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Anchee Min - Empress Orchid


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About half way through chapter 3 of Empress Orchid and there seems to be a lovely innocence to the style of writing. It's going to take a while to adapt as this isn't anything like any book I've ever read before, and, as I've been reading so much Christopher Brookmyre, I need to stop looking for the sarcasm and the punchline!

 

I'm having a bit of a struggle visualising the characters and the situation, I know nothing about Chinese and Manchu culture, it's completely alien to me at the moment! Perseverence and research are required!

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I know it's not even August, but this turned up from the library, I made a start, and now I'm quite a way through!

 

General thoughts.. I know nothing about the history of this area of the world, and so the political side of things is going over my head a little. But that doesn't distract from the storyline.

 

The descriptions did seem a little hard to picture at first, but that seems to get alot easier as you get into the book.

 

The general storyline of Orchid is interesting.. I can actually see a few parallels with the likes of The Other Boleyn Girl.

 

In general, it's a nicely written book, and one I'm enjoying alot.

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I'm surprised by how much I'm enjoying this book, just goes to show that the expanding horizons are worth it!

 

I've worked out what makes me think the style of writing is quite innocent, descriptions are stated in fact rather than the simile and metaphor laden style I

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I have made a start on this book and finding it very different from the other books that I have read about China. The contrast between life inside the Forbidden Palace and that outside is vast.

 

Wild Swans, and The Good Earth are the other books that I have read, but I think I will need to try a lot more books on China to get any understanding of the area.

 

I am enjoying the read so far and I can see where you are coming from Michelle when you say you see parallels with The Other Boleyn Girl

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Yes, the life they lead inside the Forbidden City is amazing, wrapped up in so many traditions, rituals etc.

 

I've nearly finished, and I have really enjoyed it. I picked up 'Memoirs of a Geisha' yesterday, and I'm interested to see how they compare.

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I’m only a couple of chapters in, but so far I’m really enjoying it. The story seems to glide along very slowly, almost effortlessly, but although there’s not an awful lot “physically” going on, there’s the impression of a lot of background business happening at all times. The descriptions of the Forbidden City (told to Orchid by Fann) are particularly beautiful. The slow, deliberate style seems evocative of Zen teachings, actually (well, what little I know of them, anyway) and there’s a sense of peace and harmony in everything.

 

I think I may well enjoy this a great deal – I’ve never read anything specifically to do with China or Chinese culture (although I’ve been reading a fair bit about Japanese lately, as you can see from my reading list), but I’m fascinated by the Orient and this is already significantly fuelling my interest in all things Eastern.

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I'm about 3 or 4 pages from then end of this now (I couldn't keep my eyes open or I'd have finished it last night!), so I don't want to spoil anything for those who're reading it at the proper time! I will just say (for the time being) that the pace really escalates to an almost hectic pace, but it's managed so well that you barely notice it! It wasn't until I read Kell's post that I realised how fast things were moving towards the end!

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I agree, that innocence I noticed at the start has slipped away, although it's been so cleverly done that it's almost subconscious!

 

As I've now finished this and some of what I mention here relates to parts near the end, I'll hide this bit. I don't want to ruin anything:

 

 

As the story progressed, I found myself getting more and more frustrated with Nuharoo. At times she seems to be a really cruel and manipulative woman (when she goes to punish the pregnant Orchid with a whipping, then breaks into tears when the Emperor shows up to stop it), to someone really selfish and ignorant (her decisions relating to the schooling of Tung Chih), to a spineless fish! What redeeming features (apart from her looks) does she have that made Hsien Feng choose her as his first Empress?

 

I also got soooooo frustrated that Orchid and Nuharoo weren't more decisive in their dealings with Su Shun. Even if the Emperor named him leader of the board of Regents, he still had to defer to the Empresses and obtain their seals in order to validate his decrees. That he was able to discredit them in such a way made me angry! Obviously that was the intent of the author. I think that, as a post feminism, 21st century female, I struggled to understand the methods and traditions of such a foreign culture and time period.

 

 

 

I really enjoyed this book though, and I plan to read more from this genre and part of the world. I already have The Wind-up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami, Geisha of Gion: The Memoir of Mineko Iwasaki by Mineko Iwasaki on my to buy list!

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As the story progressed, I found myself getting more and more frustrated with Nuharoo. What redeeming features (apart from her looks) does she have that made Hsien Feng choose her as his first Empress?

