Call number
Series
Genres
Publication
New York : Tor, 2021.
Description
To possess the Mandate of Heaven, the monk Zhu will do anything "I refuse to be nothing..." In a famine-stricken village on a dusty yellow plain, two children are given two fates. A boy, greatness. A girl, nothingness... In 1345, China lies under harsh Mongol rule. For the starving peasants of the Central Plains, greatness is something found only in stories. When the Zhu family's eighth-born son, Zhu Chongba, is given a fate of greatness, everyone is mystified as to how it will come to pass. The fate of nothingness received by the family's clever and capable second daughter, on the other hand, is only as expected. When a bandit attack orphans the two children, though, it is Zhu Chongba who succumbs to despair and dies. Desperate to escape her own fated death, the girl uses her brother's identity to enter a monastery as a young male novice. There, propelled by her burning desire to survive, Zhu learns she is capable of doing whatever it takes, no matter how callous, to stay hidden from her fate. After her sanctuary is destroyed for supporting the rebellion against Mongol rule, Zhu takes the chance to claim another future altogether -- her brother's abandoned greatness.… (more)
Media reviews
"Though Parker-Chan’s unrelentingly grim view of humanity bogs down the middle of the novel, her nuanced exploration of gender identity and striking meditation on bodily autonomy set this fantasy apart."
Awards
Hugo Award (Nominee — Novel — 2022)
Lambda Literary Award (Finalist — 2022)
British Fantasy Award (Nominee — Robert Holdstock Award — 2022)
British Book Award (Shortlist — 2022)
Ditmar Award (Shortlist — Novel — 2022)
Otherwise Award (Honor List — 2021)
Dragon Award (Finalist — 2022)
Indie Next List (August 2021)
LibraryReads (Monthly Pick — July 2021)
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Adults (Selection — 2021)
New York Public Library Best Books: For Adults (Top Ten — Fantasy — 2021)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2021-07-20
ISBN
9781250621801
Similar in this library
User reviews
LibraryThing member rivkat
In feudal China, a young girl takes her brother’s place and fate, escaping starvation to become first a monk and then a general in the rebellion against the Mongol rulers. Her destiny entwines with that of the prized eunuch general of the Mongols. (Her pronouns never change internally, but that
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doesn’t stop her from thinking of herself as a man in order to fool Heaven that she’s entitled to her brother’s destiny.) The fantasy elements are that she and some others can see hungry ghosts, and that those with the Mandate of Heaven can manifest it as heatless flame. I didn’t connect with the story very much emotionally—there was a lot of killing over which people would hold power but they were all going to wield it in similar ways—but it was very interesting to read a story with different background assumptions about fate and with primarily Buddhist characters. Show Less
LibraryThing member bell7
A peasant girl told she has no future grasps greatness by her sheer force of will. Zhu Chongba, as she is known for most of the book, assumes her brother's identity after their father and he die. Meanwhile, a eunuch named Ouyang waits for the day he can have revenge on the people who killed his
This epic story reimagines 1300s China in a sweeping tale of Zhu's years growing up, going to a monastery, and hiding her identity all the while driven by ambition and desire to live. It explores gender identity and fate. All the ways it succeeded in doing that, however, made it not quite the book for me. I get bogged down by too much description without dialog, and the first several chapters were almost entirely narration. No character is really likable, and they're all willing to do some pretty awful things in pursuit of their goals, making it a pretty dark and sometimes gruesome read. The second half, once you started to see some of the character motivations make sense and military strategy comes to the fore, was more interesting but most nights it was all too easy to leave the book on the table.
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family.This epic story reimagines 1300s China in a sweeping tale of Zhu's years growing up, going to a monastery, and hiding her identity all the while driven by ambition and desire to live. It explores gender identity and fate. All the ways it succeeded in doing that, however, made it not quite the book for me. I get bogged down by too much description without dialog, and the first several chapters were almost entirely narration. No character is really likable, and they're all willing to do some pretty awful things in pursuit of their goals, making it a pretty dark and sometimes gruesome read. The second half, once you started to see some of the character motivations make sense and military strategy comes to the fore, was more interesting but most nights it was all too easy to leave the book on the table.
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LibraryThing member Sunyidean
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, and I'm glad I did, because it was a lovely book. Exactly what I Was looking for and hoping to find.
