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A review by anaisqsn
The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
To be honest, I picked this book up solely because of its short length. I had never even heard of it before. And boy did it not disappoint!
It demanded a lot of focus for me to fully understand the storyline—probably because I listened to the audiobook. I read another review mentioning that the names of characters or places could be misleading with only the audio, such as Almost Brilliant the bird or the palace Thriving Fortune, and I fully agree with this. This feeling of disorientation in the first ~30% slightly lowered my rating.
However, once I got to understand the settings and the name of each place and character, the plot unfurled into a brilliant story of vengeance and sisterhood.
Each character felt real, making the story even more fascinating. I love how the story of In-yo’s rise to power and rebellion is told by Rabbit, her handmaiden, to Chih several decades later. The diversity of objects Chih finds in the palace adds a new piece of the story, further enhancing the experience of the reader.
Vo's writing is phenomenal. Even though I finished this book yesterday, I am still fascinated by how effective the storytelling was. Are you really telling me this was only 121 pages? Barely more than two hours? Dude. Weaving the threads of such a complex story in such an effective way is incredible. Every word is precisely chosen by the author and has a full impact on the reader.
This ended up being a 4 out of 5 stars for me. I will surely read this again, and probably purchase a copy of the novella to read along. I might even check out the sequels :).
If you’re looking for a short read, with strong-willed women (and a non-binary cleric?), set in what seems like Imperial China, I highly recommend it!
It demanded a lot of focus for me to fully understand the storyline—probably because I listened to the audiobook. I read another review mentioning that the names of characters or places could be misleading with only the audio, such as Almost Brilliant the bird or the palace Thriving Fortune, and I fully agree with this. This feeling of disorientation in the first ~30% slightly lowered my rating.
However, once I got to understand the settings and the name of each place and character, the plot unfurled into a brilliant story of vengeance and sisterhood.
Each character felt real, making the story even more fascinating. I love how the story of In-yo’s rise to power and rebellion is told by Rabbit, her handmaiden, to Chih several decades later. The diversity of objects Chih finds in the palace adds a new piece of the story, further enhancing the experience of the reader.
Vo's writing is phenomenal. Even though I finished this book yesterday, I am still fascinated by how effective the storytelling was. Are you really telling me this was only 121 pages? Barely more than two hours? Dude. Weaving the threads of such a complex story in such an effective way is incredible. Every word is precisely chosen by the author and has a full impact on the reader.
This ended up being a 4 out of 5 stars for me. I will surely read this again, and probably purchase a copy of the novella to read along. I might even check out the sequels :).
If you’re looking for a short read, with strong-willed women (and a non-binary cleric?), set in what seems like Imperial China, I highly recommend it!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: War and Death