In 1912 Shanghai, being a courtesan is more than a career, it's a chance at independence. A smart girl can leverage a few years of seduction into a lifetime of security. Fortunately for new girl Violet, she's got famous former courtesan Magic Gourd to guide her. It's not just about pleasing rich men, it's about making alliances and planning for the long term. Violet has the youth and beauty, and Magic Gourd has the experience and a strategic mind any general would envy. This is a beautiful piec

Goodness, these are an awful lot of rules. I pity the poor girl who has to memorize them (and all of those songs!). The whole thing does seem rather daunting. That being said, this seems a little unusual given what I'm used to from Amy Tan. It's a bit more explicit than what I've come to expect from her. But the best thing I can say about this is that it whet my appetite. I'm relieved to find out that it's an excerpt from a forthcoming novel because I'd quite like to learn about the wider narrat...

It was very interesting. It had many aspects of Dictionary of Mutual Understanding (had to have help remembering the exact title). I liked this book.

Yuuuuuck. Did Amy Tan just wake up one morning and decide she wanted to write this? Did she get bored? It's basically instructions to a new courtesan. Like reading Memoirs of a Geisha, but set in China and possibly more explicit. Meh. I probably would have given up on it but I think I paid 2 or 3 bucks for this story.***edited to add***Ok, this makes more sense now that I know it's an excerpt from a forthcoming novel. It still seems like an odd bit to just yank out as a short story (pretty expli...

This is an eye-opening novella about the literal rules for virgins in 1912 Shanghai. I didn't know what to expect when I first bought this ebook well over a year ago, however, I was pleasantly surprised.I would definitely not recommend this novella for all ages, but maybe rated R audiences. It has moments of an extremely detailed sexual nature, and although I am an adult myself, I was a bit taken aback by how brazen and descriptive this was.As novellas go, this was a relatively quick read that I...

A lovely, bawdy, novella that is set as a series of lessons given to a young courtesan by her older companion of the perils and advantages of working as a courtesan to Shanghai's elite in the early 20th century. Some might be disturbed by the content, but most should enjoy this one. Tan's first fiction in more than six years; it's very good to see that she hasn't lost her touch.

This was interesting in more than one way. I need to read Valley of Amazement, stat.

Quick & unedited review (hope it makes sense!) ... I love historical fiction & this novella explores a niche I’ve not yet read about in this kind of detail. Tan handles the explicit sexual content with some humor and it’s the briefness is the format feels fitting - almost like the virgin sneaking a peek but not looking for too long. It’s fascinating to reflect on this lifestyle having been a social status quo compared to the society’s current view of sex & morality. In the current world of slut

I enjoyed this story. I thought it was well-written and I liked the narrator's dry sense of humor. The characters could be more developed, but I feel that as short story/excerpt it works.

I will accompany you on the zither until your warbled notes don’t sound like two cats screeching over the same dead mouse.Mosquito pressYou are too young to know yet what nostalgia truly means. It takes time to become sentimental. But for the sake of your success, you must quickly learn. When you touch a man’s nostalgia, he is yours.They make men think all flowers are pickpockets of the heart. You won’t find any courtesans like that in this house, so don’t you become one.Here, we don’t go back a...

Rules for Virgins is a vignette written from the point of view of an assistant giving advice to the 17-year-old Violet about her newly acquired role of courtesan in Shanghai circa 1912. I gave it four stars because it is tightly written. Once again, Amy Tan shows us that she is a great wordsmith.

Vivid, fascinating, and a seductive course in the ways of a concubine, Amy Tan's "Rules for Virgins..." was an audio book that made my cheeks blush, my mind intrigued, and my inner historian who seeks out the hidden gems of time, captured. One of my mother's favorite authors, but not a book she is familiar with, I think even a daughter can recommend the book to a parent...with tact, maturity, and consideration of course. It was a timely book to consume, considering I am also reading one on the l...

I have to admit that this one was quite surprising! I know the title says “Rules for Virgins” but I definitely didn’t expect it to be this list of rules. However, it doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it! I love Amy Tan’s writing and I love to learn more about foreign cultures and traditions (especially Eastern) and this was, well, educational! And also quite graphic so I would not recommend it to younger readers.

Having read Joy Luck Club, The Kitchen God’s Wife, The Bonesetter’s Daughter and A Hundred Secret Senses, I can honestly say that I am a die-hard Amy Tan fan! So I was so excited when I saw that she had written Rules for Virgins, a short novella spoken in the voice of an aging courtesan who is providing advice and “on-the-job” training to a virgin courtesan in China on the proverbial “eve” of her deflowering.Like Ms. Tan’s other stories, the main theme revolves around traditional female roles in...

I picked up this short story on sale for kindle awhile ago, and I’m trying to prioritize my own books (so hard)! It’s an experienced and aging courtesan giving advice to her newest charge, the young virgin added to the house. It isn’t for everyone, but boy can Amy Tan write! It makes me want to re-read The Joy Luck Club, because it reminded me of how well Tan writes about women throughout Chinese history.

MUCH BETTER THAN ‘SAVING FISH FROM DROWNING’.“…you must know all the arts of enticement and master the balance of anticipation and reticence.”—page 5Reading a bit like a big bag of fortune cookies, the message of Amy Tan’s latest, Byliner Publication (Great writers. Great stories. Readable in a single sitting.), ‘Rules for Virgins,’ seems to be that performance art will always be improved by good management, good training, and attention to detail. There is, however, a subtle, lyrical and gentle,...

This wasn't a story. It was just a monologue. Yes, it's informative about it's topic, but there's no character development, no climax, no description. It's just one woman talking the entire time. I guess it's possible I didn't get anything out of it because it just wasn't particularly interesting to me. I gave it two stars because the author did elicit a little sympathy from me, though I'm not even sure that was her purpose. I felt sad to be reading about a girl who was only 14 and she's being t...

When i first started reading this i was doubtful i'd like it. but i changed my mind fast. it was fun, interesting, and...odd? i'm not sure how to describe it. i learned a new word i should be ashamed to type here so i'll just say it kind of sounds like pendulum but doesn't mean anything like pendulum. if you want to know what i'm talking about, you'll just have to read this. haha.also, i think i saw somewhere that this story is either part of or the foundation or something of a novel. i hope tha...

Not really a STORY, which bothered me. I'm a big Amy Tan fan, but this didn't have any of the traits that I usually admire in her work. The writing was fine, but empty. There was no emotion, no character development, no... movement. It was essentially a bunch of research presented as a monologue. Interesting/informative? Sure. But I expect more from Amy Tan than just that.HOWEVER. If you look at this story simply as setup for Valley of Amazement -- the characters, the setting, the frame of mind

a monolog delivered from an older shanghai courtesan to a younger one. no so much a narrative as the outline of one, rich with research of the culture and history of the early 1900s. again, there is no plot, but one senses the great, seductive novel that shines behind this monologue (and perhaps may one day see light?) however, in it's present incarnation, 'rules,' boiled down to its essence, is well-written, soft-core, historical porn. meaning, that yes, if your still reading this review, you w...