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emmie1507's review against another edition
4.0
I literally loved this book! It was amazing and inciteful in a time period I couldn't possibly imagine living in! And I love Lady Hyegyong! She was a genuinely loving and considerate person, that dealt with an unfair number of hardships. I would totally recommend this book to anyone interested!
booklover160's review against another edition
4.0
After reading [b:The Red Palace|56978115|The Red Palace|June Hur|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1616437004l/56978115._SY75_.jpg|84477339] and learning it was inspired by a real prince of Korea, I spent a good two or three days researching Prince Sado and his actions. This led me to this book.
According to Wikipedia, Lady Hyegyong's memoirs are some of the only pre-modern autobiographies written by a woman in East Asia. I found her interesting and decided to get my hands on this book and read it.
It's very well written for this time period and it was a wonderful look into Lady Hyegyong's life and the precarious role she had to play in Prince Sado's life. I am of the opinion that Prince Sado had a severe mental illness and I believe his father also suffered from a slightly less severe mental illness too. From what she says, King Yongjo also had uncontrollable fits of rage, you can tell by the way he treats Sado, and his rituals seem to also lend to the idea he also suffered from a mental illness. He was blow small mistakes out of proportion with cruel and harsh punishments while large transgressions (like Sado literally killing hundreds of people) got more sympathy and smaller punishments.
It is fascinating to see an educated woman's impartial view of the whole incident. Well, mostly impartial. She clearly has devotion to her husband, her king, and her country. I think she did the best she could in the terrible situation she was in. A single misstep could have resulted in her death; from her husband or even the king. But she seemed to handle it gracefully, jotting down her innermost thoughts and wishes.
Overall, a great read for those interested in this time period and more specifically Prince Sado himself.
According to Wikipedia, Lady Hyegyong's memoirs are some of the only pre-modern autobiographies written by a woman in East Asia. I found her interesting and decided to get my hands on this book and read it.
It's very well written for this time period and it was a wonderful look into Lady Hyegyong's life and the precarious role she had to play in Prince Sado's life. I am of the opinion that Prince Sado had a severe mental illness and I believe his father also suffered from a slightly less severe mental illness too. From what she says, King Yongjo also had uncontrollable fits of rage, you can tell by the way he treats Sado, and his rituals seem to also lend to the idea he also suffered from a mental illness. He was blow small mistakes out of proportion with cruel and harsh punishments while large transgressions (like Sado literally killing hundreds of people) got more sympathy and smaller punishments.
It is fascinating to see an educated woman's impartial view of the whole incident. Well, mostly impartial. She clearly has devotion to her husband, her king, and her country. I think she did the best she could in the terrible situation she was in. A single misstep could have resulted in her death; from her husband or even the king. But she seemed to handle it gracefully, jotting down her innermost thoughts and wishes.
Overall, a great read for those interested in this time period and more specifically Prince Sado himself.
elegyeldritch's review against another edition
4.0
Political intrigue in itself is fascinating, but even more so when told from the point of view of someone who actually experienced it. This book reads like historical fiction, but it's real!
rhysciar's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
This book is astonishing. The sheer fact that this really did happen is just unbelievable. What happened to Prince Sado is unthinkable. I wonder what went through his mind when his father ordered him to climb into that rice chest.
Anyway, about the book: it is long, slow at times. Lady Hyegyong wrote 4 pieces, each one in a different year, and each one focusing on a different aspect of her life. The first one as rather dull for me, but the second and third was full of palace intrigue, and how the nobles (and not so nobles) were trying to kill each other. It was truly fascinating to read it, even if sometimes I lost who was who - but that is due to me being slow to learn asian names. The amount of tricks, plans and scheming in that palace seems so drastic and huge, that every europen court could just be ashamed of themselves I think. I was wondering all through the pages that if this would be a fiction story, and written by a western author, it should be a bestseller. Game of Thrones had nothing compared what went on in King Yongjo's court.
And if the second and third memoir made me dumbstruck, the fourth one is just... undescribable. It's like the ending of a Sherlock Holmes story when everything clicks into its place. This is the one where Lady Hyegyong writes about his late husband, how he behaved, and what happened up to his death. I was flabbergasted about the way she lamented about Prince Sado and his behaviour; making him unaccountable for the killings and rapes, explaining all this was because of his illnes. I know 18th century medicine was not on spot, but saying that all this happened because the king didn't like his son very much... oh my, poor Lady Hyegyong, I wish she could have lived in our era, everything would have happened differently.
So to sum it all up, I liked this book. Reading about a whole different culture is always exciting, but this story was especially interesting. Gruesome and/or unbelievable at times, but fascinating none the less.
Anyway, about the book: it is long, slow at times. Lady Hyegyong wrote 4 pieces, each one in a different year, and each one focusing on a different aspect of her life. The first one as rather dull for me, but the second and third was full of palace intrigue, and how the nobles (and not so nobles) were trying to kill each other. It was truly fascinating to read it, even if sometimes I lost who was who - but that is due to me being slow to learn asian names. The amount of tricks, plans and scheming in that palace seems so drastic and huge, that every europen court could just be ashamed of themselves I think. I was wondering all through the pages that if this would be a fiction story, and written by a western author, it should be a bestseller. Game of Thrones had nothing compared what went on in King Yongjo's court.
And if the second and third memoir made me dumbstruck, the fourth one is just... undescribable. It's like the ending of a Sherlock Holmes story when everything clicks into its place. This is the one where Lady Hyegyong writes about his late husband, how he behaved, and what happened up to his death. I was flabbergasted about the way she lamented about Prince Sado and his behaviour; making him unaccountable for the killings and rapes, explaining all this was because of his illnes. I know 18th century medicine was not on spot, but saying that all this happened because the king didn't like his son very much... oh my, poor Lady Hyegyong, I wish she could have lived in our era, everything would have happened differently.
So to sum it all up, I liked this book. Reading about a whole different culture is always exciting, but this story was especially interesting. Gruesome and/or unbelievable at times, but fascinating none the less.
caidyn's review against another edition
emotional
informative
medium-paced
4.0
June He hyped this book up on her Instagram and it was so good. What a story with Prince Sado and what Lady Hyegyong had to live through.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts