These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong
What is it about?
A retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet that takes its readers to a dazzling Shanghai in the 1920s.
OK, but what is it really about?
Roma Montagov and Juliette Cai are the heirs of their respective rival gangs, the White Flowers and the Scarlets. When Juliette returns to Shanghai after spending a few years abroad, she quickly runs into Roma again – and instantly remembers his betrayal. But then, the “madness” takes a hold of the city, leading numerous gangsters and commoners on both side to rip out their own throats and die a gruesome death. Roma and Juliette have no choice: they team up to fight their new enemy, a nameless monster, before the whole city is buried in chaos and mayhem.
Is it any good?
The fact that “These Violent Delights” is Romeo and Juliet in a new setting with a dark twist was enough to get my attention. I have always adored the story of Romeo and Juliet – rival gangs, star-crossed lovers, sword fights, betrayal and a love stronger than death. I mean, what’s not to love, right?
“These Violent Delights” picks up this main storyline with some delicious twists and turns, adding monsters and truly gruesome deaths to the plot – without leaving out the original’s most iconic scenes or famous protagonists, breathing new life into them, adding even more characters into the mix and giving the whole storyline a novel dimension with different politics that come into play.
The author paints such a vivid picture of Shanghai that I almost felt I could breathe in the same air, joining the gangs in dubious, dimly-lit alleyways at night, sitting in on a family meeting with the Scarlets or the White Flowers, or glide over the dance floor with protagonists Roma and Juliette.
While I love the premise and the setting, it took some time for me to feel the sparks and chemistry between Roma and Juliette, which bothered me a little at the beginning. After all, they’re supposed to be so crazy about each other that they’re willing to set aside the family feud and die for each other. Things got better though after they shared a dance. After their waltz at the masquerade, their mutual attraction became more palpable. Still, instead of the little snippets, I would have enjoyed more details of their shared past to get into the whole enemies to lovers to enemies to lovers trope (yes, they go through the whole thing twice) better.
Favorite character?
In the original story, I never really gave Benvolio a second thought. He was simply Romeo’s cousin, one of the trusted members of the inner Montague circle. But here, in “These Violent Delights”, where he is named Benedikt, he was a fully-fledged character: yes, he’s still strong, a skilled fighter and fiercely loyal, but there is a vulnerable quality to him, and I loved to find out about his artistic streak, his hopes and dreams. The same goes for his roommate, Marshall Seo (Mercutio), who in an otherwise rather gritty story, often brings comic relief.
Most memorable quote?
“She thought it preposterous that her father had to ask permission to run business on land their ancestors had lived and died on from men who had simply docked their boat here and decided they would like to be in charge now.”
Conclusion?
This historical fantasy YA novel is a highly imaginative retelling of Shakespeare’s “Romeo & Juliet.” Even though I’m not usually into YA historical fantasy, and I found the story between Roma and Juliette a little lacking at the beginning, I was still hooked and will probably also dig into the sequel (to be published later this year) to find out how the story continues.
AT A GLANCE
Title: These Violent Delights
By: Chloe Gong
Published by: Hodder & Stoughton (2020)
Pages: 464
Language: English