists already. 

There is definitely a social commentary about people being made through these individual stories and each one made me happy, and sad, and horrified, and contemplative. I very much recommend this book to others, but think that you really need to be in the right mood for it's wierdness.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publishers for making this ARC available to me

M Puspita

Navya R

Minnie Mazuera

Winner of an English PEN award, Strange Beasts of China is a disquieting bestiary that blurs the line between human and beast told with stylistic verve by one of most exciting voices in contemporary Chinese literature In the fictional Chinese town of Yong'an, monsters and spirits live, almost indistinguisably, alongside humans. Strange Beasts of China follows the narrator, an amateur cryptozoologist, as she attempts to document each type of beast with the help of her former professor and his enigmatic assistant. From the Sacrificial Beasts, who can't stop dying, to the Heartsick Beasts, who are genetically engineered to be as loyal and loving as possible, each chapter introduces a new beast and dives deeper into a mystery that threatens the narrator's very sense of self. In prose that is both whimsical and daring, Yan Ge guides the reader through the underbelly of a chillingly uncanny world and questions what it really means to be human.

Strange Beasts of China

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