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Name of the eBook you are reviewing: Empress Orchid by Anchee Min
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eBook Download - Empress Orchid by Anchee Min (epub)
Empress Orchid is romanticised retelling of the life of Empress Cixi, the last Dowager Empress of China. History painted Cixi as a ruthless and heartless concubine who would stopped nothing at gaining and consolidating power, however, Empress Orchid's gives the sympathetic account, and offers the view that perhaps Cixi wasn't as evil as history made her out to be.
Review:
Mild spoilers in the review -but if you are familiar with the history of Empress Cixi, nothing is really spoiled here.
This book drew me in from the first page with Orchid's voice giving the very very brief summary of how she came to be on the throne and her pain that China was what it was at the time - no longer a glorious dynasty, but a collapsing dynasty.
It then went back to the very beginning with a young Orchid. Desperate to escape a terrible match in marriage, Orchid decides to present herself as a choice as a consort for Emperor Xianfeng. Against all odds, she manages to enter the palace as a fourth-ranked concubine, and thus begins her life in the Imperial Palace.
Min gave Orchid a beautiful, vivid voice. Her struggles in the palace, with loneliness, with jealousy are all written so well and almost poetically. Her strength and her strong instinct for survival were written wonderfully as well, especially when she loses the favour of the Emperor and had to fight to maintain her position.
Orchid is very human in this book and this is an element that I particularly enjoy. Historically, Cixi is painted as evil beyond belief, and beyond redemption, a careless spender and a selfish Dowager Empress. Min takes liberties with this narrative and spins plausible scenarios where Orchid is depicted to have no choice but did what she had to do in order to protect and maintain the Qing Dynasty and China. Whether that is the truth is up for debate, but her writing truly makes you believe in the plausibility of the narrative.
The relationship between Orchid and her favourite eunuch An-te-hai is one of the highlights of this book. History also says that An-te-hai was a corrupted eunuch that was merciless as his mistress, but the book again gives a more sympathetic account. Their relationship is complicated as they depended on each other for survival. At the end of it, it is really much more than Empress-eunuch as far as their relationship goes, and I truly enjoyed the development of it.
The other relationship I really enjoyed is the one between Orchid and Empress Nuharoo, also known as Empress Cian. They are rivals, constantly antagonising each other over their battle to be the Emperor's favourite, and yet, after a lot of loss, they are forced to work together for the good of China and Cixi's son, Emperor Tongzhi (who ascended to the throne as a child). It's a complex relationship that is explored well by Min.
And of course, some of the best parts of the book would be the history of that period, which was written wonderfully by Min. Empress Orchid is a wonderful book - the writing is superb to me, the story flows really well in weaving together facts and alternate views, to present a whole new perspective of Empress Cixi that is perhaps worth pondering about.
Would you recommend this to other users? I definitely, absolutely recommend this book, especially for people who like a bit of a fictional twist to historical events, and those who like drama and intrigue in their books. Personally this is one of my favourite books of all time, and I revisit it every once in a while.
Rating(1-5):
Link to the content you're reviewing on our site (optional):
eBook Download - Empress Orchid by Anchee Min (epub)Empress Orchid is romanticised retelling of the life of Empress Cixi, the last Dowager Empress of China. History painted Cixi as a ruthless and heartless concubine who would stopped nothing at gaining and consolidating power, however, Empress Orchid's gives the sympathetic account, and offers the view that perhaps Cixi wasn't as evil as history made her out to be.
Review:
Mild spoilers in the review -but if you are familiar with the history of Empress Cixi, nothing is really spoiled here.
This book drew me in from the first page with Orchid's voice giving the very very brief summary of how she came to be on the throne and her pain that China was what it was at the time - no longer a glorious dynasty, but a collapsing dynasty.
It then went back to the very beginning with a young Orchid. Desperate to escape a terrible match in marriage, Orchid decides to present herself as a choice as a consort for Emperor Xianfeng. Against all odds, she manages to enter the palace as a fourth-ranked concubine, and thus begins her life in the Imperial Palace.
Min gave Orchid a beautiful, vivid voice. Her struggles in the palace, with loneliness, with jealousy are all written so well and almost poetically. Her strength and her strong instinct for survival were written wonderfully as well, especially when she loses the favour of the Emperor and had to fight to maintain her position.
Orchid is very human in this book and this is an element that I particularly enjoy. Historically, Cixi is painted as evil beyond belief, and beyond redemption, a careless spender and a selfish Dowager Empress. Min takes liberties with this narrative and spins plausible scenarios where Orchid is depicted to have no choice but did what she had to do in order to protect and maintain the Qing Dynasty and China. Whether that is the truth is up for debate, but her writing truly makes you believe in the plausibility of the narrative.
The relationship between Orchid and her favourite eunuch An-te-hai is one of the highlights of this book. History also says that An-te-hai was a corrupted eunuch that was merciless as his mistress, but the book again gives a more sympathetic account. Their relationship is complicated as they depended on each other for survival. At the end of it, it is really much more than Empress-eunuch as far as their relationship goes, and I truly enjoyed the development of it.
The other relationship I really enjoyed is the one between Orchid and Empress Nuharoo, also known as Empress Cian. They are rivals, constantly antagonising each other over their battle to be the Emperor's favourite, and yet, after a lot of loss, they are forced to work together for the good of China and Cixi's son, Emperor Tongzhi (who ascended to the throne as a child). It's a complex relationship that is explored well by Min.
And of course, some of the best parts of the book would be the history of that period, which was written wonderfully by Min. Empress Orchid is a wonderful book - the writing is superb to me, the story flows really well in weaving together facts and alternate views, to present a whole new perspective of Empress Cixi that is perhaps worth pondering about.
Would you recommend this to other users? I definitely, absolutely recommend this book, especially for people who like a bit of a fictional twist to historical events, and those who like drama and intrigue in their books. Personally this is one of my favourite books of all time, and I revisit it every once in a while.
Rating(1-5):
