Customer Reviews

Peach Blossom Pavilion

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

First, the Publisher's Weekly review is disappointingly inaccurate.

Second, this was a truly enjoyable read. The story kept my attention throughout and the last 1/4 of the book was exciting and filled with surprises. I had a hard time putting it down to go to sleep! Recommend highly.

I'd like to suggest that "reviewers" kindly omit important plot twists for those of us who like to read reviews before they purchase. Thanks.

Such a wonderful story told by a very balanced storyteller. I enjoyed every part of this book which kept me reading tirelessly. Peach Blossom Pavilion transported me to a time and place where living means surviving one's circumstances/karma or at least making the best of it. The story is a cycle of emotions that we all visit time and again throughout our lives; love, loss, happiness, sorrow, triumph, fear, anger, discovery, revenge, safety.

Ms. Yip pulls no punches in transporting us to a Shanghai prostitution pavilion in the early 1920's, a place where a young woman's survival was definitely linked to her beauty, charm and tricks of her trade which included the arts of music, calligraphy, poetry and tea ceremony. As for a man's visit to the pavilion, it was simply paradise on earth.

Though many reviewers found the language a bit offensive, I found it made the story even more convincing; a pavilion was a place men visited to escape from the world of responsibility and morality. Men could shed their sheep skins without fear of exposing the wolf hidden underneath in public. Prostitutes got a close-up, in your face look at what lies beneath the veneer of a lustful man who's only refuge for his lustful acts was a visit to the pavilion. Very seldom did prostitutes find kind words to define these men transformed by lust, nor did they always use flowery words to describe the sexual acts these men paid for to have them perform. Ms Yip gives us the uncensored language, sights and smells of a pavilion. The pavilion takes on a life of its own and at times seems like a heavenly Xanadu through the words of Ms. Yip.

For those interested in eastern philosophy there's much to be learned from this book. The principles of Zen and the balance of Yin/Yang weigh heavily throughout the story. The plot and its characters are given a symmetrical structure that circles around itself to form a self discovering path of enlightenment for some and a mountain mist of illusion and suffering for others.

Whether you come to this book out of curiosity, enchantment, escape or the beauty of its sunset-colored cover, get ready to taste some flavors of the orient that will awaken your taste buds and have you question what you thought you knew about the life of a "ming ji." And if you find yourself amazed at the actions of some characters in the book just remember, we were all once naive, young and a bit vengeful. But then some of us grew up!

I enjoyed my visit to the Peach Blossom Pavilion.

"One Day spent in the mountain is a thousand years passed in the world"
ancient sage saying

Having read a review in the Sunday paper I asked my wife to buy the book for me. (Hence, this review is under her name.) I'm glad she did. This was one of the best novels I have read in ages. This was a "no put down" book. I devoured all 421 pages of this fascinating novel in four readings. Ming Mei Yip's writing style and the story that unfolded from her pen had me spell bound the entire time.

"Peach Blossom Pavilion" is the story of the ten year adventure of the principal character, Xiang Xiang (Precious Orchid). It starts with Xiang Xiang being given up by her mother as a innocent 13 year old imp to the surprised harsh life in the Peach Blossom Pavilion. She quickly gains the status of a favored courtesan in early 1900 China. We are taken on a stunning ride of all the characters that enter her life and the peaks and valleys she endures and eventually her quest for revenge and to escape the life of dare I say, a "whore".

Upon reading the book to its end the reader will come to realize that there is more to be told and will be left begging for more. A sequel is a must. Truly worthy of a TV mini series.

I read both Memoirs of a Geisha and Peach Blossom Pavillion. There are similarities, BUT I would like to state that Memoirs of a Geisha was written as an interpretion of one of Japan's most famous geisha, who wrote her own book, a rebuttal to Memoirs. (I read that as well.) There is a HUGE misconception that geisha are/were prostitutes. This is not the case, and to take the work of a twisted fiction novel and label geisha as prostitutes cripples Japanese history. The author of Memoirs, after having gained the trust of this geisha to learn about the culture and then wrote something so twisted, truly sickens me. A lot of people put weight to what he said in the book, even though it is fiction. Thus, geisha are being equated with prostitutes.

