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A review by darkcrystal1839
Empress by Shan Sa
3.0
This was an interesting read, at worst. At best, it was a great insight into the mind of a historical figure that until now has been known primarily as a manipulative, arrogant, greedy woman whose every move (mostly immoral in nature) were geared toward getting to the throne. Not knowing anything about the history of this time period or the woman herself, I can’t say myself which version is closer to the truth, though I’d be interested to know just what Sa discovered when she was doing the extensive research for this novel, and how her research influenced the way she wanted to portray Heavenlight (Emperor Wu), if her portrayal was based on this research of if she already had a preconceived idea about how she wanted to spin the story of this woman.
Either way, I was sucked into this book from the very beginning. It begins before the birth of the girl, but not in the way you’d expect. The story starts and ends from the perspective of Heavenlight, and if she happens to be unborn or dead, no matter. The book starts right off with Heavenlight telling her perceptions of the world she knows, which at that time, is her mother’s womb. She tells of her birth, from her perspective, and let me just say, it’s strange to read. It was such a strange way to start off that I immediately wanted to read more. The musings of this unborn child were so insightful that I couldn’t wait to see what she would make of life in the real world.
She doesn’t disappoint. Though the prose is slightly choppy in my opinion (though I give a little slack since this book was translated into English from its original French, even though Sa says she pours over the translations – she speaks English as well as French – to make sure her readers still get the best of her writing in whatever language) the story behind the rough writing is intriguing. This woman was an interesting character. While you don’t get much of the emotions of others, you realize that this is only because Heavenlight herself doesn’t concern herself with them. Even the blocky storytelling begins to mirror her personality, in my opinion, giving you the feeling you’re really being told the story not by some eloquent Chinese beauty, but by the brusque, politically driven, practical woman Emperor Wu was to the core. There are brief glimpses into the softer side of Heavenlight but they don’t seem to hold as much sway in her life as the more important tasks of ruling her people, for which she seems to care for even if some of her motives seem to be slightly more geared toward keeping her dynasty alive more than what’s best for the people – though while she rules, it seems that her dynasty is exactly what’s best for the people.
Following her to the grave and beyond, this book kept me interested to the very last page. It was one of those books that made me want to learn even more about this woman and her rule, though if what I’ve read is any indication, this seems to be one of the only portrayals of the ruler in a positive light, and there’s little published about the details of her life and rule. So as I said, not knowing much about the history, I can’t vouch for the legitimacy of the facts behind this novel, but true or not, it made for a good read. If you pick it up and are put off by the abrupt style of writing, as I was at first, give it a chance. Hang in there, you won’t be disappointed!
Either way, I was sucked into this book from the very beginning. It begins before the birth of the girl, but not in the way you’d expect. The story starts and ends from the perspective of Heavenlight, and if she happens to be unborn or dead, no matter. The book starts right off with Heavenlight telling her perceptions of the world she knows, which at that time, is her mother’s womb. She tells of her birth, from her perspective, and let me just say, it’s strange to read. It was such a strange way to start off that I immediately wanted to read more. The musings of this unborn child were so insightful that I couldn’t wait to see what she would make of life in the real world.
She doesn’t disappoint. Though the prose is slightly choppy in my opinion (though I give a little slack since this book was translated into English from its original French, even though Sa says she pours over the translations – she speaks English as well as French – to make sure her readers still get the best of her writing in whatever language) the story behind the rough writing is intriguing. This woman was an interesting character. While you don’t get much of the emotions of others, you realize that this is only because Heavenlight herself doesn’t concern herself with them. Even the blocky storytelling begins to mirror her personality, in my opinion, giving you the feeling you’re really being told the story not by some eloquent Chinese beauty, but by the brusque, politically driven, practical woman Emperor Wu was to the core. There are brief glimpses into the softer side of Heavenlight but they don’t seem to hold as much sway in her life as the more important tasks of ruling her people, for which she seems to care for even if some of her motives seem to be slightly more geared toward keeping her dynasty alive more than what’s best for the people – though while she rules, it seems that her dynasty is exactly what’s best for the people.
Following her to the grave and beyond, this book kept me interested to the very last page. It was one of those books that made me want to learn even more about this woman and her rule, though if what I’ve read is any indication, this seems to be one of the only portrayals of the ruler in a positive light, and there’s little published about the details of her life and rule. So as I said, not knowing much about the history, I can’t vouch for the legitimacy of the facts behind this novel, but true or not, it made for a good read. If you pick it up and are put off by the abrupt style of writing, as I was at first, give it a chance. Hang in there, you won’t be disappointed!