Reading Diary: Case File Compendium (Bing an Ben), vol 1 by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou

[wrote_and_writ]

Here is a synopsis from the publisher's website:

Wealthy and handsome, yet mentally unstable—He Yu has returned home from overseas with one goal in mind: to win the heart of Xie Xue, the girl of his dreams. However, in his time away, he has nursed more than unrequited feelings. He must confront his long-held grudge against Xie Xue’s overprotective brother, Xie Qingcheng, who doesn’t think He Yu capable of love.

But history is not easily rewritten. As He Yu’s former doctor, Xie Qingcheng is the only person in the world who truly understands He Yu’s volatile mental illness. When the two are involved in an explosive incident that exposes a dark secret, Xie Qingcheng’s suspicions about He Yu are confirmed. Now, He Yu must confront his own demons…including his dark obsession with Xie Qingcheng.

I don’t know if I particularly like this book. It’s very melodramatic but there are some wild tone shifts as well. Like there’s a pretty horrific incident at a mental institution, and then there are super tropey scenes (there was only one bed!) that are funny and cringey.

He Yu has “psychological Ebola” which —what?? I don’t actually care about the potential translation because the core is that He Yu is only one of four people known to have whatever this disorder is, but also he has some comorbidities that seem sci-fi, but I don’t think this is actually sci-fi? Regardless, “psychological Ebola” is a stupid name for the condition, and it yanks me out of the story every time.

He Yu and Xie Qingcheng are awful people (although I feel more sympathetic towards He Yu because he is A) 19, and 19 years olds are often terrible and B) has a disease which explains, though doesn’t excuse why he is an asshole). Xie Xue is obnoxious in the way so many female leads are in c-dramas. She’s whiny and immature and I get why He Yu is into her but also, kiddo. The Xies are terrible. And yeah, so is your family, but maybe instead of wallowing in dysfunction, try to be better and find someone better?

I think this sort of book would appeal to people who like messy reality TV or like this Thai show from a few years ago (TharnType were the characters, I think). I got it because it sort of sounded interesting, but I think ultimately it’s just not for me. HOWEVER I am a tiny bit curious about how badly things will go for them. But I also have a lot of other stuff I want to read. So we’ll see.

So, I wrote the above when I was about halfway through. I put it down and tried to sleep and then couldn’t get my brain to be quiet, so I got up and finished the book. I’m not going to continue with the series because it’s definitely Not For Me. The main HY and XQC are playing some messed up game with each other, and it leaves me baffled that a grown up adult (who definitely has major, unaddressed issues) decides he needs to mess with (as he keeps saying) a literal child, one who was his patient since he was like eight or nine years old. Definitely not my vibes.

I do want to know what happens with the murder subplot, though, so I’ll probably snoop around for that. But I tried something new and learned that this author just isn’t for me.

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Update: I got some spoilers, and now I kind of want to keep reading lol. Apparently it goes off the rails (even more) in later volumes. I was sort of suspecting some of the things, not suspecting the others but once spoiled, they make a lot of sense. And they recontextualize a bit of the toxic stuff. I guess I’m more willing to put up with the dark or toxic stuff if they serve the overall engine of the story. I’ve been very distrustful of dark/toxic tropes because too often they have been used simply for shock value in the past. Or they are often used in amateur writing (such as the story I wrote in middle school about -- well, never mind. It was bad.) IDK, I do have a substantial TBR pile, so we’ll see. I’ve gotten a lot better at letting myself quit things over the years. I used to be a Finish Everything Reader (because Dad didn’t raise a quitter, ell oh ell), but not anymore.

So we’ll see how it goes.

Comments

[pauraque]

Psychological ebola?? What does that even mean?

[wrote_and_writ]

It’s a rare mental illness in the world of the novel (which is a bit sci-fi), but IDK if that is the term in the original Chinese or it if was a bold choice by translators. I have to think it’s the original author’s choice because WHAT A CHOICE for a translator, but it takes me out every time. They haven’t gotten much into the mechanisms of the disease, so maybe it develops in a similar way? IDK, and to be honest, I’m not invested enough to look up the background for it.

[pauraque]

I am not an expert on ebola but since its most prominent characteristics are that it's highly infectious and kills people quickly and horribly, it's hard to imagine what kind of mental illness the author was trying to evoke.

But anyway, I've also been getting better at quitting series I'm not enjoying. I'm only going to read a finite number of books in my life, and I want to avoid taking up slots with things I have reason to suspect I won't like.

[wrote_and_writ]

If I'm generous, it might be because the illness isn't natural but caused through experiments and certain things can be "passed" from person to person, but tbh, I don't think it's that deep. It's like, "Shh, shh, focus on this whole fucked-up dynamic between the characters and the conspiracy." Which is fine. This is fiction. I've not read other things by this author because she's known for pretty dark content and that's not my usual thing, but I'm finding it more ridiculous and over the top, which I have a bit more (but still pretty limited) tolerance for in fiction. So we'll see how it goes.

[gekidasa]

I’ll be honest, meatbun’s reputation for dogblood makes me not want to touch her books with a ten foot pole

[wrote_and_writ]

I've never seen that phrase "dog blood" before -- I had to look it up, and yeah, this story is SUPER melodramatic. I'm definitely rolling my eyes a lot as I read it, but at the moment, I apparently want to read the equivalent of snacking on packing materials lol