Absolutely gorgeous literary fantasy. The setting was perfectly evoked, and the language
The crucial winner for me is the characters. Two main pairs stand out - Ouyang and Esen on the "empire" side, and Zhu (the female MC who pretends to be a male monk for most of the book) and Ma (Zhu's wife, friend, and lover). All four characters are vivid, multi-faceted, nuanced, and flawed in different ways. Huge shifting intersections between privilege, hardship, trauma, love, and grief all tangle together, spilling out to the wider storyline and ultimately having knock-on effects across the whole nation. By the end, I loved all of the characters, even if I was no longer sure who was heroic and who wasn't. PErhaps nobody was and everybody was.
Zhu's character is intricate beyond my capacity to explain in a short review (without writing a long and involved essay, I mean) but if I had to pick JUST one aspect to focus on, it's her un-Buddhist sense of desire: she struggles with wanting things beyond the life given to her, and whether that is okay. Repeatedly, that issue comes up - she wants, she desires, should she desire, doesn't desire have a cost - but notably, it's not something the male characters seem to struggle with. Because ambition, power, and greatness are seen as natural things for men to want, a kind of ingrained privilege of what it's okay to expect or hope for in life. Zhu, as both a woman and someone born to the peasant class, has to fight for the right to even want those things, let alone have them.
Every character pays a cost, and by the end I think most readers will be weighing up whether anything they gained was worth the sacrifice. Zhu is capable of goodness and love, but I am not sure that she herself is a good person, by the novel's end. That grey tangled mess does make her exactly the kind of character I really enjoy, however.
Absolutely gorgeous literary fantasy. The setting was perfectly evoked, and the language
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beautifully immersive. (Spoiler-free example: Parker-Chan won't tell you how much starvation hurts, she'll write you beautiful passages about how delicious crickets and lizards and mud are starting to look.) The crucial winner for me is the characters. Two main pairs stand out - Ouyang and Esen on the "empire" side, and Zhu (the female MC who pretends to be a male monk for most of the book) and Ma (Zhu's wife, friend, and lover). All four characters are vivid, multi-faceted, nuanced, and flawed in different ways. Huge shifting intersections between privilege, hardship, trauma, love, and grief all tangle together, spilling out to the wider storyline and ultimately having knock-on effects across the whole nation. By the end, I loved all of the characters, even if I was no longer sure who was heroic and who wasn't. PErhaps nobody was and everybody was.
Zhu's character is intricate beyond my capacity to explain in a short review (without writing a long and involved essay, I mean) but if I had to pick JUST one aspect to focus on, it's her un-Buddhist sense of desire: she struggles with wanting things beyond the life given to her, and whether that is okay. Repeatedly, that issue comes up - she wants, she desires, should she desire, doesn't desire have a cost - but notably, it's not something the male characters seem to struggle with. Because ambition, power, and greatness are seen as natural things for men to want, a kind of ingrained privilege of what it's okay to expect or hope for in life. Zhu, as both a woman and someone born to the peasant class, has to fight for the right to even want those things, let alone have them.
Every character pays a cost, and by the end I think most readers will be weighing up whether anything they gained was worth the sacrifice. Zhu is capable of goodness and love, but I am not sure that she herself is a good person, by the novel's end. That grey tangled mess does make her exactly the kind of character I really enjoy, however.
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LibraryThing member Shrike58
First up, while I enjoyed this story, I might not have picked it up had it not been short-listed for a "Hugo," and I was certainly more intrigued when Chinese authorities criticized the story for engaging in "historical nihilism." That is, writing history in a fashion that the Chinese Communist
The real test is going to be how Parker-Chan wraps up this story in a convincing fashion; they have noted that "She Who Almost Became the Sun" is not going to cut it! Though it might be more honest, as the more the main character temps fate the more she risks losing the destiny she acquired.
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Party disagrees with! Otherwise, one is promised a gender-bent "silk punk" epic and that is what one gets.The real test is going to be how Parker-Chan wraps up this story in a convincing fashion; they have noted that "She Who Almost Became the Sun" is not going to cut it! Though it might be more honest, as the more the main character temps fate the more she risks losing the destiny she acquired.
