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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I am only a few pages in, and I already love her style!
Unfortunately, the book began great, but soon lost my interest. There were no details. In a paragraph, she went from a virgin, to a mother of four. I need a bit more than that! I really struggled even to finish. I need to be able to imagine what was happening to really enjoy, and retain historical fiction, and there just wasn't enough information to do that. This was just a long list of events and facts.
Unfortunately, the book began great, but soon lost my interest. There were no details. In a paragraph, she went from a virgin, to a mother of four. I need a bit more than that! I really struggled even to finish. I need to be able to imagine what was happening to really enjoy, and retain historical fiction, and there just wasn't enough information to do that. This was just a long list of events and facts.
I wanted to really like this book...I really did. I absolutely love books that use actual historical events in fiction. This story is about the first and only empress of China - about what this author perceives as her thoughts and actions to that position. My struggle with this book is the style it was written in....it reads like one large poem (probably because the author is also a poet). There is so much minute detail in every description it's almost dizzying. While I appreciate understanding the pomp and circumstance, I would have instead preferred to see actual pictures as opposed to reading pages and pages describing a procession. In a nutshell, I had a very difficult time getting into the book because the details kept the character so distant.
informative
medium-paced
Loved it - such a fascinating story and really well researched. I do think Shan Sa glossed over a lot of the negative parts of Empress Wu's reign... but totally forgivable considering most other books about her drone on about it and this was told through her eyes.
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
All in all a good book, very descriptive which I normally enjoy...but this was a bit extreme. I did enjoy learning about the culture though. Fascinating.
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I quit reading around page 125. The first person narrative just doesn’t work for me. And, I had to lookup Empress Wu’s history online, because I have no idea how much of this narrative is based on history. I would definitely like footnotes and additional historical information.
This book was laborious to get through. It is very, very dense. The characters are also difficult to keep track of (very little character development, plus some characters' names change throughout the story), and the political system is unclear at times. The lack of dialogue makes the story read like a narrative memoir, but unfortunately also increases the density of the prose. It also drove me crazy how the narrative would skip back in time at certain parts.
That being said, this book tells a powerful story not only about Heavenlight's life as empress, but also about human life in general. Familial relationships, sexual relationships (warning: there is a loooot of sex in this book), the burden of power, and the inevitability of aging are all powerful themes throughout the story that really hit home.
Sa's writing style is unique and I'm not completely sure whether or not I like it. It was lyrical and poetic to the point that it was a bit over-the-top but somehow I found myself enjoying it. A little undecided on how I feel about this book overall, but despite how hard it was to get through, I can't say I didn't like it.
That being said, this book tells a powerful story not only about Heavenlight's life as empress, but also about human life in general. Familial relationships, sexual relationships (warning: there is a loooot of sex in this book), the burden of power, and the inevitability of aging are all powerful themes throughout the story that really hit home.
Sa's writing style is unique and I'm not completely sure whether or not I like it. It was lyrical and poetic to the point that it was a bit over-the-top but somehow I found myself enjoying it. A little undecided on how I feel about this book overall, but despite how hard it was to get through, I can't say I didn't like it.