Reviewed by Natalie Dean || 1 May 2021

In her debut novel, Chloe Gong masterfully reimagines Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet in 1926 Shanghai. Romeo and Juliet (called Roma and Juliette here) are the heirs to their rivaling gangs, the White Flowers and the Scarlet Gang, respectively. Juliette, newly back in Shanghai after going to school in America, steps back into the life of blood feud and violence she had left behind. But Juliette is not the only new presence in Shanghai. A monster has awakened and begun killing members of both gangs. In their desperation to stop the monster, Roma and Juliette find themselves drawn back together for the first time since they were younger — when their forbidden romance ended in betrayal. 

To call this book another Romeo and Juliet retelling is a disservice to the creativity with which Chloe Gong tells her story. Though it is inspired by Shakespeare’s classic, it is clearly a work of its own. It does not follow the play exactly, and it takes massive artistic liberties in reimagining almost every aspect of the play. 

The first thing that struck me about this book was the writing style. Gong has an incredible way of capturing her audience’s attention and weaving her story with a beauty that is often lacking in fantasy novels. From the first line (“In glittering Shanghai, a monster awakens.”), I was hooked. It is not all flowery language, though. The story tackles difficult themes such as Western imperialism, the common immigrant feeling of conflict between one’s identities, and the Chinese communism. Each of these is handled with the care they require, especially the growing influence of the West in Shanghai as a type of cultural colonialism. Juliette often gives her perspective on the state of her city in a way that is nuanced, layered, and compelling. The complexity of the social and political issues being discussed is never disregarded.

Juliette is in many ways the main character, despite technically sharing that title with Roma. She was also my favorite character for many reasons. She was very well developed and complex, and the chapters focusing on her were always made more interesting by her narration. She is not the soft, innocent Juliet that Shakespeare imagined. Instead, she embraces her elite status, power, and the violence that comes with her position in the Scarlet Gang. 

Roma is a less complex character than Juliette, but he is still well-developed in his own right. As a Russian in Shanghai, he brings to the story the opposite perspective from Juliette. Their relationship is made all the more fascinating by their conflicting interests and personalities. The tension between him and Juliette — due to his betrayal of her in earlier years and the blood feud between their gangs — creates a dynamic full of mutual pining and regret.

The side characters often steal the show. Roma’s friends, Benedikt and Marshall (formerly Benvolio and Mercutio) lighten the heavy mood. Juliette’s friends, Kathleen and Rosalind, have interesting subplots in their own right. I would have liked to see more from the side characters, especially Kathleen,  who I found to be a very intriguing character. 

Another element of the story I thought was extremely well done was the theme of multicultural identities and the conflict they bring about. Juliette is  an immigrant in America, but when she comes back to Shanghai, she feels she has been too Americanized. This feeling of “other-ness” adds depth to her character and makes it easier for the audience to identify with an otherwise pretty un-relatable character. Different identities are explored in the story, especially the different cultures that are starting to carve out a place in Shanghai. Paul (formerly Paris) is a British man. He represents the Western cultural imperialism that is trying to take hold in Shanghai, and as a result, he does not find himself in Juliette’s good favor. 

One identity I thought was not quite fleshed out enough was Roma’s identity as a son of Russian immigrants. I think Roma would have benefitted from a bit more exploration of his perspective. He clearly considers Shanghai to be his home, but he still speaks Russian when he is with his family or friends. This is really the only tie he seems to have to his nationality. I think it would have been good to hear more from him, since we hear a lot from Juliette. 

(Minor spoilers in this paragraph): Another identity I thought could have used a bit more development was Kathleen’s identity as a trans girl. Normally, I would not comment on the fact that her trans-ness was not a major plot point, but since the story has such a heavy theme of identity and being uncomfortable with one’s identity, it seemed strange that this was only mentioned once or twice. Exploring this in more detail would have given the character a bit more depth, and it would have been interesting to read about a perspective that is not often represented. I would have loved to hear her thoughts as a trans girl in 1926, but of course, Chloe Gong probably left this out because she herself has no experience with being trans and cannot comment on it the same way she can comment on national identity. So if you are looking for a deeper exploration of the transgender experience, I would recommend reading books written by trans authors: Felix Ever After (YA contemporary) is the first book that comes to mind.

(No more spoilers): The plot is fast-paced and engrossing at every corner. Though some of the plot twists were predictable, this book does not need to rely on surprises to get the reader’s attention. Gong does a fantastic job of that with her writing merit alone. The plot is not the strongest aspect of this book, but it is by no means bad. The characters are just so complex and fun to read, I did not care as much about the plot. 

TLDR / Final Thoughts:

These Violent Delights is a creative and original novel based loosely on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The story takes many creative liberties from its source material, until only the bare bones of the story is actually recognizable as a Romeo and Juliet retelling. It explores themes of Western influence in China and cultural identity while also touching on the Chinese political climate at the time. The characters are well written (though very different from their Shakespearian counterparts), and the writing style is fantastic.

The summary makes it sound a bit more fantasy-oriented than it is. Though there is talk of a monster, the vast majority of the story is grounded in reality and there are no other fantasy elements to speak of. The monster is a large part of the story, but even that is mostly written off as superstition or explained by science.

All in all, I loved this book and I am very excited for the sequel, Our Violent Ends, to come out later this year. Because this is based on Romeo and Juliet, I don’t expect the ending to be particularly fluffy, but I am willing to suffer for Chloe Gong’s writing.

I would recommend this book to those who like the enemies-to-lovers trope, those in search of diverse books, and fans of Shakespeare.

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

CONTENT WARNINGS (as listed by Gong): This book contains mentions and descriptions of blood, violence, gore, character deaths, explicit description of gouging self (not of their own volition), murder, weapon use, insects, alcohol consumption, parental abuse.