A review by taglharp
The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo

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!

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