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__codex's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Rape, Suicide, Classism, Murder, Pregnancy, Blood, Death, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Violence, Grief, War, and Xenophobia
maeverose's review
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: Suicide, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Classism, Kidnapping, and Misogyny
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).kaziaroo's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
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? No
4.75
I normally go for substance over style, but I liked this one a lot. It's very atmospheric and immersive, and I really enjoyed the narrative style and framing. The storytelling was very subtle and I'm still a little confused about the timeline of events but it suited the overall tone. It took a while for me to realise what made the empress so great and even now I feel like I barely know her, more as a shadow in the mist than a person. As someone who tends to read chunky novels, it feels strange and almost uncomfortable to finish a story while not knowing so much about the characters. It kept me company for a few hours, and now it's gone. I'll definitely keep the other books in the series on my to-read list for next time I have a long journey.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Misogyny, and Death
Minor: Abortion, War, Pregnancy, Murder, Violence, Suicide, Sexual content, Infertility, and Animal death
fraise's review
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Confinement, Grief, Sexism, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Violence, War, Suicide, Infertility, Colonisation, Murder, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Kidnapping, and Pregnancy
Minor: Animal death and Slavery
talonsontypewriters's review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Grief, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Confinement, and War
Minor: Pregnancy, Violence, Murder, Suicide, Animal death, and Sexual content
taglharp's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
sad
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? No
5.0
"Accuracy above all things. You will never remember the great if you do not remember the small."
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
5 poignant stars
This was such a beautifully written novella that - though short - manages to completely deliver the powerful messages Vo weaves in a tale of clerics, memory-keeping birds & angry women.
As a craft nerd, I was tremendously impressed with the world-building introduced and given life to in the shortest amount of pages. The style and structure of the writing was also very reminiscent of traditional folklore and everything seamlessly fit together - the writing, the style, the voice (clever & charming, though keeping distance), and the characters and objects that might've been deemed simple when in truth they are of the greatest significance.
“Angry mothers raise daughters fierce enough to fight wolves.”
Vo composes this story of forgotten women, of their great endurance and vicious ruthlessness so masterfully I think I'll be thinking about it for a long time coming.
I can't wait to read the sequel to this novella, and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for Vo's future work.
Highly recommend!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death and Animal death
spiritedfaraway's review
dark
emotional
reflective
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
“You will never remember the great if you do not remember the small.”
Exiled to the estate of Thriving Fortune, Empress In-Yo from the North is fierce and coldly furious. With her she brings loyal Rabbit, her handmaiden, who has made her choice and will follow her Empress anywhere.
Years later, a traveling cleric seeks to learn the history of places, of people, of history, of the Empress of Salt and Fortune. And when her former estate opens back up to visitors after her death, Chih goes there to learn.
“Thriving Fortune itself seemed to be a place made of stories and plots, conspiracies and fury.”
There they find items from long ago, ghosts, and Rabbit, whose allegiances now lie with the dead and as she says, “the dead care for very little”. Rabbit agrees to tell them about the items and about the Empress and about the war.
“The war was won by silenced and nameless women.”
This is a very reflective and emotional novella. I wish it was longer so that we could really delve into this world and these characters, but the storytelling aspect really worked for me. We learn with Chih and we feel with Rabbit. We glimpse the personal stories and feelings behind a grand Empress, we see how she rose to rule and create a legacy. We learn of the life of her most loyal companion. We only see a fraction of this vivid fantasy world that Nghi Vo has created based off of imperial China.
But what a world it is.
Definitely give this book a try.
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Grief, Medical content, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, and Violence
There is also a mention of forced sterilization and of babies being torn from mothers and an instance of misgendering.jackbifrost's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death and Death
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