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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
I could not finish, sorry. The writing was bland in my opinion and the main character was just as boring.
A surpassing rendition of the life and reign of Empress Wu. Alternating deftly between the droning, rhythmic tones of a court chronicle and the lush metaphor of a Buddhist sutra, the book is surprisingly full of wisdom. The deep contradictions at the heart of Wu's reign, the family tragedies, hit me hard. In the hand of a different novelist, I think this would have turned into an academic exploration of misogyny in the vein of Madeleine Miller's Circe. While I have no problem with that approach (I love Circe!), I was surprised and gratified to see that, without neglecting the misogyny angle, Shan Sa turns it into something more. Neither Wu nor the surrounding court culture ever lose their individuality.
The main reason I finished this book was because I am also teaching about the Tang dynasty in my classes. Although it is fiction, it read like a report, and was not very engaging at all. I would put it down and immediately lose interest. There was so MUCH interesting content in the story of the empress, historically and otherwise. Yet, it read so dry. I felt the story could have been made so interesting and engaging, with all the amazing characters and courtly drama. I don't know if it is because the book covered too much time, or whether the author was trying too much to use flowery language, but I felt the story could have been done in a much better way. Plus, some of the words/phrases were fairly repetitive and grew tiring after a while.
Ici l'histoire de la seule et unique femme empereur de l'histoire de la Chine : l'impératrice Wu, mieux connue sous le nom de Wu Zetian, une héroïne très machiavélique et déterminée à créer son propre destin contre vents et marées. Comme d'autres l'ont déjà noté, l'apogée de la Chine impériale, la dynastie Tang, sert de toile de fond à cette histoire : une lutte de pouvoir mortelle qui se déroule à la fois au sein du harem et de la cour et derrière le trône, ainsi que la saga familiale compliquée de la famille royale et de la famille de l'héroïne, le clan Wu, s'assemblent pour donner naissance à un drame épique et grandiose impliquant un empereur et ses épouses, un ensemble de seigneurs et de dames, de ministres et de petite noblesse ; jeux de pouvoir et intrigues sans fin, potins et scandales, crimes et passion et crimes passionnels, sexe et violence et meurtre.
Le titre et la fonction d'empereur de Chine étaient exclusivement réservés, dans le système impérial, aux hommes, les femmes ne pouvant exercer le pouvoir que provisoirement, dans le cadre d'une régence ou d'un interrègne, sans avoir le titre d'empereur et assistées le plus souvent d'un conseil de régence. Seule, Wu Zetian fonda sa propre dynastie, la dynastie Zhou (周) deuxième du nom, dont elle fut, sous le nom d'« empereur saint et suprême » (聖神皇帝) de 690 à 705, la seule monarque.
Le titre et la fonction d'empereur de Chine étaient exclusivement réservés, dans le système impérial, aux hommes, les femmes ne pouvant exercer le pouvoir que provisoirement, dans le cadre d'une régence ou d'un interrègne, sans avoir le titre d'empereur et assistées le plus souvent d'un conseil de régence. Seule, Wu Zetian fonda sa propre dynastie, la dynastie Zhou (周) deuxième du nom, dont elle fut, sous le nom d'« empereur saint et suprême » (聖神皇帝) de 690 à 705, la seule monarque.
this was an amazing book. the only reason it's not getting a 5 is because a) I agree with the review that says it comes off as a bit impersonal, and b) this book covers from before her birth to after her death, and that's a lot, and time leaps in some places; I think it may have been better if it focused from the beginning to the height of her rule, and used that space to flesh out some more of those things.
THAT SAID, I loved this. love. it translated into English very well, imo. I haven't read the original French version for comparison but I know a lot can be lost in translation and this didn't seem so. the writing is still very lush and beautiful and Empress Wu is ruthless -- and slightly unbalanced, probably, but I think many rulers were back then! -- but brilliant.
THAT SAID, I loved this. love. it translated into English very well, imo. I haven't read the original French version for comparison but I know a lot can be lost in translation and this didn't seem so. the writing is still very lush and beautiful and Empress Wu is ruthless -- and slightly unbalanced, probably, but I think many rulers were back then! -- but brilliant.
