Customer Reviews

Silk Road

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I read this years ago, when it first came out. I was a working in a bookstore. It came in and had a blurb on it from Annie Dillard. So, I decided to try it. I was entranced.

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Reviewed by Randy Farnsworth, author of "A Stand Yet Taken"

Larsen's novel is a very refreshing view of male-dominated ancient China, told by a woman from a woman's perspective. The story follows the life of a diety that has been mortalized in order to experience life as a human. It's told in several parts, depicting major chapters in the protagonist's life. The tale is part fantasy, part history, part drama, and told in a very unique way. Larsen's language is eloquent and engaging. At times, she uses the first person viewpoint of the heroine/protagonist; other times switching to the flowery diction of a marketplace storyteller; and at other times using a more traditional omniscient narration and even a fair amount of poetry, which plays a major role in the outcome of the story.

The story itself is fun and challenging to read; I really enjoyed it. However, there are parts that for me seemed too drawn out, where I wished the main characters would just get on with whatever they were doing. But don't worry, each slow part is followed by many quicker-moving and more exciting events.

Perhaps Larsen is trying to make a point about something, but it seems that almost all the characters, both male and female, don't really care who or what they sleep with and what gender their partners are. I found that aspect of the book to be less enjoyable. I would have much preferred the main character to have avoided her fate as a glorified call girl. But again, perhaps the author is trying to tell us something about ancient Chinese culture. I would caution younger readers though, before reading this book.

I read this book for the first time when it came out in hardcover in 1990, and have enjoyed every time I've re-read it since. Larsen's knitting together of multiple religious and mythical traditions (and not to mention textbook histories) is artful and seemingly effortless.

I first read this book in 1993. I had borrowed it and sadly, had to return it to my friend. I then looked for it for almost ten years until I found it in a local thrift shop in 2001. I've read it twice since. I loved this book. I love how it is written. It is poetic and beautiful. It does take a bit of adjusting, as it isn't like every other novel on the shelf, and I feel that quality makes it even more appealing. It has fed and nurtured the fascination that I've always had with Asia, China and the mysterious and magical silk road.

I highly recommend this book.

I had already read this book when I went looking for it. This book uses vocabulary beyond my extensive own, and I wanted to have the book to re-read for that reason. It also blends fantasy and history, modeling as well as telling the story of 8th Century China, along the way, portraying palpably the experiences of young women of the time.

The book arrived, with a small sticker indicating its rare status, and partially wrapped in an old celophane wrapper. Now I am not certain if I want to remove it from the wrapper, or just cherish it as it is.

The beautiful cover of Silk Road enticed me with its Chinese maiden nestled on a dragon holding a pearl and with its subtitle: A Novel of Eighth-Century China. Being mostly interested in historical fiction set in far-off lands, I ventured into this historical fantasy. The book, consisting of over 400 pages, has a full and complex plot, but it was just too much strangeness for me, though others may find it to their taste.

The story begins in a celestial palace where the gods have a bowl of multicolored marbles. One of them, a green pearl, speaks, saying it wishes to go to earth to learn the languages of humans. The Celestial Undersecretary is given the task of watching over "Greenpearl" who is then born on earth as a general's daughter.

One day Greenpearl is kidnapped by Tibetans and sold to traders, and then she begins life as a courtesan, meanwhile journeying on the Silk Road. Greenpearl encounters monks, people of the steppes, a magician, a ghost. The intervention of the gods affects her life and everyone she is involved with. Bits and pieces of Chinese lore are interspersed in the chapters: a guidebook to a magical mountain, historical narratives, legends of the Tang told by a marketplace storyteller.

There was some beautiful imagery in the book, but all in all, the story was rather confusing to me, and I didn't have the motivation to sort it out and make sense out of who's who, what's real or otherwordly, and what's symbolic. People who like fantasy may find this book more enjoyable than I did...better for me to stick to historical fiction.

This book is a FAVORITE and I have read it several times. I think it gives us Americans some insight into how the Chinese think. I highly recommend this book just for entertainment. Ms Larsen has completed her homework. Certainly her best work of the three books I have that she wrote. Too bad it isn't on Kindle!