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LibraryThing member Citizenjoyce
The Ming dynasty was founded by Zhu Yuanzhang. In this queer retelling of the history, Zhu Yuanzhang is a girl who has taken her brother's name and fortune after he and their father are killed by bandits. It's an interesting story, to me much more interesting when Zhu is a determined and supremely
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well-disciplined child. After s/he grows to adulthood it becomes a story of strategy and succession. The parts about gender, sexuality and living in poverty are interesting. The strategy is probably well done, but since I have no interest in it, I didn't care. People love this book because of the gender-bending. I guess others love it because Zhu is so clever. I think I dislike stories of succession because ultimately no one gets to be the boss by being a good person. I know life does not reward the good and punish the bad, but I'm foolish enough to wish it did. Show Less
LibraryThing member krau0098
Series Info/Source: This is the first book in The Radian Emperor Duology. I got an eGalley of this book through NetGalley to review.
Story (5/5): This was very, very well done. I really enjoyed this epic historical novel and it was an intriguing look into an alternate Chinese history. I know a bit
Characters (5/5): All of the characters that fill these pages are very complex. Zhu takes on her brother’s name and hopes that she will gain the prophecy of greatness that was supposed to be his (this is where the Mulan vibe comes from). We also read a lot from Ouyang’s POV; Ouyang is the eunuch general of the Mongol army. Zhu tried to temper her ambitions by surrounding herself with people who can make up for her lack of compassion. Ouyang is determined to get revenge for his family name even if it hurts the person he loves the most. These characters are selfish and self-serving, but also incredibly driven and they have people in their lives that greatly influence them.
Setting (5/5): The book starts out in the mid-1340’s in the Central Plains and follows only Zhu for the first part of the book, then moves to a monastery on the mountain side. From there we move more into Chinese politics and are switched between the headquarters of the Red Turban rebellion and the main palace of the Mongols. Settings are incredibly well described and really come alive for the reader. I enjoyed the variety of locations as well.
Writing Style (5/5): This was incredibly easy to read and very hard to put down. The writing flows well and, even though a lot of names are thrown at you early on, they aren’t too hard to keep track of. The first part of the book is from Zhu’s POV but then we switch to multiple POVs and hear a lot from Ouyang and Ma. This was very well written and I really enjoyed it a ton. My only complaint is that I would have really enjoyed a commentary on how this compares to the actual known history of the time (since most of my knowledge of this time in history comes from playing various Dynasty Warriors and Romance of the Three Kingdoms video games).
My Summary (5/5): Overall this was an amazing read. If you are at all interested in Chinese history or historical fiction, I would recommend this book. This does an excellent job of incorporating the history of the time into an entertaining story with complex characters and an engaging storyline. It’s impossible to put down and I can’t wait to see what the final book of this duology has in store for us.
Story (5/5): This was very, very well done. I really enjoyed this epic historical novel and it was an intriguing look into an alternate Chinese history. I know a bit
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about this time period but really would have enjoyed an afterword talking about the true history. It's always intriguing to know how a book differs from historical fact and how much is more or less true. The description of this being a story of “Mulan” meets “The Song of Achilles” is very apt.Characters (5/5): All of the characters that fill these pages are very complex. Zhu takes on her brother’s name and hopes that she will gain the prophecy of greatness that was supposed to be his (this is where the Mulan vibe comes from). We also read a lot from Ouyang’s POV; Ouyang is the eunuch general of the Mongol army. Zhu tried to temper her ambitions by surrounding herself with people who can make up for her lack of compassion. Ouyang is determined to get revenge for his family name even if it hurts the person he loves the most. These characters are selfish and self-serving, but also incredibly driven and they have people in their lives that greatly influence them.
Setting (5/5): The book starts out in the mid-1340’s in the Central Plains and follows only Zhu for the first part of the book, then moves to a monastery on the mountain side. From there we move more into Chinese politics and are switched between the headquarters of the Red Turban rebellion and the main palace of the Mongols. Settings are incredibly well described and really come alive for the reader. I enjoyed the variety of locations as well.
Writing Style (5/5): This was incredibly easy to read and very hard to put down. The writing flows well and, even though a lot of names are thrown at you early on, they aren’t too hard to keep track of. The first part of the book is from Zhu’s POV but then we switch to multiple POVs and hear a lot from Ouyang and Ma. This was very well written and I really enjoyed it a ton. My only complaint is that I would have really enjoyed a commentary on how this compares to the actual known history of the time (since most of my knowledge of this time in history comes from playing various Dynasty Warriors and Romance of the Three Kingdoms video games).
My Summary (5/5): Overall this was an amazing read. If you are at all interested in Chinese history or historical fiction, I would recommend this book. This does an excellent job of incorporating the history of the time into an entertaining story with complex characters and an engaging storyline. It’s impossible to put down and I can’t wait to see what the final book of this duology has in store for us.
