The Story of the Stone - Volume 2 - Cao Xueqin

Nothing new to add since finishing volume 1, except that I stumbled across The Companion to the Story of the Stone by Susan Chan Egan and Pai Hsien-yung, which I am diligently following.

This chapter by chapter preview and analysis, as anticipated, is really helping me understand the larger story, as well as identifying details that I would have otherwise missed.  It is proving to be immensely helpful.

I'm feeling confident about working my way through the entire series of novels, and I'm not feeling rushed about it.