The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang is a historical military fantasy fiction novel. Whew. That was a mouthful. Okay, so this story draws a lot of its plot as well as politics from mid-20th century China. In this story, we follow Fang Runin or Rin. Rin is an orphaned child, as a result of the previous war who grew up poor as the unwanted addition to an opium smuggling family.
When her guardian presents the idea of marrying her off to some man three times her age simply to further their own business, Rin decides she couldn’t want anything less for herself. So, she pushes herself harder than she has ever pushed herself in her life. In her eyes, there is only one way out of this. Acing the Keju — the Empire’s statewide tests for entrance to Sinegard, the prestigious military academy.
So, when she scores the highest in the province no one can quite believe it, no one less than Rin herself. She soon sets off to Sinegard, and realizes being a dark-skinned peasant girl is anything but easy in a school built for the most prestigious. In what seems a constant uphill battle Rin soon comes to discover she possesses some mythical powers, called Shamanism.
Rin learns that the Gods she has heard of in lore and tales are far from a child’s bedtime story. She learns that they are very real indeed. Mastering control over these newfound powers can mean more than just surviving school when talks of the Third Poppy War begin brewing.
World-Building & Sino-Japanese War
This book was just, wow. Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I encountered a writing style so thorough and fluent throughout. R.F Kuang did her research. This story is just so well flushed out and the world-building is otherworldly. The extent of her education truly shines through in these books. I truly found myself so enthralled from beginning to end.
The war itself is inspired heavily by the Sino-Japanese War and it is heavy. This is not a Young Adult fantasy at all. If you’re someone who reads trigger warnings, you’re going to want to check those out for sure. This book captures the bloodiest, most gruesome period of Chinese history and it does not pull any of those punches. The politics here were intricate and fascinating, she does a really good job of capturing the savageness of war.
There’s such satisfaction to watching Rin sometimes. Watching her work hard and seeing that pay off as the story progresses. I have always loved that, and she does such a good job of developing her character. I want to delve a bit more into her character arc but it’s not something that unfurls completely in this book alone so I will hold off.
Rape of Nanjing, The Nanjing Massacre, & Unit 731
The events of the war are all drawn from very real accounts. Things like the Rape of Nanjing or the Nanjing Massacre, Unit 731 are real-life atrocities that happened and are referenced within this book. While some people may find discomfort in having these atrocities unraveled and presented as they were in this novel, it can be argued that many of the horrors in our history are watered down so people can digest them a bit easier.
I appreciate the way she chose not to do that. She gave these victims names and faces and spared no details about the things they were forced to suffer through. This history was done justice in my opinion. She gave awareness to them and their sufferings. They weren’t made smaller; or easier to swallow. She gave you the whole mass of it without shrinking it in the slightest and allowed it to leave a lump in your throat.
I am in awe at the handling of this story, and of all that I have learned. I was uncomfortable and sad and horrified, and I loved her for allowing me to feel it.
Overall
I give this book a 10 out of 10 stars.
