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momijizukamori) wrote2021-07-30 06:33 pm
momijizukamori) wrote2021-07-30 06:33 pm
Entry tags:
默读 | Silent Reading review
Short version: holy shit this novel was so good???? Please read it and join me in having too many feelings.
To start off with, Silent Reading is a psychological thriller mystery novel, and a very solidly written one at that. If you like stuff like The Alienist and Silence of the Lambs, you will probably also like this (and conversely, if you can't stand stuff like that, you will probably not like this one either). While I don't read mysteries much these days, I used to read a lot, and read a lot in general, which means I've got a pretty good grasp of foreshadowing and common tropes, and several of the guesses I had based on those turned out to be totally wrong! All the reveals were well-handled - the plots were neither utterly predictable nor did reveals seem to come out of left field - I felt I was generally on the same page as the characters, or at most one step ahead (as the reader is given access to more PoVs than the characters are). Additionally, the book is structured as a series of smaller mysteries that are linked into an overarching one, and I felt like that was handled very well as well.
Also I was not expecting my BL thriller to like, delve into the line between justice and vengeance, and if justice is an achievable goal, and whether it's possible to break free of cycles of generational trauma and the molds our parents raised us in.
One minor issue I had with both Guardian and Sha Po Lang was the endings felt very... abrupt. Lots of last-minute tension and resolution (which is a complaint I also have with Howl's Moving Castle and a lot of Shakespeare, too). The extras help mitigate that somewhat, but they aren't part of the main text. Silent Reading, thankfully, doesn't have this issue - there's enough material after the action climax that things feel satisfyingly resolved.
On to the ship, which I know is what half of you are here for lol. It's (romantic) rivals to friends to lovers, and the transitions felt very natural. Also as much as I love my intense pining, it was a nice change to not have that here for once - while Luo Wenzhou and Fei Du have history, it's as awkward frenemies, and both have had previous partners (Luo Wenzhou is gay, Fei Du is... pan, probably). I love that Luo Wenzhou has parents who are 1) alive, 2) named, 3) chill with him being out, and 4) he has a good relationship with. Like that's just so rare in stuff that it's a breath of fresh air. Granted, Fei Du has enough trauma for the both of them but hey, this is a thriller, we can't be all kittens and flowers. I do appreciate that Fei Du is neither 'useless rich kid who can't boil water' nor 'super genius who can do anything' - he's smart, and a quick learner, but we see him work at that and earn those skills. Also, there are some really lovely moments of communication between them - 'I'm working on something that I can't talk to you about yet, but I'll let you know when I can', etc. Priest in general I think is pretty good about not falling into the idiot ball/'let's talk about our feelings never' tropes - Sha Po Lang has some solid Feelings discussions, and Zhao Yunlan is pretty open in Guardian (Shen Wei less so but Shen Wei is bad at talking about anything personal).
Bonus: there is a cat who is basically perfect, and I am happy to inform you that nothing bad happens to it.
If I have sold you completely, you can find the extremely solid novel translation here, in a variety of formats. If you are on the fence and you like more info, I will direct you to this starter carrd, andnaye's post, which has some links to other related resources she's gathered up.
To start off with, Silent Reading is a psychological thriller mystery novel, and a very solidly written one at that. If you like stuff like The Alienist and Silence of the Lambs, you will probably also like this (and conversely, if you can't stand stuff like that, you will probably not like this one either). While I don't read mysteries much these days, I used to read a lot, and read a lot in general, which means I've got a pretty good grasp of foreshadowing and common tropes, and several of the guesses I had based on those turned out to be totally wrong! All the reveals were well-handled - the plots were neither utterly predictable nor did reveals seem to come out of left field - I felt I was generally on the same page as the characters, or at most one step ahead (as the reader is given access to more PoVs than the characters are). Additionally, the book is structured as a series of smaller mysteries that are linked into an overarching one, and I felt like that was handled very well as well.
Also I was not expecting my BL thriller to like, delve into the line between justice and vengeance, and if justice is an achievable goal, and whether it's possible to break free of cycles of generational trauma and the molds our parents raised us in.
One minor issue I had with both Guardian and Sha Po Lang was the endings felt very... abrupt. Lots of last-minute tension and resolution (which is a complaint I also have with Howl's Moving Castle and a lot of Shakespeare, too). The extras help mitigate that somewhat, but they aren't part of the main text. Silent Reading, thankfully, doesn't have this issue - there's enough material after the action climax that things feel satisfyingly resolved.
On to the ship, which I know is what half of you are here for lol. It's (romantic) rivals to friends to lovers, and the transitions felt very natural. Also as much as I love my intense pining, it was a nice change to not have that here for once - while Luo Wenzhou and Fei Du have history, it's as awkward frenemies, and both have had previous partners (Luo Wenzhou is gay, Fei Du is... pan, probably). I love that Luo Wenzhou has parents who are 1) alive, 2) named, 3) chill with him being out, and 4) he has a good relationship with. Like that's just so rare in stuff that it's a breath of fresh air. Granted, Fei Du has enough trauma for the both of them but hey, this is a thriller, we can't be all kittens and flowers. I do appreciate that Fei Du is neither 'useless rich kid who can't boil water' nor 'super genius who can do anything' - he's smart, and a quick learner, but we see him work at that and earn those skills. Also, there are some really lovely moments of communication between them - 'I'm working on something that I can't talk to you about yet, but I'll let you know when I can', etc. Priest in general I think is pretty good about not falling into the idiot ball/'let's talk about our feelings never' tropes - Sha Po Lang has some solid Feelings discussions, and Zhao Yunlan is pretty open in Guardian (Shen Wei less so but Shen Wei is bad at talking about anything personal).
Bonus: there is a cat who is basically perfect, and I am happy to inform you that nothing bad happens to it.
If I have sold you completely, you can find the extremely solid novel translation here, in a variety of formats. If you are on the fence and you like more info, I will direct you to this starter carrd, and
naye's post, which has some links to other related resources she's gathered up.