This sequel includes perspectives from characters beyond Roma and Juliette and is at its best when using secondary figures like Rosalind and Kathleen to explore larger questions of family and assimilation in the story. Though OUr Violent Ends is a Romeo and Juliet retelling – and does incorporate many key elements from Shakespeare’s tragic love story in surprisingly smart and interesting ways – Gong’s sequel shines when it strays from the proscribed path. But when a blackmailer in control of several of the same insect-spawning monsters from the last book begins extorting money from both gangs, the two must work together again in the name of stopping a shared mutual enemy and protecting the people of their city. Juliette, keeping her own secrets about what precisely happened to Marshall, is allowing Roma his rage because she believes it will help keep him safe in an increasingly fractious and ever violent Shanghai. The story begins where These Violent Delights left off: Roma believes Juliette to have murdered his best friend Marshall Seo and is determined to kill her in revenge for his death. There are still monsters afoot, but many of them are human this time, rather than a creature lurking in the depths of the local river. But the scope of the story has expanded beyond their love to encompass the fate of a city in the grips of distinct political upheaval as the Communists and Nationalists battle for the future of China. Our Violent Ends is still primarily the story of Roma Montagov and Juliette Cai, star-crossed lovers and heirs to rival crime organizations known as the White Flowers and the Scarlet Gang. To say that expectations for its sequel were sky-high is something of an understatement – but I’m here to confirm that Our Violent Endswill delight everyone who loved this series’ first installment.
Chloe Gong’s These Violent Delightswas one of the buzziest debuts of 2020, an innovative Romeo and Juliet retelling set in a version of1920s Shanghai that’s teeming with gangsters, monsters, and complex politics.
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