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LibraryThing member readinggeek451
Brilliant historical fiction with a tinge of fantasy. I don't know enough about China in the 1350s to know how closely it hews to actual history--aside from the identity of the main character, Zhu, who is clearly ahistorical.
LibraryThing member Sunyidean
Absolutely gorgeous literary fantasy. The setting was perfectly evoked, and the language beautifully immersive. (Spoiler-free example: Parker-Chan won't tell you how much starvation hurts, she'll write you beautiful passages about how delicious crickets and lizards and mud are starting to look.)
The crucial winner for me is the characters. Two main pairs stand out - Ouyang and Esen on the "empire" side, and Zhu (the female MC who pretends to be a male monk for most of the book) and Ma (Zhu's wife, friend, and lover). All four characters are vivid, multi-faceted, nuanced, and flawed in different ways. Huge shifting intersections between privilege, hardship, trauma, love, and grief all tangle together, spilling out to the wider storyline and ultimately having knock-on effects across the whole nation. By the end, I loved all of the characters, even if I was no longer sure who was heroic and who wasn't. PErhaps nobody was and everybody was.
Zhu's character is intricate beyond my capacity to explain in a short review (without writing a long and involved essay, I mean) but if I had to pick JUST one aspect to focus on, it's her un-Buddhist sense of desire: she struggles with wanting things beyond the life given to her, and whether that is okay. Repeatedly, that issue comes up - she wants, she desires, should she desire, doesn't desire have a cost - but notably, it's not something the male characters seem to struggle with. Because ambition, power, and greatness are seen as natural things for men to want, a kind of ingrained privilege of what it's okay to expect or hope for in life. Zhu, as both a woman and someone born to the peasant class, has to fight for the right to even want those things, let alone have them.
Every character pays a cost, and by the end I think most readers will be weighing up whether anything they gained was worth the sacrifice. Zhu is capable of goodness and love, but I am not sure that she herself is a good person, by the novel's end. That grey tangled mess does make her exactly the kind of character I really enjoy, however.
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The crucial winner for me is the characters. Two main pairs stand out - Ouyang and Esen on the "empire" side, and Zhu (the female MC who pretends to be a male monk for most of the book) and Ma (Zhu's wife, friend, and lover). All four characters are vivid, multi-faceted, nuanced, and flawed in different ways. Huge shifting intersections between privilege, hardship, trauma, love, and grief all tangle together, spilling out to the wider storyline and ultimately having knock-on effects across the whole nation. By the end, I loved all of the characters, even if I was no longer sure who was heroic and who wasn't. PErhaps nobody was and everybody was.
Zhu's character is intricate beyond my capacity to explain in a short review (without writing a long and involved essay, I mean) but if I had to pick JUST one aspect to focus on, it's her un-Buddhist sense of desire: she struggles with wanting things beyond the life given to her, and whether that is okay. Repeatedly, that issue comes up - she wants, she desires, should she desire, doesn't desire have a cost - but notably, it's not something the male characters seem to struggle with. Because ambition, power, and greatness are seen as natural things for men to want, a kind of ingrained privilege of what it's okay to expect or hope for in life. Zhu, as both a woman and someone born to the peasant class, has to fight for the right to even want those things, let alone have them.
Every character pays a cost, and by the end I think most readers will be weighing up whether anything they gained was worth the sacrifice. Zhu is capable of goodness and love, but I am not sure that she herself is a good person, by the novel's end. That grey tangled mess does make her exactly the kind of character I really enjoy, however.
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LibraryThing member Sosseres
This is an interesting book for me since it is well written with an interesting story, yet I could not make myself finish it.
I greatly enjoyed the opening part about the starvation. It was well written, gripped me and made me sympathise with Zhu. I enjoyed her journey and the effort put into
Then we have Ouyang, the other main character and the reason I did not finish the book. The only thing I could think of while reading his sections of the book was, why am I reading this? I find no engagement, enjoyment or joy in his story or character.
So when we switched from a high impact Zhu section into an Ouyang one I just stopped reading. Perhaps he grows on you but after half the book I had had enough with reading about him.
Well written, interesting but I could not connect with one of the main characters at all.
