The Travelling Pixie on Good Reads

Title: Rules for Virgins  (An excerpt from The Valley of Amazement)

Author: Amy Tan

Genre: Fiction

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

Kindle Price: £0.99

A short read that took me about 40 minutes.

As the title suggests, Rules for Virgins is set shortly after the downfall of the Qing dynasty in Shanghai.  A beautiful narrative written in the voice of Magic Gourd, veteran courtesan, who is now the attendant of young Violet, a virgin waiting to be deflowered.  Rules for Virgins is essentially the guidebook on how to be a first-class courtesan in Shanghai, with Magic Gourd coaching Violet on becoming one of the next Top Ten Beauties.

In seven short chapters Magic Gourd reveals the years of being the most glamorous courtesan in Shanghai, and passes on her cunning secrets to the next generation.  How to entice her audience, to manipulate her suitors, to captivate her patrons.

Truth be told, I feel that this story is unfinished.  What happens to Violet when she becomes a proper courtesan?  What was the dark secret that led to the downfall of Magic Gourd?  What next?  Such are a few of the questions that popped into my head from time to time while reading this short story.  Having finished Rules for Virgins, I guess I have no choice but to also read The Valley of Amazement!  This book has me hooked on, dying to uncover what secrets lie behind the closed doors of a courtesan house.

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Heres the link to Rules for Virgins on Amazon if you’d like to give this short read a try x

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rules-Virgins-Amy-Tan-ebook/dp/B00CX24U5Y