Read in mandarin first and then English (gifted by HarperVia Books)

First off, definitely check TW! Especially since this book is based on the author’s own experience, it might be helpful to first read about Yi-Han’s life—a literary star that was gone too soon. May she rest in power.

The Mandarin has more complex language that takes a bit getting used to. Sometimes the sentences read a bit confusing. Whereas the English translation is more straightforward, and I personally prefer my experience reading in English, even though that means the ancient Chinese texts lose its flavor.

The themes of “misinterpreting” literature as a means to grooming is very unique and fascinating. The author brilliantly delineates how “useless/dangerous” literature is when all it does is give power to perpetrators to justify their actions rather than protect girls & women.

Another thing to note is that the “epilogue” is a bit confusing… in the Mandarin version it’s more clear that’s the author’s notes given it occurs after afterwards/reviews of the book. In the English version, it can seem like it’s an extra chapter of the novel—which I don’t think it is. But it’ll be interesting to see how English readers interpret the epilogue.

Finally, in the mandarin version, there’s an afterward titled 「任何關於性的暴力，都是整個社會一起完成的。」(roughly translates to: any sexual violence is perpetrated by the entire society). It really helped me interpret the novel on my second read. An absolutely heartbreaking yet essential read