The Poppy War

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang is beautiful. I love that the main character, Rin, is a deeply flawed individual that does not make perfect decisions. It makes for a much more interesting story when the protagonist that is originally portrayed as the hero turns out to be kind of a villain. I was genuinely on the edge of my seat while reading this book, I had no idea where this storyline would go. This is not your classic dystopian novel that follows a poor teen girl that wants to overthrow the government. While it does play into that storyline, there is a much more sinister plot. 

I think one of the most interesting parts of the book was the control and power dynamics. Rin craves praise from older men in power. This is first evident in Tutor Feyrick and becomes most evident during her time in Altans command. Altan knows she needs to be praised and he uses this knowledge to manipulate her into doing his bidding. It's so interesting for the reader to recognize this pattern of behavior when Rin refuses to acknowledge the possibility of it. This need for praise also leads to an extreme lack of judgment and makes me question if Rin even knows what she wants, it seems like she is just following whoever is willing to give her orders.  

While The Poppy War is a fiction book, it pulls inspiration from real life events. The battle of Golyn Niis is based off of Iris Chang’s account of the Nanjing Massacre during World War II and the battle of Khurdalain was largly based on accounts from the battle of Shanghai in 1937. Despite being of Asian descent myself, I know very little about Asian history. I love that I am able to learn about important historical events and about Asian culture while reading this series. 

I have already recommended this book to so many people in my life and I haven’t even finished the series. Kuang’s world building and imagery is truly beautiful and thought provoking. Depending on how the rest of this series goes, I may have to put it at the top of my lists along with The Hunger Games.