That being said, Peach Blossom Pavillion is an excellent read. Sure, there are similarites to Memoirs, but this one has twists and turns. Truly a great read. I could go on, but I don't like to spoil novels for future readers.

Anyone who enjoyed Memoirs of a Geisha will be fascinated by her Chinese counterpart, Precious Orchid. Unknowingly given to a house of prostitution by her mother after her father is executed for a crime he didn't commit, Precious Orchid becomes a ming ji, a courtesan trained in music, literature, painting, and (of course) sex. After escaping from the whorehouse, Precious Orchid sets out to use all the skills that she has learned to seek revenge for her parents.

I am not a literary expert, but just your everyday 'joe' who loves a book that moves quickly and keeps my attention. Peach Blossom is such a book. Actually, I took quite a few days of delayed reading because I did not want it to end. Mingmei Yip captures my attention with the first page and holds it until the last page. Xiang Xiang, the main character comes to life and makes me laugh, cry and smile. The story was fairly predictable but this was not a bit disturbing to me. Mingmei's description of Xiang Xiang's qin and pipa playing brought music to my ears. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a fast paced romance read and especially to those interested in life in China. I can't wait to read another Ms Yip book.

Anyone who has read my reviews of books about China knows I do not bestow praise lightly. Too many books are written by authors with only a shallow knowledge of this ancient culture.

Hard as I am to please, this novel pleased me more than any other work of fiction I have read in years. I cannot imagine that any reader could fail to be beguiled by its heroine, Precious Orchid. Yip has done what would be impossible for most novelists: create a multidimensional character who maintains her innocence in the most corrupt of circumstances, even as she carries out a plan of revenge that could only have happened in China.

Precious Orchid is an waif, a highly sought-after courtesan, a Buddhist, a master of the guqin (the most refined of all Chinese musical instruments), a filial daughter and, eventually, an American matriarch.

But these subtleties and the historical accuracty do not keep Peach Blossom Pavilion from being a page-turner. It is that now rare species: a literary novel that will keep you up all night. There have been other recent novels about prostitutes, such as Memoirs of a Geisha, but only Peach Blossom Pavilion has characters who will stay in your heart forever.

How interesting...all of the reviews.I was entranced from the first moment. I bought the book directly from the author at a writers conference in June.
In between classes and writing I read this book tucked away in the window seat of my room overlooking the campus. Each day I digested each part of the story. I could not wait to see what the next part opened me to and I did not want it to end.
As a healer and therapist I was not surprised by the relationships and possibilities of how the charachters were motivated and lived.We do some pretty outrageous things a s people in this world.Not an easy life and not always pleasant. I loved learning more about the culture. The twists and turns of the story kept me reading. I learned, was entertained and enjoyed.

I read about 1/3 of this book, then had to put it down. To me, it was a crude imitation of "Memoirs of a Geisha", which I absolutely loved. How many times can you read the "f" word - give me a break!

Wow I can hardly believe how awful this book is. I am not an especially discriminate reader, but this book was truly painful. The author has a talent certainly, in exposing you to this culture, but not in writing about it. Her descriptions are heavy handed, repetitive, and hyperbolic: the good guys are always young and handsome, the bad guys old and ugly. The plot is predictable and/or a direct copy of Memoirs of a Geisha. The only redeeming value of the book is the flavor: decidedly Chinese, with beautiful metaphors and poetic terminology.

But it just requires too much suspension of disbelief to go along with the characters or their actions, even allowing for a creative retelling of the past. I feel like I'm reading one of those novels for teenage girls where the heroine is regularly victimized in the most ridiculous circumstances. Thanks, but I'm not 14 anymore.