I greatly enjoyed the opening part about the starvation. It was well written, gripped me and made me sympathise with Zhu. I enjoyed her journey and the effort put into
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showing the time period.Then we have Ouyang, the other main character and the reason I did not finish the book. The only thing I could think of while reading his sections of the book was, why am I reading this? I find no engagement, enjoyment or joy in his story or character.
So when we switched from a high impact Zhu section into an Ouyang one I just stopped reading. Perhaps he grows on you but after half the book I had had enough with reading about him.
Well written, interesting but I could not connect with one of the main characters at all.
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LibraryThing member Tsana
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan is the first book in the Radiant Emperor series. Since I try not to remember blurbs, I did not realise until partway through that it was based on a historical person. This does mean that Wiki can tell you where the story is going, but this isn't much of
I enjoyed this book a lot. Set shortly before the fall of the Yuan Dynasty, it follows a peasant girl, Zhu, who grew up in a famine and extreme poverty. Her sheer determination to survive and not have an insignificant "nothing" destiny, sees her take on her brother's identity and join a monastery. Unlike many stories with the girl-dresses-as-boy trope, it does not involve a romance with her best monk friend but rather takes a more complicated and queer direction. I really enjoyed reading about Zhu and I appreciated the lengths she was willing to go to for her goal/dream/destiny.
The other protagonist is a eunuch general on the Yuan side (as opposed to the people who are sick of being ruled over by the Yuan, which is the side Zhu is on). He is bitter and vengeful against the Yuan but in an interesting position, since he genuinely likes the Prince he serves. He and Zhu have a few run-ins, which were quite dramatic, despite the fact that they both want similar things. I didn't enjoy his point of view sections as much, especially in the first part of the book, but they got more interesting as we learnt more about him and as events progressed. In any case, he was a good foil for Zhu.
I highly recommend this book to people who enjoy historic fantasy, especially people looking for books set in Asia. She Who Became the Sun did not end on a cliffhanger, but did leave the story unfinished, so I am very much looking forward to reading the next book, when it comes out.
5 / 5 stars
You can read more of my reviews on my blog.
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a spoiler since the journey is very open to interpretation, as Parker-Chan shows us.I enjoyed this book a lot. Set shortly before the fall of the Yuan Dynasty, it follows a peasant girl, Zhu, who grew up in a famine and extreme poverty. Her sheer determination to survive and not have an insignificant "nothing" destiny, sees her take on her brother's identity and join a monastery. Unlike many stories with the girl-dresses-as-boy trope, it does not involve a romance with her best monk friend but rather takes a more complicated and queer direction. I really enjoyed reading about Zhu and I appreciated the lengths she was willing to go to for her goal/dream/destiny.
The other protagonist is a eunuch general on the Yuan side (as opposed to the people who are sick of being ruled over by the Yuan, which is the side Zhu is on). He is bitter and vengeful against the Yuan but in an interesting position, since he genuinely likes the Prince he serves. He and Zhu have a few run-ins, which were quite dramatic, despite the fact that they both want similar things. I didn't enjoy his point of view sections as much, especially in the first part of the book, but they got more interesting as we learnt more about him and as events progressed. In any case, he was a good foil for Zhu.
I highly recommend this book to people who enjoy historic fantasy, especially people looking for books set in Asia. She Who Became the Sun did not end on a cliffhanger, but did leave the story unfinished, so I am very much looking forward to reading the next book, when it comes out.
5 / 5 stars
You can read more of my reviews on my blog.
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LibraryThing member bookczuk
2022 pandemic read. Fascinating, fantastic read based in part on the end of the Khan dynasty and beginning of Ming, with some magic and gender fluidity as well.
LibraryThing member wagner.sarah35
Mixed feelings on this book. I loved the start - with a young girl taking up her dead brother's identity and foretold greatness, but the story quickly got tangled in politics and a vast cast of characters. Typically, I love this kind of tale, but I kept loosing track of side characters and zoning
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out as battles and motivations shifted. Perhaps that's more about my own current headspace, but I had really hoped that this book would hold my attention more. I wanted to read it it in part because I loved Iron Widow and wanted a story with similar themes. That said, I did find the ending intriguing, although I'm not certain I'm curious enough to pick up the sequel. Show Less
LibraryThing member forsanolim
In the famine-stricken world near the end of the Yuan Dynasty, a girl seizes her brother's name (Zhu Chongba) and promised fate of greatness when he dies without achieving anything close to his fate. In this reimagined history, the Mandate of Heaven is physically represented, and Zhu can see ghosts
This was fun! I especially enjoyed the first half of the book; after that, the pace of the book really increased, and I think I could have used just a little more time with some of the characters' thoughts/motivations. However, I found all of the characters quite distinct and didn't have trouble getting them confused, which I appreciated in a story as sprawling as this one. I'm intrigued by the ending, and given the history that this is retelling, I'm definitely interested to know where this story will go in the future.
