Well read terrible story

On the reading itself, it's a good performance with different intonations for the many different characters. My only qualm is that a few times the volume of the voice became too low and I couldn't understand anymore.

The story itself is an absurd plot chock-full of dumb two-dimensional characters who confuse an extreme sense of pride and patriotism for good.
The sorry plot will enfold itself regardless of common sense :
- in the beginning, in the night, a lady saves a dying enemy soldier (who, conveniently, happens to be an evil handsome prince from the enemy's side) who falls in love with her at first sight. She tries to tell her husband (who may have killed the bastard), but whatever she did, she just couldn't wake him up (what the hell?). The dying soldier is gone in the next morning, and later an army comes by, kills the man and kidnaps the woman. We don't really know why the army does so (maybe the evil prince was behind it?), but they are led by an evil and corrupt officer, so I guess that's enough of a reason.
- the evil and corrupt officer flees to the north with the woman he kidnapped, being pursued by strong martial artists who want to free her. He knows she is the only reason why they keep chasing him, but releasing her and going back to his normal life never crosses his mind. He wasn't even attracted to the woman, and we'll never be given any reason as why he kept her with him.
- ... and much more non-sense will unfold. But the plot must go on!

Good and evil is extremely simplistic and racist in the book. Evil characters are treacherous murderous rapists, and mostly on the side of the Jin empire. The Song empire is full of corrupted evil officials as well who use the army and their power against innocent citizens, but somehow they still are the good side, as it's the side of the Han chinese who have superior culture and purity of heart (to be opposed to the Jins, who are evil invaders who rape and kill everyone they face).
There is a incredibly strong confusion throughout the book between good and honor or being patriotic (pro-Song/Han), and violent and murderous characters will often be praised as good people as their extreme violence and imperviousness to any form of reason is due to their great love for their country or their impeccable honor that cannot be sullied.
Ethics are just one of the very simplistic thing in this book unfortunately. In the case of love, the hero (who is described as a dullard by the novel's characters, which is saying something) will meet his future wife in a tavern. She asks him to give him more and more things, and he agrees everytime. She is so moved by his naivety that she falls in love. Wow.

I've heard that foreigners (= non-chinese) cannot like Jin Yong's work due to it being too hard to translate. I have to disagree, and I cannot see how could any translation make something worth reading out of such bad-quality material.
I can understand the enthusiasm about Jin Yong's work from people who were read the stories when they were children. I did also love the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle anime, before growing up and realizing that the scenario was complete trash. It was "cool" and there were lots of flashy things, and I still have a fond spot for it.
But I cannot understand how any normally functioning adult not influenced by memories from childhood could read A Hero Born and find there anything worth their time.

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