Girls of Paper and Fire is Natasha Ngan’s third book and first foray into fantasy, and she has created one of the most original worlds I have come across in a long time.
Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most oppressed class in Ikhara. She lives in a remote village with her father, where the decade-old trauma of watching her mother snatched by royal guards still haunts her. Now, the guards are back, and this time it’s Lei they’re after—the girl whose golden eyes have piqued the king’s interest.
Over weeks of training in the opulent but stifling palace, Lei and eight other girls learn the skills and charm that befit being a king’s consort. But Lei isn’t content to watch her fate consume her. Instead, she does the unthinkable—she falls in love. Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens the very foundation of Ikhara, and Lei, still the wide-eyed country girl at heart, must decide just how far she’s willing to go for justice and revenge
The setting is inspired by Ngan’s upbringing as a British Chinese Malaysian and the ensuing blend of cultures she experienced during her childhood. There two primary elements of the worldbuilding seem to be Imperial China and Feudal Japan, but it would be easy to imagine the influence of several other historical eras (and mythologies) from the Asian region shaping the world of Ikhara. As a consequence, Ngan has built a world which feels as though it has a very definite history, a nuanced political structure, and a clear sense of where the rifts lie within Ikhara, which plausibly leads to the ‘bigger-scale’ events of the book.
The conceit of the castes is, in a word, brilliant. Probably one of the more unique ideas that I’ve encountered in a book is the melding of animal and human form. This not only functions to capture the imagination, but works as a rather brilliant metaphor. It explores the coercive element of superior strength (and resources) ruling and upper classes often have at their disposal to secure their position and facilitate the poor treatment of other groups within society.
The nomenclature of ‘demon’ is quite interesting given its connotations, especially as it stands in contrast to the elevated status of those who are demon caste within the book’s setting. However, it is a very deliberate choice—perhaps this is going to be a plot point within the subsequent two books.
The central character, Lei, is very easy to find empathetic, and through her eyes we see the breathtaking majesty of the imperial administration which exists concurrently with its callous brutality.
It might have benefited the story to establish a little more clearly the specific thoughts or influences which lead to Lei’s singular rebelliousness. However, it was easy to understand why the experience of living as a subjugated Paper caste, and having her mother taken in a village raid by imperial forces seven years previously would ferment a resentment that can only lead to defiance when she herself is taken to serve the king’s sexual desires, regardless of her consent.
Particular credit must go to Ngan in the way she portrays with the sexual violence Lei witnesses and suffers, without any overly graphic detail. Recounting the aftermath of the novel’s most traumatic moment through Lei’s narration of others’ reactions in fact makes the event even more powerful. Moreover, the fact that Lei never really considers it is acceptable for her to be forced into a position where she serve the whims of the King, while initially a little jarring as it goes against other similar stories, ultimately serves to point out how unacceptable such practices actually are. As such, it softly leads to a broader comment about narratives which portray concubines unhesitatingly and cheerfully going about their duties being inherently problematic.
The love story between Lei and one of the other girls is beautifully written and completely plausible. It outlines with delicate clarity Lei’s reactions, both emotional and physical, to a woman rather than a man. More importantly, never once does Lei feel any shame for her sexual orientation, she merely realises this truth about herself. Stories which do not feature a somewhat stereotypical sense of shame about sexual orientation are really powerful because the message that they send is that there is absolutely nothing shameful or wrong about who you are, so this was a real delight to read.
Perhaps in the tail end of the story, the romance was given a little more weight than was strictly necessary. I felt that Lei had sufficient motivations external to her relationship to follow the course she pursues, but that could be a matter of opinion.
In terms of the writing, the book is very easy to read. I always feel settings of older worlds, which make use of more contemporary parlance (e.g. creepy), need to do so carefully. But then again, few authors write with flawless prose, such as Neil Gaiman’s entire oeuvre being an exception, as is All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. However, those few moments aside, there is an absolute lyricism to the some parts of the book that show Ngan’s mastery of language.
Additionally, present tense can read in a slightly stilted manner, but here it gives us a sense of immediacy and proximity to Lei’s feelings. This is particularly important as Lei is a character whose feelings are integral to the decisions she makes, and the journey to her final decisions is one which is really teased out beautifully.
While I am a little weary of the storyline found within YA novels which emphasises female characters’ journey to discovery of their own power in patriarchal worlds. However, I also recognise this is a personal preference as I prefer reading about women who know they’re powerful and have the ability to meaningfully effect change. That being said, Girls of Paper and Fire is a novel which is well worth reading. The world alone makes it worthwhile, but the story’s deviations from a great many tropes in concert with some truly beautiful writing in parts means this is definitely a book for which you should keep an eye out.
Girls of Paper and Fire is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers. Thank you to Hachette Australia for providing The Nerd Daily with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Will you be reading Girls of Paper and Fire? Have you already? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
Each year, eight beautiful girls are chosen as Paper Girls to serve the king. It’s the highest honor they could hope for…and the most cruel.
But this year, there’s a ninth girl. And instead of paper, she’s made of fire.
In this lush fantasy, Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most oppressed class in Ikhara. She lives in a remote village with her father, where the decade-old trauma of watching her mother snatched by royal guards still haunts her. Now, the guards are back, and this time it’s Lei they’re after–the girl whose golden eyes have piqued the king’s interest.
Over weeks of training in the opulent but stifling palace, Lei and eight other girls learn the skills and charm that befit being a king’s consort. But Lei isn’t content to watch her fate consume her. Instead, she does the unthinkable–she falls in love. Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens the very foundation of Ikhara, and Lei, still the wide-eyed country girl at heart, must decide just how far she’s willing to go for justice and revenge.
TW: violence and sexual abuse.
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