Scan barcode
michelleforrestry's review against another edition
3.0
I picked up this book at the library on a whim. I'm moving to Nanjing in the fall and wanted to learn more about the culture, city, and it's history. When I typed "Nanjing" into the library's catalogue, this was the first to pop up. I did no research on the novel or the author beforehand.
Jin does a wonderful job setting up the historical background of Nanjing Requiem and detailing the atrocities that the Chinese people faced at the hands of the Japanese, as well as the work done by Minnie Vautrin at Jinling College to help protect thousands of women and children. However, it felt as though Jin had difficulties turning a real event and story into a fictional story. There's a lot of being told what is happening in a very matter of fact way that made me feel removed from the story and events that were being described.
I enjoyed reading Nanjing Requiem because it really opened my eyes to historical events that I was previously unaware of, but it's not a novel I would recommend someone to read otherwise.
Jin does a wonderful job setting up the historical background of Nanjing Requiem and detailing the atrocities that the Chinese people faced at the hands of the Japanese, as well as the work done by Minnie Vautrin at Jinling College to help protect thousands of women and children. However, it felt as though Jin had difficulties turning a real event and story into a fictional story. There's a lot of being told what is happening in a very matter of fact way that made me feel removed from the story and events that were being described.
I enjoyed reading Nanjing Requiem because it really opened my eyes to historical events that I was previously unaware of, but it's not a novel I would recommend someone to read otherwise.
chrissyb91's review against another edition
4.0
I really, really liked this book. Having recently read "Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet", this book provided another, decidedly Chinese, perspective on the Chinese/Japanese conflict during the late 1930s. I had also read "The Rape of Nanjing" by Iris Chang when it was published, so I was (sickeningly) aware of the atrocities committed by the Japanese on the civilians of Nanjing. Jin's account of the humanitarian efforts made by actual people to protect the inhabitants of this city during the Japanese invasion/occupation was riveting. The women (with the help of a few men;-) who ran Jinling College and provided safe haven for thousands of Chinese women and children were amazing, if not sometimes shockingly naive. I especially liked that the novel was narrated by a Chinese woman who worked at the college. Many have crticized Jin's sparse, journalistic style of writing this book, but I rather liked it. It definitely did not affect the emotional impact of the last few chapters.
katehyndman's review against another edition
4.0
I live in Nanjing now, so it was especially moving for me to read about and recognize streets and neighborhoods in Nanjing, thinking about painful things that happened on streets that are pretty and quiet now. I'm a fan of Ha Jin and his writing style, so his was the first book on the massacre that I chose to read. I guess I'll read Iris Chang's book next.
shadownlite's review against another edition
5.0
I am a huge fan of Ha Jin and his writing style. This book is one of the best he has written, at least in my mind.
The book starts out following real events in WW2 with the Nanjing Massacre (otherwise known as "The Rape of Nanjing") by the invading Japanese troops. I was aware of this event and it was interesting to read a fictional story based during this time period. The story follows teachers at a women's college in Nanjing that protected women during the Massacre and then follows the story throughout the war and shows how the event changed the lives of everyone at the college.
It can be a tough read at times if the reader is triggered by rape and violence since the book describes instances of rape in detail. The event does make the background to a very compelling story and it kept me reading, non-stop, through the entire book in one seating. The story is that powerful and involving.
The book starts out following real events in WW2 with the Nanjing Massacre (otherwise known as "The Rape of Nanjing") by the invading Japanese troops. I was aware of this event and it was interesting to read a fictional story based during this time period. The story follows teachers at a women's college in Nanjing that protected women during the Massacre and then follows the story throughout the war and shows how the event changed the lives of everyone at the college.
It can be a tough read at times if the reader is triggered by rape and violence since the book describes instances of rape in detail. The event does make the background to a very compelling story and it kept me reading, non-stop, through the entire book in one seating. The story is that powerful and involving.
larssmith's review against another edition
3.0
This is pretty good if you need pseudo-fiction dialog. But you're better off reading Iris Chang's Rape of Nanking if you can handle to semi-academic dryness.
runslikesnail's review against another edition
2.0
I'm not sure what I expected, but whatever it was ... I'm disappointed.
existenchellecrisis's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, and Suicide
literarycoffeecat's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
mamalemma's review against another edition
5.0
There’s so much history I just don’t know, and that is not taught in American schools, but should be, like the Rape of Nanking. Historical fiction is a great way to learn while inhabiting a world gone by. Nanjing Requiem tells the horrific story of the Rape of Nanking: the invasion of Nanjing by the Japanese in 1937 that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of women, children, and male civilians. For young women in particular, death might have been better than the brutal repeated sexual assaults committed nearly as often as the murders. Nanjing Requiem centers on Jinling Women’s College, under the wartime leadership of American missionary Minnie Vautrin, who sheltered ten thousand women and children during the war. Minnie was a real woman (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnie_Vautrin) who did her best during a wretched time, but blamed herself for not doing more. (Don’t read her Wikipedia page before the book if you don’t want a spoiler.) This is an important but brutal story, and you will be a better person for having read it.
hbelle01's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75