Daughter of Xanadu by Dori Jones Yang

Title: Daughter of Xanadu
Author: Dori Jones YAng
Source: Library
Set in: Mongolia
Rating: 4 out of 5

My thoughts:
There are 2 things you should know before I start this review.
1) What is Xanadu: It’s a place in inner Mongolia which had the summer palace of Khublai Khan who was the grandson of the greatest ruler of Mongolia, Genghis Khan.
2) Who is Marco Polo: Marco Polo was a traveller and merchant who travelled to China and Mongolia somewhere between 1271 and 1295 alon with his father and Uncle. When he went back to Venice, where he’d come from, he wrote a book about his travels called Travels of Marco Polo. The author relied on this book while writing Daughter of Xanadu.

Lets get to the book now. This book is about a teenage girl called Emmajin who was the grand daughter of Khublai Khan. She was unlike other royal princesses who simply wanted to enjoy the comforts of palace and laze around the whole day and just be content with a life of doing nothing. Our Emmajin wanted to be a warrior, she wanted to fight for the great Khan and return home victorious after defeating the enemies of Mongolia. She wanted to help the Khan achieve the goal of ruling over the entire world. At least that’s what she thought she wanted to do.

Enter young Marco Polo. The Khan was not very sure of the agenda of these European merchants so he assigned Emmajin to befriend them and spy on them. Morco Polo has the exact opposite views than Emmajin. He thinks people should exist in the world peacefully and that all this war and occupying other countries was unnecessary. Of course Emmajin disagreed with him. All she wanted to was fight in a war.

So this is the basic premise. What attracted me to this book in the first place was that it was set in Mongolia. There aren’t many YA books that are set in Mongolia. And also that it was historical fiction.

I thought the first part was slow without much action. The author was basically building up Emmajin’s character and her background. Also, this was the part where Morco Pola nd Emmajin got to know each other and were attracted to each other, at least on a superficial level. The second half is where the action starts, when they travel to these remotest parts of Mongolia and China on a mission. This was my favorite part,the lands they crossed, the people they met, the adventures they had (not spoiling anything here) and how Emmajin and her relationship with Morco Polo changed because of all this.

There is only one thing I disliked in the novel. Emmajin never existed. Morco Polo did not meet anyone in Mongolia and fell in love with, at least none that is documented. I don’t mind introducing new supporting characters and new situations to build a story but I definitely have a problem when 2 of the main characters are fictional (namely Emmajin and her cousin). It kind of negates the whole romance for me.

But overall I really liked the book. I liked reading about Mongolia and their customs. I also liked reading about how it might have been for Morco Polo in ancient times. I loved that I got to learn a bit about history. I definitely recommend reading this book.

Oh and if you like watching videos, do watch my review for the same book below

Massive Book Haul, In my Mailbox/ Monday Mailbox or Library Loot

My First Vlog ever…It’s funny talking to a Camera but it is what it is.

If you want to know the Library books I borrowed, please skip to the 7th Minute.
I’m posting everything together because I’m not sure I’ll have time on Monday and since there wont be any new books in the house until Sunday, it doesn’t matter.

Let me know what you think of it.

SchoolGirl by Osamu Dazai

Title: Schoolgirl
Author: Osamu Dazai (Translated by Allison Markin Powell)
Paperback: 100 pages
Publisher: One Peace Books (October 1, 2011)
Genre: Fiction/ Novella
Source: Review Copy
Set in: Japan
Challenge: East and SouthEast Asia Challenge
Rating: 3 out of 5

My thoughts:
I was very interested in this book because it’s considered a Japanese modern Classic and is written by a very popular Japanese author. Considering how weak my knowledge is in Japanese literature, modern or otherwise, I thought reading this book would give me an insight into the same.

