BookBrowse Reviews Song of the Six Realms by Judy I. Lin

BookBrowse:

Like the poets and musicians she celebrates in this dream-like novel, Judy I. Lin makes beautiful music with her story of a gifted young woman weighed down by grief and longing as she searches for a place, be it in heaven or earth, to belong.

Xue'er has no place in the kingdom of Qi or any of the Six Realms. Her name means "Solitary Snow" and it surely fits a girl doomed to life as an "undesirable." Orphaned when she was young, all Xue has ever wanted is to stay with her beloved uncle, the poet Gao, who has cared for her ever since. But when she is twelve years old, Gao brings her to the House of Flowing Water and leaves her to be apprenticed as a qin player. She has a rare talent for the beautiful stringed instrument that earns her a contract with the prestigious entertainment house. Eventually her contract is purchased by the mysterious scholar Duke Meng and she leaves all that is familiar for the strange Manor of Tranquil Dreams. Every day seems to bring a new mystery. Why does her music seem to resonate here in a way it never has before? Why should a place that seems so otherworldly feel so much like home and a man who keeps so many secrets feel like the one her heart has always longed for? It soon becomes clear that Duke Meng is a ruler of the Celestial Realm, a place she has only ever known in poems and songs and childhood ghost stories. Here, monsters and gods battle for the soul of the universe, and Xue and her music may hold the only way to bring an end to the war. But with war comes sacrifice, and Xue must decide what she is willing to lose to save the world.

Judy I. Lin borrows deftly from many sources for this dazzling fairy tale and does so to wonderful effect, creating a tragic, romantic fable that unfurls gently, like a tapestry. The book itself is written in "verses" rather than "chapters" and the beautiful, melancholy poetry and songs referenced throughout come from ancient China. Much of her vast, highly detailed Six Realms (the heavenly and earthly planes that balance together to make the world) and the men, women, and deities who live in them are built from Chinese folk tales and mythology. And like those stories and ballads, the ending of this novel may not be entirely happy.

The heart of Lin's story, a young outcast slowly falling in love on the estate of her mysterious stern employer, is a wonderful homage to Daphne du Maurier and the Brontë sisters. But the sorrowful, determined Xue is a breed apart from Rebecca's wilting flower narrator and even a step beyond plucky Jane Eyre. Xue's brilliant resilience shines. There is steel in this heroine's spine. She never backs away from a confrontation, even with a goddess who could smite her with a thought while staring her down. She fights for love, for what is right, but above all for herself. The right to choose what your destiny will be, to refuse to accept who the world tells you that you must be, is the theme that defines Song of the Six Realms and the thing that comes to define Xue.

This is a novel to get lost in, to drift in like a gentle ocean, equal parts decadence and simplicity, true storytelling in its purest form. The world is vast and vivid, full of wild creatures and wilder magic. But there is an austerity and ancient feeling to it, as though we are reading a story that has been told many times. Lin wants her readers to spend just as much time visualizing and contemplating the delicate, delicious food her characters eat, the gardens they visit and the music they enjoy as she wants us to spend on the story itself. This is a book to be savored like rich wine or an old, romantic ballad. I found myself, more than once, picking it up to find a certain meal or poem just to let it wash over me again.

Song of the Six Realms will delight any teen who likes a touch of misty-eyed sorrow with their happily ever after. It is also a perfect fit for lovers of old myths where trickster gods and vengeful curses abound and the fate of the world hangs on the choices of one pure-hearted young woman.

This review first ran in the May 1, 2024 issue of BookBrowse Recommends.