My Review: "Silk and Sensibility" by Mengxi Seeley is a
beautiful and unique retelling of Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility.” I love a good Austen retelling and
appreciated how unique this was, since it takes place in 16th century Ming-dynasty
China. Ms. Seeley’s story is full of wonderful cultural and historical details,
and I learned so much about the culture and time period. I love the glossary
and family tree which was so helpful. This was a sweet and gentle story of
love, sisterhood, family, and womanhood. The two sisters, Ailin and Meilin, are
vastly different. Ailin is more restrained and focused on duty, while Meilin is
more passionate. This was an interesting retelling and stayed true to Austen’s
original story, with some minor changes in the overall plot. While I did find
the story a tad slow at times, the retelling itself felt new and fresh. It was
interesting to read about the cultural expectations of women in that time and
how that affected their experiences with love and romance. You could tell the
author has scholarly and cultural experience. It is amazing that this is a
debut! I cannot wait to see what she writes next!
Content: I give this book a high PG rating (a G as far as
spice). Some examples of the content: mention of concubines and a brothel;
someone has an illegitimate daughter; mention of zodiac signs and astrology,
mention of drinking and gambling.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book
which I received from the author. All views expressed are only my honest
opinion.
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