A Song to Drown Rivers

I always have trouble rating books that kick me out of a reading slump and get me excited about reading similar books. A Song to Drown Rivers was a quick read that scratched my Asian fantasy itch. I think if I was about 10+ years younger I would have adored this book. Love triangles? Kickass female lead? High court drama? It’s everything my young teen self would have loved that my older self enjoyed with some reservations.

The prose is simple and easy to follow, but at times devolves into overly melodramatic passages. The pacing is a bit strange as well. We spend some time watching Fanli and Xishi’s relationship develop, but it comes to a grinding halt halfway when they’re separated for a mission. I find it believable that one can develop an infatuation in a short period of time, but a passionate, tortured love that Xishi describes? I’m not so sure… The plot just doesn’t do any favors for Fanli and Xishi, instead favoring our other male lead and Xishi. It’s a bit of a Gordian knot that might have been managed better with a defter hand. Major plot points occur very quickly when they should have had more time to let the emotional beats settle. I want more time with characters instead of musings of how some random object looks! Finally, the ending also had me perplexed? It was such a bizarre turn from the rest of the book.

I don’t know much about Xishi’s original legend, but A Song to Drown Rivers seems to do an alright job of reviving it. The world feels a bit empty, only inhabited by our main characters. Some of the secondary character development is left to the wayside in favor of furthering the love triangle. Even Xishi’s transformation from a country bumpkin to a noble lady is a bit rushed.

That is to say, this is a young adult novel and all my criticisms are coming from an adult me. I see it as a strong YA novel that would have gotten a younger me kicking her feet at the romance. A Song to Drown Rivers does a fabulous job of invoking the Chinese dramas my parents used to watch. It has a little bit of everything from the choreographed fight scenes to the catty concubines and backstabbing court intrigue. The book captures every bit of melodrama and magic that peripherally inhabited my childhood. And it’s absolutely delightful.

I have been enjoying the recent influx of Chinese myths/legends/poems brought to mainstream publishing. A Song to Drown Rivers was just what I needed to start exploring these novels (algorithms are scarily good). I look forward to future books with similar epic romances, lore, and courtly machinations.