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pm_me_book_recs's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
After finishing this novella I promptly added the rest of Nghi Vo's works to my tbr.
I'm not sure how such a detailed world and history fit into this novella, I was not expecting it! The characters are varied and lovable, the pace is steady, the story development is delicately laid out to show each side and progression of the Empress. The end is righteous. I loved Chih's curiosity and cleverness, Almost Brilliant's snark, and Rabbit's mischief, and, just, everything about the Empress.
Queer and Non-Binary friendly, feminist, and fantastical. I cannot wait to read the rest.
I'm not sure how such a detailed world and history fit into this novella, I was not expecting it! The characters are varied and lovable, the pace is steady, the story development is delicately laid out to show each side and progression of the Empress. The end is righteous. I loved Chih's curiosity and cleverness, Almost Brilliant's snark, and Rabbit's mischief, and, just, everything about the Empress.
Queer and Non-Binary friendly, feminist, and fantastical. I cannot wait to read the rest.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Confinement, Genocide, Misogyny, Grief, Pregnancy, and War
growintogardens's review against another edition
2.75
Was it pretty at times? Yes. Was I lost often? Also yes.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, and Murder
Minor: Suicide, Pregnancy, and War
fox_at_the_circus's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This book really has everything a mystery, power struggles and intrigue at court, a love story and a talking bird/neixin.
I love how most of the chapters are structered with an inventory of objects first and then part of the empress's story related to the objects and then a dialogue between Rabbit and her listener. It's a really interesting wax to build a story and also give a sense of the setting.
And the "love" story in the book was just so good. It's nice that it focuses on a non romantic love, and the more you (re)read the more you notice, how some things Rabbit says have double meanings and what we know about their relationships grows so nicely from chapter to chapter. With the power dynamic between the two and everything that happens, there's really a lot of room for interpretation, about what kind of love it was, or if it even was love. It adds to the whole mystery feeling, too. how this book explores two women, who were forced into difficult situations and are trying to make the best out of it and navigating their relationhip, is written very beautifully.
I love how most of the chapters are structered with an inventory of objects first and then part of the empress's story related to the objects and then a dialogue between Rabbit and her listener. It's a really interesting wax to build a story and also give a sense of the setting.
And the "love" story in the book was just so good. It's nice that it focuses on a non romantic love, and the more you (re)read the more you notice, how some things Rabbit says have double meanings and what we know about their relationships grows so nicely from chapter to chapter. With the power dynamic between the two and everything that happens, there's really a lot of room for interpretation, about what kind of love it was, or if it even was love. It adds to the whole mystery feeling, too. how this book explores two women, who were forced into difficult situations and are trying to make the best out of it and navigating their relationhip, is written very beautifully.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Pregnancy and War
kingcrookback's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
I've (as of writing this review) only read one other work of Vo's, Siren Queen, and I find that I much prefer Empress of Salt and Fortune. They're both frame stories that dip in and out of the embedded narrative, but there's something to Empress's setting and pacing that does it for me in a way that Siren Queen didn't. Empress moves along deftly (though I wouldn't necessarily say that it's swift), and the Vo treads the line between detail and ambiguity. Neither detailed to the point of bogging anything down nor ambiguous enough to be called vague. Rabbit's story is both touching and gripping, albeit hazed by time and memory. A nice little capsule.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Death
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual content, Grief, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and War
librarymouse's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This book is incredibly well written and the story is simultaneously unique and familiar. The world building is vibrant and deftly done. The writing and story have a way of drawing readers in from the beginning. I look forward to reading as much written by Nghi Vo as I can.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Grief, and Pregnancy
Minor: War
maeverose's review against another edition
5.0
My first 5⭐️ of the year!!
I was expecting to like this but I wasn’t expecting it to make me cry.
The writing is beautiful and atmospheric, the story takes it’s time and is simultaneously comforting and painful. I always love the ‘stories attached to items’ trope (is that a trope?) and this has that. I was worried I wasn’t fully understanding it at first (with all the ‘do you understand?’ moments..), but by the end I did. Well, I’m sure there are details that I missed but I understood the overall story. This is one of my favorite books I’ve ever read I think. Please read it.
I was expecting to like this but I wasn’t expecting it to make me cry.
The writing is beautiful and atmospheric, the story takes it’s time and is simultaneously comforting and painful. I always love the ‘stories attached to items’ trope (is that a trope?) and this has that. I was worried I wasn’t fully understanding it at first (with all the ‘do you understand?’ moments..), but by the end I did. Well, I’m sure there are details that I missed but I understood the overall story. This is one of my favorite books I’ve ever read I think. Please read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Animal death, Slavery, and War
Forced separation from a child and forced separation from a romantic partner, brief mention of a beheading, drowning and gutting (not detailed).sarahsbooklife's review against another edition
fast-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Grief
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Confinement, Death, and Death of parent
thereadinghammock's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
So much of this book just, sort of, happens around you (as a reader), that it's not until, maybe the last 30 minutes of the book that I had any idea what was actually going on. The world is fascinating, but the delivery is too prosaic for me. It's beautifully written, stunning prose, and I love the respect for archival history threaded throughout the book; but it's simply a case of just not the writing for me--and that's OK!!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Sexism, Grief, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
Minor: Infidelity and Colonisation
camryndaytona's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, and War
ktv's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War
Minor: Child death, Suicide, Death of parent, and Pregnancy