The Perilous Life of Jade Yeo

The Perilous Life of Jade Yeo
Zen Cho, 2012

Premise: This epistolary novella chronicles a young woman's adventures in the London literary set in the 1920s.

This was basically a sampler-size candy box of a piece; full of delightful moments, but it didn't outstay its welcome. 

Jade is an aspiring writer who finally achieves notoriety by writing a scathing review of a popular book by a popular author. The novella follows her diary entries for the time that immediately precedes this act and all that follows from it. (Her unexpurgated diary entries, I should say. There's a humorous moment where she reminds herself to delete the explicit descriptions of sex if she decides to publish her diary as an instructive experience for others.) 

So she gets tangled up in society (romantically and otherwise), makes some perhaps unwise but completely relatable choices around taking your chances where you can, and has to eventually figure out how to thrive with the hand she's dealt. 

For a short piece, it touches on a lot of ideas. What's worth protecting, and what's worth taking a chance on. Can you work outside of what society says you can have without adapting all the morals or worldview of others who are outside of that society? 

Jade's voice is hilariously precise and so much fun to read.

4 Stars - A Very Good Book