Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
Hello Books Lovers,
I’m sure you’ve heard of Xiran Jay Zhao’s Iron Widow, if you haven’t seen it around then it makes me think you live under a rock. It is practically one of the most famous books of the moment. But if you don’t know what it’s about or aren’t very convinced you want to read it, I’m here to convince you with a no spoiler review.
The book was released on May 4th for Rizzoli whom I thank for the copy and the possibility of being able to organize a review party to promote this particular story, sci-fi – even if it does not appear from the cover – and very, very particular and different from all the rest.
I start by saying that this book has had its ups and downs. It’s a fast read, the world in which the story is precisely a futuristic, male-dominated version, in which women must follow every command and will without being able to oppose and, when our protagonist, by intelligence quotient, proves to be even better than all the others men, will also be treated differently by the rest of the women on the planet.
The edition created by Rizzoli is breathtaking. But one thing I didn’t like about the story, the lack of a real romance component. The love triangle is there, but it is not a focal point of the story, nor a subplot, the feelings are not analyzed in that sense. Things happen between these three people but nothing more than the action itself.
As you know I am a person who cannot appreciate a book well, however beautiful it may be, if there is no romance. It may seem strange, since I told you that there is a triangle, that there is no romance, the fact is that almost the whole story itself develops on battles and revenge and leaves no room for the part that should be dedicated to romantic feelings.
Don’t ask me for the names of the characters because I have no idea how to pronounce it, and without looking, I can’t even remember how they are spelled. Everything revolves around Zetian, who is the protagonist of this book because her sister was killed and she took it upon herself to avenge her death.
In this world, boys are paired with girls in a chrysalis, a robot that is used to fight what lies beyond the Chinese great wall. 99% of the cases, however, the mind of the girls is destroyed, ending up killing them, by the male pilot of the chrysalis. This is until Zetian arrives, stronger, who does not allow herself to be dominated by anyone.
The person who kills in the chrysalis is the very pilot who killed her sister. It is here, following this, that she becomes the Iron Widow. For her mental strength she is paired with Li Shimin, one of the most feared killers and one of the two boys in the love triangle.
This book in a very short time has become a phenomenon, and even if some things I did not like, although many times I got angry while reading about the unfair way this world was created, in which even women are against women, they get everything done and don’t say a word, they die and nobody cares, Iron Widow is a more than valid reading that also contains details that made me giggle with laughter like the Nine-Tailed Fox, which reminded me too much Naruto, even though that is Japanese and this story is set in China.
I would also say that lately I’ve been hanging out a lot in stories set in China. I have read the duology Chloe Gong wrote, Iron Widow and in addition I am also watching a TV series in Chinese with English subtitles, set in China in the early 1900s. It is a very oriental period for me, but I like it, I am very in the mood.
