These violent delights have violent ends and this book kept me gripped from page one to find out how it would end. This is a Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920’s Shanghai but with a slight diversion to the plot with the introduction to a monster and city-wide plague.
These Violent Delights, Chloe Gong
Themes: Retelling, Fantasy, Historical, Romance
Reading Format: Paperback
4 STARS // 7.7 CAWPILE
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This book was kindly sent to me by Hodderscape in exchange for a fair review. This review will remain spoiler-free.
This own voices novel sees many cultures come together in a classic tale of rivalry, with a difference. Set in Shangai we also see British, American, French and Russian cultures involved in the politics of this plot. The main storyline follows two rival gangs, the Scarlets and the White Flowers, headed up by the two leading families, Cais and the Montagov. Sound familiar? I love the adaptations from Shakespeare’s original play to fit a 20’s Shanghai setting, whilst being set in the past, Gong has modernised this story with her political plot lines and inclusion of a range of diversity.
There are two threats within this book; a monster trying to take over the city and kill it’s residence and the theme of communism and foreign occupants on Shanghai land. I’ve referred to this as having politics within the plot, but this isn’t done in a ‘heavy’ way, nor is it daunting to read. I don’t consider myself to be very politically minded beyond keeping up with current affairs, but I was still able to understand the plot progression of this book and cared about the issues it was putting forward. I don’t want to go into more detail as the build up fo this storyline is one that is best experienced through reading the book.
A plague on both your houses is a famous quote from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and one that I think must have been an inspiration for the plot of this book. The drama of this story centres around a monster unleashing a plague across the city and both Juliette and Roma trying to get to the bottom of it. I love how this one line has set the theme for this entire retelling, and it’s so clever how Gong has adapted this story. Touching on very real times at the moment with our own pandemic, this book looks at the spread of a virus and how helpless the characters are to stop it. I don’t know when Gong started/finished writing this but it certainly felt poignant to the times we are currently living in.
One of the things I love about retellings is the subtle changes, such ad character names and relationships. In this we see the familiar families of the Capulets and the Montagues, but named the Cai and Montagov. Gong has taken a story we all know, even if just a little, and given it a new spin to engage new readers. I’m intruiged to see how this turns into a series, but I’m excited to read more from this world. I really loved the characters, especially both Benedikt and Marshall who offered a real comical side to the story.
Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot, it was not only fun and exciting, but I also feel it was insightful too. Would highly recommend!
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I’m glad you enjoyed this one! I’m planning to pick it up really soon and I’m expecting to see more and more stories set in the 1920s in the coming years. Interesting that this one involves a pandemic!
I’m currently reading These Violent Delights and am loving it! The atmosphere of the story is amazing and I’m especially loving Juliette as a main character.