Sounded like such a fantastic concept, and I've looked forward to reading it for years, but the narrator is so detached from her own story it's unreadable. Imagine if a sentient cardboard cutout wrote a memoir.
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Empress is half research paper, half historical fiction novel. I almost quit halfway through due to a few scenes I really didn’t want to read, but I’m glad I stuck it out, if only to learn more about this time in Chinese history -- because it really is well researched.
Representation:
- every main & secondary character is Chinese
- a few minor characters are from neighboring countries
- the Empress, at least, and several other characters seem to be bi
Empress tells the story, from childhood to death, of the only female emperor of China, Wu Zetian. It takes place during the Tang dynasty (660s to early 700s). As a child, she was noticed by a general for her talent with horses, and became a member of the old Emperor’s court, then rose through the ranks, witnessing (and becoming a member of) countless scandals and coups -- until she was Empress ruling behind the husband. Until she was Empress. Ultimately, she ruled for forty years.
The topic is fascinating, which is what kept me reading when I sometimes really didn’t want to. But I couldn’t connect to Wu Zetian/Wu Zhao/Wu Hao (she has many names). The prose is at times lyrical and poetic, but at times also unnecessarily flowery and extremely distant. It’s at odds with its first-person narrative. I think it almost reads more like a beautifully-told research paper -- there are so many details that it takes me out of the story. I don’t need to know every single intricacy of every single thing in court tradition.
For example, and this was done very often throughout the novel, it would list every single accomplice in a conspiracy against the Emperor and who they were, even if they (or their relatives) never appeared again. But the worst was when the narrative stopped completely to describe in extreme detail every person in a procession (in a style where almost every paragraph began, “Then came the troop/the parade/the procession/etc.”). This took six pages.
I understand wanting to show everything you've researched to an audience who might not know anything about this time period (and culture?), but this is just excessive.
Upon reading Shan Sa’s goodreads profile, it seems like this book was translated from French. I’m going to give the novel some leeway and hope some of the stilted passages and disconnect I have could be blamed on a bad translation.
Representation:
- every main & secondary character is Chinese
- a few minor characters are from neighboring countries
- the Empress, at least, and several other characters seem to be bi
Empress tells the story, from childhood to death, of the only female emperor of China, Wu Zetian. It takes place during the Tang dynasty (660s to early 700s). As a child, she was noticed by a general for her talent with horses, and became a member of the old Emperor’s court, then rose through the ranks, witnessing (and becoming a member of) countless scandals and coups -- until she was Empress ruling behind the husband. Until she was Empress. Ultimately, she ruled for forty years.
The topic is fascinating, which is what kept me reading when I sometimes really didn’t want to. But I couldn’t connect to Wu Zetian/Wu Zhao/Wu Hao (she has many names). The prose is at times lyrical and poetic, but at times also unnecessarily flowery and extremely distant. It’s at odds with its first-person narrative. I think it almost reads more like a beautifully-told research paper -- there are so many details that it takes me out of the story. I don’t need to know every single intricacy of every single thing in court tradition.
For example, and this was done very often throughout the novel, it would list every single accomplice in a conspiracy against the Emperor and who they were, even if they (or their relatives) never appeared again. But the worst was when the narrative stopped completely to describe in extreme detail every person in a procession (in a style where almost every paragraph began, “Then came the troop/the parade/the procession/etc.”). This took six pages.
I understand wanting to show everything you've researched to an audience who might not know anything about this time period (and culture?), but this is just excessive.
Upon reading Shan Sa’s goodreads profile, it seems like this book was translated from French. I’m going to give the novel some leeway and hope some of the stilted passages and disconnect I have could be blamed on a bad translation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape
Like an ancient Chinese Game of Thrones. Or at least I assume; I haven’t read GoT. This was wild. And the fact that it was based off a real woman... wow.
I really liked it in the beginning, but later on it started to get a bit draged out, but overall interesting book.