Immortal Longings: The #1 Sunday Times Bestseller (Flesh and False Gods)

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Though the light overhead runs only in one shade, coloring the photograph the wrong hue and washing out the subject’s eyes, there is no doubt. The woman in the photograph is stepping off the stoop of a building—her nose and mouth covered with a mask, her hands gloved in leather, her body angled away in movement—but August would recognize her anywhere. She is not the sort to abandon her body, even under such circumstances. She would instead flaunt what she managed to keep, living in this city for five long years right under his nose. Juliette Cai officially has competition for my favourite Gong characters here in the complex Calla Tuoleimi. She is often cruel, but there are shimemrs of vulnerability and Gong ensures there is depth and layers to her character. She is driven by rage and revenge, going to any means necessary to achieve her goals. However, she is also driven by a deep desire to survive and some of the moments around that are genuinely heart-wrenching. Gong never lets you forget that this is a character whose hands are stained by blood though. She is a badass fighter, branded by her reputation. I also have to shout out Mr Mao Mao for being the only pure character in the entire book (as far as we currently know). Kasa’s father had started them in his previous reign, and what began as a yearly one-on-one battle to the death eventually grew to a multicontestant affair, expanding past the coliseum and using all of San-Er as a playing field [...] Now, the games are a thrill that anyone can participate in, a solution to a kingdom simmering with complaints. Don’t worry if your babies drop dead because they have hollowed into starved husks, King Kasa declares, Put your name in the lottery, slaughter only eighty-seven of your fellow citizens and be awarded with riches beyond your wildest dreams..”

Enter Anton Makusa, an exiled aristocrat. His childhood love has lain in a coma since they were both ousted from the palace, and he's deep in debt trying to keep her alive. Thankfully, he's one of the best jumpers in the kingdom, flitting from body to body at will. His last chance at saving her is entering the games and winning. Calla reminded me a lot of Juliette (These violent delights) but at the same time there is something very unique about her character. I always love Chloe's female characters and Calla was no exception. She's a complex character that has a lot to offer throughout the book. I am very curious to see where the author is going to take this character. This was the best book I’ve read this year. No question about it. not including some rereads, but still, this has made its way up on my all-time favourite books list. Even before I started it, I had no doubt that I would love it. It’s written by Chloe Gong. I’ve loved These Violent Delights. No way in hell I wouldn’t love this too, and I was right. In Sa Er, certain people have the ability to jump and occupy other people’s bodies, an idea Gong says she pulled from the trope of body swapping in science fiction. But she put her own spin on the idea by bringing in the Chinese concept of “qi” as life force.

OH MY GOD I CANNOT PUT INTO WORDS HOW MUCH I LOVED THIS BOOK! this is one of my most anticipated reads of this year and it did NOT disappoint. chloe gong’s writing is so raw and full of talent as she captures you from the starting word all the way through to the last.

The setting: I think what I like most about Chloe Gong's books is that her cities are characters themselves.Had my expectations not been through the roofs, my dislike for this work would have been less strong. The profound affection I hold for the These Violent Delights duology led me to eagerly anticipate another Shakespearean retelling by Chloe Gong, particularly within the realm of adult urban fantasy. As I now conclude this book, a bitter sense of disappointment lingers, and I am left regretful for having wasted my time. Certain residents of San-Er have the ability to jump from body to body, but not all of them. How might this affect how you interact with others you meet in a city? How does it contribute to the texture of San-Er? Is invading a body unethical? When might it be acceptable? If you had the ability to jump, would you? The imagery of the physical body beats throughout the novel, personifying Calla’s home: San-Er is a breathing being, the energy fuelling its bright lights like the qi pulsating through the bodies of the occupants of the city. San-Er is constantly moving, beating, and hosting life, as well as witnessing the loss of it. Bodily identity creates friction on all levels: between Calla and Anton, between the people and the palace, between the consumer and the supplier. Something I have always loved about Chloe Gong’s work is how she draws inspiration from classic Shakespearean tales. You can identify the fingerprints of Shakespeare in the characters and overarching plotlines, but these are definitely Gong’s creations. There is always a twist, subversion, or challenge to these well-known narratives. Immortal Longings takes some inspiration from Antony and Cleopatra and for me, this was most evident in the sizzling passion and changing dynamics between Calla and Anton. These two could set the world on fire and would probably happily watch everything around them burn. This is a dynamic that you can never really pin down. Everything is a manipulation, a power play but there are also some feelings in there that catch sparks. What do you think is the mission of the Temple Society? What kind of threat do they pose, and to whom?

Right in time, you’re right in time,” the man gushes, ignoring his question. “Come with me, please, Prince August.” Gripping, bewildering, irresistible, Chloe Gong's Immortal Longings is a tour de force of Asian Futurism, a provocative examination of self and destiny that melds the ruthless sensuality of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon with the visceral urgency of The Hunger Games. This book left me breathless!" The narrative point of view shifts between various characters in the novel, but certain ones are more central to the story than others. Whom would you consider the novel’s main character? Why?By the way, the guy Calla is trying to institute into power signed off on a rural province being torched to the ground: The kind of description that came out of that place where space was so tight, people were living in cages, one on top of each other, which not only was a product of that setting but it was a product of the politics going on at that time,” Gong says. Princess Calla Tuoleimi lurks in hiding. Five years ago, a massacre killed her parents and left the palace of Er empty…and she was the one who did it. Before King Kasa’s forces in San can catch her, she plans to finish the job and bring down the monarchy. Her reclusive uncle always greets the victor of the games, so if she wins, she finally gets her opportunity to kill him.

she was also trying to make everyone be too mysterious and edgy by not divulging much about them other than some vague comments here and there that were supposed to lure me in... but it wasn’t enough information to grip me. instead it just heightened my confusion. she didn’t set out character motivations for the games at all, i didn’t understand this edgy thirst for vengeance and why they all wanted to participate in the games. so i wasn’t invested in any of them as characters at all. Calla and Anton (inspired by Anthony and Cleopatra) have an obsessive codependent relationship that has so much potential for the next book. The book, yes, it is a fantasy and it has everything that a fantasy needs,” Gong says. “It has plot, world building but ultimately it is still, like in my heart, it is primarily a character study." in the city of san er, we have these games held annually where eighty-eight candidates (for such a specific number, one would think it’ll get explained) gets to fight to the death for the purpose of winning riches beyond their wildest dreams. why are these games a thing, you ask? well your answer is as good as mine. all that we know is that the population of san er is poor, so obviously, the only logical solution is to create these games. nevermind that the funds needed to create and keep up the games, and to be gifted to the winner can be relocated elsewhere to actually better the lives of the general population. there has to be a reason for the games, so of course we’ll make everyone poor. we are also not going to explore that poverty and what it entails, because that would require a properly built world where we have an understanding of the politics of the town, and a proper discussion of the socioeconomic aspects of the world. the reason why the games in the hunger games actually work is because all of these nuances was thoroughly explored, which gong failed to do in this book.Chloe has mentioned in a couple of TikToks advertising Immortal Longings that the book is a “NA fantasy trilogy [...] 1990s Hong Kong stylized vibes” with the intended effect of being a “90s Asian noir city.” It’s an intriguing premise but it was only after I talked to a couple of other reader friends, some being natives of Hong Kong, that I was made aware of the historical context Gong was likely taking inspiration from: Kowloon Walled City.