I enjoyed The Monkey and the Tiger. It’s 2 novellas that are unrelated – except by a lesson/theme in the Chinese zodiac. I have stories I could tell about that. Perhaps I shouldn’t. People in Asia still take it seriously. …
Judge Dee: The Chinese Gold Murders
I imagine my mom would call the Judge Dee Mysteries “brain candy,” but they are not without merit. The information on Chinese culture is an imperceptible backwash, or covert additive. That said, The Chinese Gold Murders seems the most like…
The Emporer’s Pearl and GuanYin
This Judge Dee book provides an interesting historical background on the the cult of GuanYin (aka Kuan Yin). This resonates with me, because of the parallels to the cult of Mary for Catholics (to which I was indoctrinated as a…
Judge Dee: The Chinese Maze Murders
Like the traditional magistrate mysteries van Gulik modeled his Judge Dee series on, this novel has 3 plots or mysteries. The three stories seem to be linked through ideals of loyalty or filial piety. Find the English version of the…
Judge Dee & Dee Goong An
Robert Van Gulik lived most of his life in the far East, worked professionally as a translator, and married a Chinese woman. He introduced Judge Dee mysteries partly in an attempt to counteract the dose of racism that came with…