Legend of the White Snake is a Chinese legend that recounts the romance between a male scholar (or a physician in some versions) named Xu Xian and a female snake spirit named Bai Suzhen. The legend is one of China's most prominent myths, having been adapted to various forms of literary texts and performance arts, including the Chinese Opera. Its notoriety encourages the legend to be classified as China's Four Great Folktales, a term popularized in the 1950s, alongside other myths, such as The Legend of Meng Jiangnü (Lady Meng Jiang), The Legend of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai (The Butterfly Lovers), and The Buffalo Boy and The Weaving Girl.

In most versions, the tale chronicles the scholar's encounter with the snake spirit-turned-human on a boat, eventually falling in love and getting married before opening a medicine shop (or an apothecary). Then a temple abbot named Fahai warns the scholar about Suzhen's true nature as a white snake, which is revealed during the festival when she drinks a realgar wine, a reveal that unfortunately shocks Xian so much that it kills him. Suzhen then travels to find a way to resurrect her love, a feat she succeeds, yet, Xian still fears her identity and gets imprisoned by Fahai to protect him. He realizes her genuine love when she saves him again, being reunited and having a child on the next journey.

As a Chinese-descent Singaporean, Sher Lee is very familiar with how the legend goes, so her aim in recontextualizing the story is to pay the highest respect to the source despite implementing her own vision and twist in the process. Some apparent changes are notable in Sher Lee's concept; the folktale retelling transforms into a queer rendition with the shift in Bai Suzhen's gender from female to male, the use of the word "Zhen" and "Qinq" in describing the snake-human mutants instead of their full names (Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing), the replacement of Xu Xian's occupation from a mere scholar to an intelligent second born prince of a sick concubine, and the alteration of Fahai from a monk leader to a court advisor.

Another change is the additional fantasy plot embedded in the novel. Sher Lee attaches the storyline of Xu Xian seeking the elusive white snake in hopes of creating the cure for his sickly mother due to being bitten by a snake years before the present events, in which the snake happens to be Zhen, who has transformed into a human because of the magical pearl he accidentally swallows at the same time as Xian's mother being bitten.

The changes implemented in the novel do not disturb the fundamental storyline of the source. Instead, they elevate what's already there and transpose the story to execute the quite intricate themes about divine beliefs and cultural traditions; examples are evident in the way Sher Lee often takes time to input passages that define sacred customs and ethnic conventions related to the story, or the mythical lores built and emphasized by the Chinese people for generations. It also enriches the topic of family and duty, which are something intrinsically latched onto Chinese myths that become the characteristics in their world-building as well, through the role modification of Xu Xian in this novel.

As many Asian novels go, or other novels by authors of color, there will be unfamiliar terms penned in the narrative that use the native tongue of the authors. It's no different for Lee, who aims to display the cultural element of the story. She provides a contextualized definition of the phrases and customs in a dynamic exposition, using dialogues and interactions as a medium to give new perspectives and knowledge to the readers.

While I have no familiarity with the textual origin, I believe that the characterization in the novel maintains the essential, original personalities of each character. Let's discuss Xu Xian first.

I am not exactly sure if this is a trend in Asian-inspired fantasy, but Xian shares similar traits of independence, courage, playfulness, and intelligence as his fellow princes, such as Liwei (from Daughter of the Moon Goddess) and Takkan (from Six Crimson Cranes). Moreover, Xian is highlighted to exude profound empathy in his words and actions thoughtful despite the naivety he emanates due to his age. And yet to my surprise, Xian is unexpectedly a humorous and sassy character; his penchant to speak so bluntly is vastly entertaining, particularly when he attempts to clock someone for their deceit and manipulation.

Meanwhile, as a snake spirit, Zhen exhibits quite a different personality from Xian, such as being forgiving, kindhearted, and naturally inclined to protect all forms of life, and similar attributes to Xian, like intelligence and inherent curiosity to learn. This personality bleeds through his character arc throughout the story, notably in his reflection on his mistakes and determination to set things right despite his fear of his own fate in return. Perhaps, relating to the discussion of themes, Zhen's character arc finds itself to embody the theme of duty—in a different aspect that is much more humane than the usual attribute to royal responsibilities.

Their not-so-different personalities make the romantic alliance between Xian and Zhen intriguing and gut-wrenching, partly because we dread the upcoming truth and potential star-crossed ending with one of them sacrificing their life, and another part is their chemistry with one another just hits off right from the beginning. The build-up from their introduction to the blooming relationship, then tragedies, and lastly, the resolution as soulmates is threaded nicely; well-written with perfect pacing that doesn't feel too fast or too slow.

Moving to the side characters, Qinq truly embodies the role of a sister far younger than Zhen (although, I might suspect they're not that far in age gap). She's headstrong as much as she is reckless, bold, and adventurous, yet, oozes the same kindhearted charisma as her stepbrother. Feng, an original creation by Sher Lee, is that overprotective best friend or brother who is mostly blunt and terse in his mannerisms, but occasionally shows wisdom in certain times. Sher Lee might be setting them up as a side couple in the narrative judging by their interaction, and I find myself not minding it at all. In fact, I hope that Lee would be generous enough to write a small story about their adventure together post-novel.

Speaking of Fahai, well, this has anything to do with the third act of the book itself—it is surprisingly quite disappointing in execution.

Fantasy novels will definitely feature characters that position themselves as enemies, of course, as Sher Lee has also done the same thing with Wang and Fahai in her version of Legend of the White Snake. While Wang, another original creation by Lee, is fairly treated by a small background story that encourages his treacherous actions, Lee's writing of Fahai does not implement the same treatment, especially when Fahai is considered the main villain. I wish Lee would've written clues, hints, or any kind of foreshadowing regarding Fahai's deception because the reveal of his true nature springs out of nowhere and feels out of place. Not to mention, the resolution in defeating Fahai at the end is also equally dissatisfying—it looks too simple for someone ready to maximize the horrors of torturing someone else for personal gains.

Nonetheless, the overall verdict of Legend of the White Snake is that this book is recommended for those who love fantasy novels as much as they desire to search for queer representation in the more folktale-inspired mythical subgenre, in which Sher Lee honors all aspects in grace and fascination.