 

 

 

Wasn't she chosen beforehand, something to do with her family and background?

 

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I finished Empress Orchid last night and although I enjoyed it immensely, as I got closer to the end, I became painfully aware that I was running out of pages and there still seemed to be so much of the story left to tell. I felt it ended rather abruptly and without a proper conclusion – there were so many loose ends flapping about that I can only hope that there’s a sequel in the offing to finish it all off nicely.

 

Up until then, it was looking like I’d be giving this 9/10, but I’m dropping a point for rushing to the end and leaving so much unanswered, so it’s 8/10 from me – still an excellent score, I’d say.

 

Has everyone finished it yet? Was I the last one? Or are there still some folks reading?

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I was just thinking, Orchid seems to be very progressive and modern-thinking in comparison to any of the other female characters in the novel. She is the only woman in the Imperial household who has any interest in how the country is run and the others seem to think that it is not a woman’s place to know such things (as do many of the men). She seems to be an early example of a feminist…

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I wondered a bit about that top Michelle - everything about Orchid & Nuharu seemed to be at opposite ends of the spectrum: Orchid had a poorer, harder upbrining, despite her family's noble hostory, Nuharu had everything handed to her & lacked nothing; Orchid was eager to learn & had very little in the way of an education deemd "proper" for a lady, whereas Nuharu was educated in etiquette & royal history by the finest tutors; Nuharu was prepared for her role as Empress, Orchid came to it by chance & by her own decision. All these things added up to create two women in a very tough situation who reacted completely differently from each other under their circumstances.

 

Personally, I thought Orchid was the stronger of the two, but then I thought again about how Nuharu dealt with Orchid's pregnancy - it took a lot of strength to go & congratulate Orchid & to deal with the prospect of bringing up Orchid's son, rather than having a much-longed-for child of her own - it must have been very difficult.

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  • 2 weeks later...

This took me a lot longer to read than I expected - there was so much detail in the description that I was forever reading back the last page again to make sure that I hadn't missed anything!

 

While I found bits of it fascinating, I think I am going to find it quite forgettable.

 

I agree that Orchid was quite modern in her outlook. I wonder how accurate some of this is (I know that it is based on the story of the last empress of China). I would have thought that she would have a number of advisors who would have decoded the paperwork and then told her what she needed to do and say!

 

On a completely different note:

 

 

What was the bit at the end with the soldier all about? That bit in the tomb was all very bizarre!

 

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Read this on holiday and did enjoy it. Loved the detail of the life in the Forbidden City.

although the bit about the woman in the jar left me sick for ages!

 

Kell, you mentioned that you couldn't understand why the emperor was chosen I thought there was a bit at the start that

talked about how no-one thought that he would be emperor (his mother had been executed) and that it had been decided by a hunt and that during that hunt the natural successor who was Prince Kung caught the most but Hsien Feng was advised by his clever tutor to catch nothing and to tell his father that he had been moved by the beauty of nature. This worked.

 

I agree that she was ahead of her time but so far behind ours. And the treatment of the Chinese by the Western powers is shocking!

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Kell, you mentioned that you couldn't understand why the emperor was chosen I thought there was a bit at the start that

talked about how no-one thought that he would be emperor (his mother had been executed) and that it had been decided by a hunt and that during that hunt the natural successor who was Prince Kung caught the most but Hsien Feng was advised by his clever tutor to catch nothing and to tell his father that he had been moved by the beauty of nature. This worked.

I know, I just couldn't understand the workings of the Emperor's mind that set such a task in order to ascertain who would be best to rule - LOL!

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I finished the book last week. What struck me more than anything was how uncivilised the Forbidden City seemed considering it was the middle of the 19th century! How behind the 'Western world' they were.

 

I too enjoyed the naiviety of the beginning which slowly slipped away. And I agree that the pace quickened considerably, I'm not sure I like a very fast paced book (I like to read at bedtime, and don't find fast pace very relaxing!!)

 

Again, I have never read anything about China. Not sure whether I will in the future.

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  • 1 month later...

I picked up Empress Orchid today in the library, more on a whim really than actually seeking it out, it was just there in front of me so I picked it up. The book I actually wanted, which has been in every week for a month, had typically gone. :D

 

I'm still in two minds as to if I want to read it or not, but the more I look the more tempted I am.

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