4 stars: loved this book, would recommend

Very different from the first novella I read. It's very folktale-themed, with a fairly short and straightforward framing story encompassing two conflicting stories being told. Much less plot-driven, some musings on what a story is and what it means for a story to be true. I like how the worldbuilding hints at a much larger world without spelling it out. Like the other one, set in a vaguely East/Southeast Asian setting in much the way some other fantasy stories are often set in a vaguely Europe inspired world.