Rereading for the first time since college. Raise the Red Lantern is honestly my favourite of the stories. Lotus is really unlikable, but is placed in such a situation that is designed to bring out the worst in all the women.

Ending with a new young concubine joining the household gives one such a sinking feeling.

The other two novellas take place in the same village, following different families. Nineteen Thirty Four Escapees had such good lines that left me thinking about how I am connected to, as Su Tong put it, "the chain of humanity".