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in the monastery where she goes to live. As her fortune grows, we meet characters both from supporters of the Yuan and of rebels who seek to end the Mongol rule and install their own leader(s).This was fun! I especially enjoyed the first half of the book; after that, the pace of the book really increased, and I think I could have used just a little more time with some of the characters' thoughts/motivations. However, I found all of the characters quite distinct and didn't have trouble getting them confused, which I appreciated in a story as sprawling as this one. I'm intrigued by the ending, and given the history that this is retelling, I'm definitely interested to know where this story will go in the future.
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LibraryThing member JanaRose1
In famine stricken China, the Zhu family's son is given a great destiny. The daughter is given the destiny of nothing. When the son dies, the daughter assumes his identify and enters a monastery as a boy. When the Zhu daughter finally achieves her goal of becoming a monk, Mongols burn the
This was an extremely well written book. The story was well paced and the characters were dynamic. My only criticism is that the book did not have a real ending. It desperately needs either ran epilogue or a second book. Due to this criticism, 4 out of 5 stars.
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monastery, leaving her to ponder the fate she has taken as her own.This was an extremely well written book. The story was well paced and the characters were dynamic. My only criticism is that the book did not have a real ending. It desperately needs either ran epilogue or a second book. Due to this criticism, 4 out of 5 stars.
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LibraryThing member FirstReader
Set in 1345 China, it is the story of girl, Zhu, unwanted and used, who when her family is decimated by starvation and bandits, takes her dead brother’s name and travels to the nearest monastery. There she is denied entrance but having nowhere else to go stays for four days before being taken
This is no light fare. No, this is a dark tale of survival. Zhu’s trials just to stay alive are horrific and tragic. It next to impossible to categorize this book into a single category or genre.
Parker-Chan’s writing is excellent, her plot heroic, and her character the epitome of strength and endurance. However, this is not a fast read, the potential reader should take her time reading this book because there is so much to be learned and to appreciate about this book.
My thanks to Tor and Edelweiss for an eARC.
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inside. While there, she learns she is capable of not only learning but surviving as well. Still wanting to prove the seer who said her fate was to be nothing, she survives the trials and tribulation of a female living in an all-male environment.This is no light fare. No, this is a dark tale of survival. Zhu’s trials just to stay alive are horrific and tragic. It next to impossible to categorize this book into a single category or genre.
Parker-Chan’s writing is excellent, her plot heroic, and her character the epitome of strength and endurance. However, this is not a fast read, the potential reader should take her time reading this book because there is so much to be learned and to appreciate about this book.
My thanks to Tor and Edelweiss for an eARC.
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LibraryThing member lavaturtle
Bounced off this after about a hundred pages. I like the protagonist, but the setting is just too unrelentingly bleak for me.
LibraryThing member sriddell
I know I'm in the distinct minority here since so many people loved this book. But I had a hard time following all the various characters, who owed revenge to whom and why.
While it's well written and some of the characters were wonderfully developed, I just didn't warm up to it.
While it's well written and some of the characters were wonderfully developed, I just didn't warm up to it.
LibraryThing member quondame
A swift paced story of a young orphan determination to have a great fate rather than the nothing one that was predicted for her. Set in the final decade of Mongol rule in China, with just a whiff of magic in the workings of the mandate of heaven, the storytelling and characters are good if spotty,
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though for me it did not bring a lot new or revelatory, it is a very respectable first novel. Show Less
LibraryThing member Stevil2001
She Who Became the Sun is a piece of historical fantasy, a fictionalized depiction of Zhu, the person who would go on to be the Hongwu emperor and found the Ming dynasty; Parker-Chan suggests that he was actually a she in disguise, and adds some mild fantasy elements, mostly that Zhu can see
I can see why people really like this. I wanted to like it more than I did. It begins very arrestingly, with young Zhu a member of a starving family of peasants. A fortuneteller promises her brother will acquire greatness, but that she will amount to nothing. When the rest of her family succumbs to hunger, she assumes her brother's identity in a desperate bid to live, and in hope of acquiring her brother's fate as well; she lives in fear that she will do things her brother could not or would not have done, and thus no longer be able to lay claim to his fate of greatness. These early parts of the novel, foregrounding Zhu's desperation and deception, are the strongest.
