The Poppy War

The Poppy Wars is a creative retelling of China, Japan, and Taiwan during WWII through the lens of fantasy. And as someone who has direct relatives who have survived the events mirrored in the The Poppy Wars, this book felt very real and very close. I would recommend doing some light reading on the history of China/Taiwan during WWII and the rise of Imperial Japan either before or after reading The Poppy Wars – it might help contextualize some of the major events in the book. If you think the antagonists seem cartoonishly evil, you’ll find that reality can be much crueler. Even Rin’s motivations and slow spiral into darkness are plausible. Kuang puts every single one of her characters through the wringer and I’m here for the unadulterated rage.

Having read some of Kuang’s later works like Babel, you can clearly tell Kuang’s voice and prose have matured. The Poppy Wars sounds a bit more… juvenile? I’m not sure how to describe it. Sometimes the characters’ voices sound very similar. The world-building also left me wanting more. There was so much potential in the world that Kuang constructed; it felt like she could have capitalized more on the deep lore she laid the groundwork for. I also wished the magic system was a little more fleshed out, but since The Poppy War is just the first book in a trilogy, this gets a bit of a pass from me. Based on the way the book ended, it sounds like there is a lot more to be explored so I look forward to what Kuang has in store.

I adored this book for so many other reasons though. Is this what it’s like to be represented? To have an author with similar family and cultural experiences as me? There were so many little things like:

(1) How the different provinces are drawn from the 12 Chinese Zodiacs. (2) Cike is actually the Romanization of the Chinese word for “assassin.” (3) The Monkey God is a very popular/well-known character in “The Journey to the West,” a story commonly depicted in Chinese media (and one I grew up with!).

As both an Asian-American and a light history nerd, The Poppy Wars covered everything I love and hope to find in fiction. Even Speer, an island in the book, is meant to be a mirror of my family’s home. I have a very personal connection to this book so despite some of my reservations about it, it is a strong 5/5. Excited to see how Kuang will continue to tear my heart out :)