Butterfly Lovers: A Tale of the Chinese Romeo and Juliet

Rating:
Summary: Nicole's review
Review: A beautiful Chinese girl disguises herself as a man and lives under one roof with a young male scholar for three years without revealing her true identity. They become "sworn brothers", soul mates and lovers in a world in which marriage is determined by social status and arranged by parents. Butterfly Lovers is based upon a popular Chinese folktale and is an engaging, compelling, deeply moving, highly recommended and rewarding novel.

Rating:
Summary: Nicole's review
Review: Buttefly Lovers, by Fan Dai, is the Chinese version of Romeo and Juliette. I thought it was a very good book with very interesting twist that differs from Shakespears Romeo and Juliette. The love story is very unique. It not only is entertaining, but also gives a lot of information about how life in China is different from the U.S. Women were treated very unequaly and did not have the freedom that people do today. Women weren't even allowed to go to school. Butterfly Lovers also shows that there was a deffinite cast system in China when this book was written. People who were poor did not get the many privileges that the rich got. The ritual of marrige is also very different than it is here in the U.S. and other countries. The bride does not have any say in who she gets to marry. This causes a big problem for young woman in Butterfly Lovers.
Over all this was a very well written book. I would recomend this book to anyone who likes romance.

Rating:
Summary: Classics in Chinese Literature
Review: Previous reviews and editorial review have unfortunately given away what kind of a love story we shall expect in BUTTERFLY LOVERS. I think it's a bummer when reviewrs ruin my reading pleasure. Anyway, I won't give away too much of the plot. BUTTERFLY LOVERS is the first English publication of the original work LIANG SHANBO AND ZHU YINGTAI, one of the classics that had accompanied history of China. ZHU YINGTAI disguised herself as a man who lived under the same roof with a young scholor LIANG SHANBO for three years without revealing her true identity. The lovers lived haplessly in a historical period in which socioeconomic status determined marriage. The old Chinese saying reminds us "the doorframe has to match the threshold". Social status relentlessly determined the lovers' fate and wove a bitter-sweet tale that touched many souls generation after generation. The original tale of LIANG SHANBO AND ZHU YINGTAI had been featured in numerous musical adaptations. Violinist Vanessa Mae released a solo album on the original scores of LIANG SHANBO AND ZHU YINGTAI. I would not give away the story since it would be your pleasure to figure out why LIANG SHANBO AND ZHU YINTAI are butterfly lovers.

Rating:
Summary: Classics in Chinese Literature
Review: Previous reviews and editorial review have unfortunately given away what kind of a love story we shall expect in BUTTERFLY LOVERS. I think it's a bummer when reviewrs ruin my reading pleasure. Anyway, I won't give away too much of the plot. BUTTERFLY LOVERS is the first English publication of the original work LIANG SHANBO AND ZHU YINGTAI, one of the classics that had accompanied history of China. ZHU YINGTAI disguised herself as a man who lived under the same roof with a young scholor LIANG SHANBO for three years without revealing her true identity. The lovers lived haplessly in a historical period in which socioeconomic status determined marriage. The old Chinese saying reminds us "the doorframe has to match the threshold". Social status relentlessly determined the lovers' fate and wove a bitter-sweet tale that touched many souls generation after generation. The original tale of LIANG SHANBO AND ZHU YINGTAI had been featured in numerous musical adaptations. Violinist Vanessa Mae released a solo album on the original scores of LIANG SHANBO AND ZHU YINGTAI. I would not give away the story since it would be your pleasure to figure out why LIANG SHANBO AND ZHU YINTAI are butterfly lovers.

Rating:
Summary: A Famous Story Not Just For Chinese People Now
Review: The Butterfly Lovers is one of famous Chinese stories. Almost every Chinese knows about this tragic story either by movie, drama, music, or book. In this book, Ms. Fan Dai, the author has really introduced this famous "Romeo and Julliet" type of story into Western world. Every detail that describes the Chinese culture, behavior, and society is so real and clear. The feeling is so great that you only have to read it and cry without any visual support, background music or sound effect to re-enforce the scene. No matter how many times I go through the story, I still enjoy every second of it.

Rating:
Summary: A Disappointment
Review: While the story is intriguing and fast-paced, Fan Dai's writing disappoints. At several points during the novel, it is obvious that English isn't her native language, and that she has a LOT she needs to improve. In short, I found this a creative novel that still needed a lot of refining. Sometimes the writing was forced and choppy and left the reader wanting a lot more. Advanced readers will be disappointed in this particular novel.