This book could be sensitive, silent, hopeful and depressing all at once. Schoolgirl is a basically a day in life of a schoolgirl on the verge of womanhood. Her mothers indifference following her father’s death leaves a huge void in her life leaving her alone and vulnerable. Beneath all the loneliness she is also very depressed. She is at a stage in her life where her thoughts are full of contradictions. Her view of the world is hopeful and depressing at the same time.

Plot is something that is very important to me in a novel and Schoolgirl definitely doesn’t have one. But my main problem with the book is that I couldn’t relate to the central character which is perhaps no fault of the author or the translator. For someone who doesn’t get depressed ever (touch wood), I didn’t understand how the girls thoughts veered towards depression so often and for no reason. I know there are people who suffer from depression and perhaps it is as unexplained as it is for this girl.

The back of the book says that Osamu Dazai suffered from depression during his lifetime and he died from a suicide attempt after several unsuccessful ones. There must be a few of his thoughts reflected through this young girls vision.

Overall I wasn’t as impressed with this book as so many others have. But I’m glad I read it.

Romance Month at Tasha’s (Heidenkind) – Hathaway Series by Lisa Kleypas

Tasha is having a Romance month in December and becaus I love Romance I thought I could take part too. If you haven’t visited Heidenkind yet, you should.

When I think of Romance, I think of Nora Roberts as she was one of the first I read. But Lisa Kleypas was someoene who introduced me to Historical Romance. It’s not that I hadn’t read any before but her books were the first that made me want to reach out for other Historical Romance books.

For today, I would like to tell you about one of my favorite series by Lisa Kleypas – The Hathway Series.

I was introduced to this series and Lisa Kleypas when I won the second book, Seduce me at Sunrise, in the Hathway series. I loved the book (I’ve even reviewed it here) and was surprised by how witty and funny the book was. Needless to say I looked up the series and bought the first and the third book from the series which I ended up loving as well. (The review for Mine till Midnight is here). I recently bought the last 3 books in the series and gobbled them up.finished them in a couple fo days. Thats how much I love this series.

The Hathaway books are about the Hathaway family that consists of 5 members – Amelia, Luke, Winnipen, Beatrice and Poppy. This family is very different from other families in the sense that they are very eccentric, don’t follow social norms and are generally unconciously set out to break every rule out there. Each of the characters have a distinct personality which in turn also shapes the story of the respective books. I was very surprised over how independent and strong each of the women in these books are. The dialogues are witty and there is not a single boring moment in any of the books. Of course, I like some books better than the others, but overall I simply love this series.

I won’t go into the plots of all the books but suffice to say I have ever followed a series and made it a point to buy and read all the books. So that definitely says a lot.

TopTen Tuesdays: Top Ten Books I Want To Give As Gifts

This weeks Top Ten Tuesdays is Top Ten Books I Want To Give As Gifts (and to who…even if you won’t actually give them!)

Not many people in my life read books but I’m going to write this list as if they did.

1) Anne of Green Gables series by Lucy Maud Montgomery: to a young girl in my family or maybe a friend’s daughter.
2) 3 Sisters Island Trilogy by Nora Roberts: to someone who likes to read books on magic or witches with lots of romance in them.
3) The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls : To someone who loved memoirs.
4) Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts: To someone who loved a masala book, that is a book which has all the elements.
5) Any YA Fantasy book : To my little sis, she loves everything to do with fantasy and witches and magic.I do pass on my books that meet this category to her already so I can’t think of any that I want to give to her at this moment. But if I have to gift books to people she’ll definitely be on my list.
6) The Complete Calvin and Hobbs series: To my darling husband. He loves Calvin
7) A Hundred and One Days, A Baghdad Journal by Åsne Seierstad: For someone who enjoys books written by journalists on real events.
8 ) Nefertiti by Michelle Moran: For someone who likes Historical fiction and who likes it to be super entertaining.
9) Chasing the Monsoon by Alexander Frater: For someone who loves reading Travelogues.
10) Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton: For someone who loves reading sweeping sagas filled with family secrets and hidden gardens.