As the novel goes on, it widens its cast of characters, and unfortunately, spends much time on various male warlords who I found it difficult to invest it or even distinguish in terms of personality. They are all nasty, conniving people working to undermine one another, and these sections were much less interesting than the sections focused on our protagonist, who seemed to vanish from the narrative for annoyingly long periods of time. I found it hard to follow the politics here; whether that was because I didn't care about the people, or if my inability to follow the politics made it hard to care about the people, I couldn't say. I think Parker-Chan was trying to depict a species of toxic masculinity, but it soon grew repetitive, and her take on it wasn't very insightful.
There is a very striking moment at the end, harsh and terrible, that really worked for me, though; Zhu is a very interesting character. The triumphalist tone to the marketing around this book is very wrong; at least one blurb I read compares it to Mulan, and it is nothing like Mulan. This is not a story of female empowerment. This is a story of awful people doing awful things to accumulate power, and even if we understand why Zhu does them, she is still awful.
So, decent enough, and I can see why other people might gravitate toward it, but it's a two-book series (at least?), and I can't imagine myself picking up book two unless it also becomes a Hugo finalist.
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ghosts.I can see why people really like this. I wanted to like it more than I did. It begins very arrestingly, with young Zhu a member of a starving family of peasants. A fortuneteller promises her brother will acquire greatness, but that she will amount to nothing. When the rest of her family succumbs to hunger, she assumes her brother's identity in a desperate bid to live, and in hope of acquiring her brother's fate as well; she lives in fear that she will do things her brother could not or would not have done, and thus no longer be able to lay claim to his fate of greatness. These early parts of the novel, foregrounding Zhu's desperation and deception, are the strongest.
As the novel goes on, it widens its cast of characters, and unfortunately, spends much time on various male warlords who I found it difficult to invest it or even distinguish in terms of personality. They are all nasty, conniving people working to undermine one another, and these sections were much less interesting than the sections focused on our protagonist, who seemed to vanish from the narrative for annoyingly long periods of time. I found it hard to follow the politics here; whether that was because I didn't care about the people, or if my inability to follow the politics made it hard to care about the people, I couldn't say. I think Parker-Chan was trying to depict a species of toxic masculinity, but it soon grew repetitive, and her take on it wasn't very insightful.
There is a very striking moment at the end, harsh and terrible, that really worked for me, though; Zhu is a very interesting character. The triumphalist tone to the marketing around this book is very wrong; at least one blurb I read compares it to Mulan, and it is nothing like Mulan. This is not a story of female empowerment. This is a story of awful people doing awful things to accumulate power, and even if we understand why Zhu does them, she is still awful.
So, decent enough, and I can see why other people might gravitate toward it, but it's a two-book series (at least?), and I can't imagine myself picking up book two unless it also becomes a Hugo finalist.
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LibraryThing member sleahey
In this alternate history of 13th century China, the story starts with an impoverished and starving little girl. A fortune teller claims that her brother will be great and she will be a nothing. After her brother's death, she assumes his name and male identity, and determines to assume his future
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greatness. With no doubt in her fate, her life becomes entangled with a rebel group, and then with the opposition, particularly a eunuch commander whose fate is clearly connected with hers. The political complexities and battles are well-described, and the relationships and personalities carefully drawn. The sequel will be welcome. Show Less
LibraryThing member renbedell
A story about a girl in 13th century China, decides to take on her own fate by disguising herself as a boy. The story is about her climbing the ranks in the army and her true ambition. It is really well written and the protagonist is very interesting. It does have POVs of other generals in the
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opposing army, which I found more tedious to read, but it did flesh out the motivation of all the characters. Overall it is a great book. Show Less
LibraryThing member oldandnewbooksmell
In 1345, famine covered the village of the Central Plains of China. When Zhu Chongba is given a fate of greatness, everyone is mystified and excited. The fate of nothingness received for the second daughter though, is only expected.
When a bandit attack kills their father, the brother, Zhu Chongba
From there, Zhu learns that she will do whatever it takes to survive, both in and out of the monastery walls.
