Tuesday 17 May 2016

Review: The Terracotta Bride by Zen Cho

4.5 stars

The Terracotta Bride is a short story set in the Chinese Underworld. Siew Tsin was just a young woman when she got hit by a motor car and wound up in the tenth court of hell. There she finds a great uncle, who promptly sells her into marriage. Her husband Jungshen is a rich man, with pious descendents who burn money and goods so that he can live well in the Underworld. One day, Jungshen brings home another wife, a terracotta woman whom he names Yonghua, and she changes everything for Siew Tsin. 

This isn't a romance, though it does have some f/f romantic aspects. The writing is lyrical, Siew Tsin's characterisation was lovely and those two things make The Terracotta Bride poignant as hell (pun not intended). The worldbuilding is also amazing, and I would auto-buy any more stories Cho wrote in the same universe. It's a short story, so this is a short review, but, basically, I loved it.

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