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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
The prose is beautiful, no surprise from an author who is also a painter and poet, but the story is stilted. Descriptions of pageantry are sometimes overly lengthy and the political dramas are hard to track, with characters often given nicknames or new titles/positions. Surely rewarding to a careful reader, somewhat frustrating to me.
3.5 ★
Frumos scrisă, această carte spune povestea unui personaj istoric remarcabil, femeia-împărat cu drepturi depline, Wu Zetian.
Cartea abundă în descrieri minuțioase ale decorului din China Antică, în informații istorice care creionează ascensiunea la tron a acestei femei, urmărindu-i viața încă din pântecele mamei până dincolo de moarte. De la spiritualitatea budistă până la erotismul ce își face loc printre intrigile palatului, romanul îi dăruiește cititorului abilitatea de a călători în timp, fiindu-i alături viitoarei suverane — fiică, soră, concubină, călugăriță, mamă, împărăteasă și femeie-împărat — într-o călătorie a vieții sale plină de suișuri și coborâșuri.
Frumos scrisă, această carte spune povestea unui personaj istoric remarcabil, femeia-împărat cu drepturi depline, Wu Zetian.
Cartea abundă în descrieri minuțioase ale decorului din China Antică, în informații istorice care creionează ascensiunea la tron a acestei femei, urmărindu-i viața încă din pântecele mamei până dincolo de moarte. De la spiritualitatea budistă până la erotismul ce își face loc printre intrigile palatului, romanul îi dăruiește cititorului abilitatea de a călători în timp, fiindu-i alături viitoarei suverane — fiică, soră, concubină, călugăriță, mamă, împărăteasă și femeie-împărat — într-o călătorie a vieții sale plină de suișuri și coborâșuri.
Finally, I finished this book XD I did thoroughly enjoy it. It was a bit tough at times to get through. There were certain points that were slow or where I felt the intense description was unnecessary, but overall it was good. I think I'm definitely going to do some research now on Empress Wu so I can get a true idea of how she reigned.
I just had to take my time reading this one because the prose was just so stinking beautiful. It had a lyrical quality to it that sucked you in and lulled you on like waves. *sigh* Oh it was good.
3.5 stars
This was such an interesting and intriguing read. Even though I had quite a hard time getting through it, I don’t regret picking it up. It was the writing style that had me struggling, but the events throughout the book made me want to continue reading. I have no clue about which parts and aspects of the story have actually been reality, but the story felt so real to me.
This was such an interesting and intriguing read. Even though I had quite a hard time getting through it, I don’t regret picking it up. It was the writing style that had me struggling, but the events throughout the book made me want to continue reading. I have no clue about which parts and aspects of the story have actually been reality, but the story felt so real to me.
I took my time reading this book so I could fully appreciate the detail and prose it contained as the story was told. It manages to be beautiful while also being human. It should the rise of a incredible woman and the ultimate denial of her influence by the people who came after her. It's give the picture of the splendor and beauty of the China Empress Wu helped create with the destruction of it in the name of modernity. Essentially it's the story of life, history, and all that's goes with it. Very beautifully done. It seems it took me forever to find a book by this author but it was definitely worth the wait.
Incredibly descriptive....to a point that I just couldn't finish it.
DNF 75%
I find the historical figure of Wu Zetian fascinating, but I can’t for the life of me find a novel about her that I like. This one did nothing for me. I kept pushing through it, but in the end I gave up.
I find the historical figure of Wu Zetian fascinating, but I can’t for the life of me find a novel about her that I like. This one did nothing for me. I kept pushing through it, but in the end I gave up.
Okay, I bought this book because it has such an amazing cover. I wanted to like this book.
I hated this book.
There’s about 3 cases of incest, 2 counts of statutory rape and a sex scene about every other chapter.
I did DNF this book at about 207 pages. I forced myself to give this book away to a friend so I wouldn’t keep reading this piece of garbage.
The author knows how to write, well narrate, so picking 1st person for this novel was her biggest mistake. It read like a detailed textbook, glazing over some scenes that would have been lovely to read in a more personal light, such as the Empress’ horseback riding.
The disappointment grew more when, I was excited to see this book contained LGBT characters / relationships only to have the first one be extreme unhealthy and abusive. This representation was shitty and left me questioning whether the author was actually anti-gay.
You’ll have to read the book to understand how I feel, but I don’t recommend this. Go find yourself another book that won’t take you a month to finish.
I hated this book.
There’s about 3 cases of incest, 2 counts of statutory rape and a sex scene about every other chapter.
I did DNF this book at about 207 pages. I forced myself to give this book away to a friend so I wouldn’t keep reading this piece of garbage.
The author knows how to write, well narrate, so picking 1st person for this novel was her biggest mistake. It read like a detailed textbook, glazing over some scenes that would have been lovely to read in a more personal light, such as the Empress’ horseback riding.
The disappointment grew more when, I was excited to see this book contained LGBT characters / relationships only to have the first one be extreme unhealthy and abusive. This representation was shitty and left me questioning whether the author was actually anti-gay.
You’ll have to read the book to understand how I feel, but I don’t recommend this. Go find yourself another book that won’t take you a month to finish.