I had a really hard time with this one. Which sucked, because I wanted to enjoy it, but I struggled. I should have gotten it done days ago, but when I would be reading at night and get to parts that weren’t about Zhu, aka the generals, I would literally fall asleep.
The summary of the book that’s used literally describes the first ¼ of the book, the rest is Zhu’s journey to Emperor and the General they would encounter, which is a part I would usually get lost in. There were also time jumps that I didn’t like and wished went back and explained more like Zhu’s escape from the monastery that was set on fire .
Overall, this is added to the stack of books where I have such mixed feelings about it: I’m glad I read it, but I don’t know if I really enjoyed reading it. I’m also not sure if I will continue on with the story when the next one comes out though.
When a bandit attack kills their father, the brother, Zhu Chongba
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is the one who succumbs to despair and dies. Desperate to survive, the daughter takes up her brother’s identity and enters a monastery as a young male novice.From there, Zhu learns that she will do whatever it takes to survive, both in and out of the monastery walls.
I had a really hard time with this one. Which sucked, because I wanted to enjoy it, but I struggled. I should have gotten it done days ago, but when I would be reading at night and get to parts that weren’t about Zhu, aka the generals, I would literally fall asleep.
The summary of the book that’s used literally describes the first ¼ of the book, the rest is Zhu’s journey to Emperor and the General they would encounter, which is a part I would usually get lost in. There were also time jumps that I didn’t like and wished went back and explained more
Overall, this is added to the stack of books where I have such mixed feelings about it: I’m glad I read it, but I don’t know if I really enjoyed reading it. I’m also not sure if I will continue on with the story when the next one comes out though.
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LibraryThing member Castlelass
Set in 14th century China and Mongolia, a peasant girl’s parents die in a famine, leaving their children destitute. When her brother dies, she assumes his identity (Zhu) and applies to a monastery to avoid starvation. Only males are accepted in the monastery, and she manages to avoid detection.
The setup and first quarter of the story is engrossing. The problem I had with it is that after Zhu leaves the monastery, it falls into a long sidebar regarding a Mongolian family and the rise of a eunuch general. After getting absorbed into Zhu’s story I was not expecting the narrative to leave her for long periods of time, which seemed to me to be digressions. I suppose they were needed for the sequel. It is about a historical period that is not covered often, so it should, theoretically, have been my type of book, but I found my mind wandering. Maybe I was not in the right mood for it.
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She finds a way to succeed against all odds, until the monastery is destroyed. The setup and first quarter of the story is engrossing. The problem I had with it is that after Zhu leaves the monastery, it falls into a long sidebar regarding a Mongolian family and the rise of a eunuch general. After getting absorbed into Zhu’s story I was not expecting the narrative to leave her for long periods of time, which seemed to me to be digressions. I suppose they were needed for the sequel. It is about a historical period that is not covered often, so it should, theoretically, have been my type of book, but I found my mind wandering. Maybe I was not in the right mood for it.
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LibraryThing member wanderlustlover
Spring 2020 (March);
My level of disappointment with this book was vast. I heard so many good review about it from the COVID years and was so excited to see it pop up on both of my book club book lists for this year. But; and god, there are so many buts.
There is almost never any fallout in this
I did love the interesting hold and sway of the gender/sexuality between both of those main characters on opposite sides. One for whom both genders was an eschewed and unwanted thing, while in a mutual unresolved sexual attraction between male to male, and in the other wherein we had vast body dysmorphia, while everyone around the main character the male pronoun and they continued to refer to themselves by she, discovering their love of a woman.
My level of disappointment with this book was vast. I heard so many good review about it from the COVID years and was so excited to see it pop up on both of my book club book lists for this year. But; and god, there are so many buts.
There is almost never any fallout in this
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book from the big events. We never see the fallout/build-up from the first gender reveal/making apprentice position, from the fire that takes over the temple, from the monk deciding to marry. In fact, the only one we do get is the cutting off of the hand, which we'd skipped so much of getting to have by that point in the book, I was confused at getting to have. I did love the interesting hold and sway of the gender/sexuality between both of those main characters on opposite sides. One for whom both genders was an eschewed and unwanted thing, while in a mutual unresolved sexual attraction between male to male, and in the other wherein we had vast body dysmorphia, while everyone around the main character the male pronoun and they continued to refer to themselves by she, discovering their love of a woman.
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LibraryThing member lyrrael
Seize the fate you want by pretending to be somebody else, and that somebody else is a monk. Win prizes. 4/5, would march again.