Reviews with content warning for Excrement - She Who Became the Sun

In her epic retelling of the rise of the Ming Dynasty in China, Shelly Parker-Chan gives us the story of Zhu, a young girl from a village on the brink of starvation, and her utter determination to not only survive, but to become great.

She Who Became the Sun was a fascinating, compelling read. Not being wildly plugged in to the literary community, I wasn’t aware of all the hype surrounding the book, which was apparently one of the most anticipated reads of the year, which I did not realize until finishing it was a historical retelling, and which is a notably queer read. I picked it up because StoryGraph recommended it and the summary sounded good. Knowing what I know now, I’m not surprised at all. It lives up to that excitement on all fronts.

To me, the most standout aspect of the book was the characters. They are not lovable and to me, few were sympathetic. But each one is so unique, and memorable, and in their own way compelling that I enjoyed reading about them all. Zhu, the main character, is written incredibly. At no point in the story do you stop feeling her sheer determination for her- or her brother’s- fate. From the very first chapter, she proves that she will do whatever it takes to survive, and we see her force of will grow from just feeding herself in the early book to creating her own dynasty. Zhu, however, is not the only character. We’re also blessed with Ma Yingzi, a hopeful young woman who refuses to give up on kindness as she eventually becomes Zhu’s love interest, and Xu Da, Zhu’s best friend from the monastery and the first person to know her secret after she leaves her hometown. Following the secondary storyline we are introduced to Esen, a charismatic Mongolian prince, and Ouyang, an enslaved eunuch who has become the most feared general in Esen’s army. And who also happens to be Prince Esen’s closest friend and confidante, despite the stark difference in their stations that Esen tries to ignore even as Ouyang cannot forget it. Ouyang’s quest to avenge the murder of his entire lineage at the hands of the Mongol king brings him face to face with Zhu across the lines of battle, the two stories intertwined but ultimately separating in a shocking twist. His contempt for the world around him and everyone in it is unmistakable, and his struggle with his feelings toward Esen remains engaging despite how long it takes to resolve itself.

On the topic of Ouyang’s feelings for Esen: is he gay? Are any of the characters? Is Zhu trans? These are questions that the author expertly brings forward without ever answering outright. Zhu continues to think of herself with she/her pronouns throughout the book, but clearly struggles with body dysmorphia and the idea of her gender, in a setting where the concept of being transgender, with or without naming it that way, does not seem to even exist to her. Given all these factors, a reader has the opportunity to form their own opinions regarding Zhu’s identity. Similarly, Ouyang and Esen’s relationship has very clear romantic facets, but the way both struggle with it and their relationships outside of each other leave similar room for interpretation. No question of gender, sexuality, or lack thereof is answered outright, and I feel this is a great credit to the book. It certainly shows off Parker-Chan’s skills as an author.

A brief aside because I don’t know where else to put it: there is one very, very detailed female/female sex scene that came up seemingly out of nowhere at the beginning of Part Three, Chapter 21. Personally, it threw me off and felt out-of-place. It’s probably the number one thing I disliked most about the book. These scenes are typically just fine with me, but such graphic detail so abruptly threw me enough that I skipped over it.

On the technical front, Parker-Chan does a phenomenal job keeping an admittedly long book compelling and well-paced. She does not shy away from the complex issues of the period. Topics including starvation, class struggles, religion, and straight-up war are given attention that I rarely see in books, addressing them without either diluting or needlessly glorifying them. The author uses detail judiciously, alternating between visceral and vague. It kept the setting real without making it sickening. At no point did feel left out for my lack of knowledge of Chinese history. As I mentioned previously, I had no idea that this was a retelling of the life of a real person, proving that the book stands perfectly as it’s own story. The added knowledge and subsequent “Ohhhhh” moment was just a plus.

She Who Became the Sun was, hands-down and no question, a worthwhile read. I will highly recommend it to anyone looking for a deeper and more complex story than the average quick read. It is not, however, a book I fell in love with. Instead, it felt like reading one of the great literary classics. It challenges the mind and inspires deeper thought than perhaps a more modern-style or less technical book would. Woe be to university students whose professors find this, because I can see it becoming required reading for years to come. The historical and cultural background, the opportunities for discussion and interpretation around the characters, and the complex themes of fate and survival could fill generations of book reports, analyses, and theses papers. This book blew my humble expectations out of the water and I’m willing to bet it did the same for people with even greater anticipation. A phenomenal experience to read, I can see it becoming a staple of literary discussion for quite a long time to come.

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julesxyz's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny informative inspiring reflective relaxing sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

this book had me hooked from the first page, it’s now my favorite istg this book is liquid gold to my eyes

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mafii's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I can’t believe how long it took me to read this book considering how much I love it. It has two POV characters who are in order the best and the worst person you’ll ever meet while also being parallels and character foils for each other. I’m still feeling so unhinged over them.

There’s Zhu, who is the *main* main protagonist that the book is named after. First of all, she has so much Gender stuff going on and would totally ID as NB if she subscribed to modern western labels. Alas it is 14th century China and she does not. The author did say they can’t comfortably describe her as a lesbian because of that though.

All I knew about her going in is that she has a fisting scene with another woman. However her main trait is that she’s absolutely ruthless. When you read the book you may think that she’s a normal amount of girlboss (NBboss?) ruthless but then you get to the end and think “holy shit she’s ruthless.” Commits crimes that some people including her own lover would consider irredeemable and she slays for it.

And of course the other POV, the Eunuch General Ouyang….my beloved. He is so bitter and pathetic and full of hate. I am enamored by whatever the hell is wrong with him. He is in love with his boy best friend and also fucking hates him. He is repressed and misogynistic and majorly dysphoric over being the most beautiful man alive. He longs to be understood but also wants to kill anyone who tries to understand him. He is the designer of his own tragedy and would gouge his own eyes out before doing anything that would make his own life remotely better. Ultimate meow-meow material. <3

The two protagonists are on opposite sides of a war being waged between the Mongols and the rebelling Nanren people. One side hates bureaucracy and the few people willing to dedicate themselves to it so much that their entire empire is one assassination away from being in complete shambles. The other side is headed by people who betray and backstab their own leaders faster than they can replace them, also leading one to wonder how they continue to function. Both characters use this situation to facilitate their rise to power within the ranks, and as someone who lives for intrigue and corruption, it is entirely my thing.

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offbrandclubsoda's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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