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| Empress Orchid | 
| Author: Anchee Min
Publisher: Mariner Books
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
Buy Used: $0.39
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Avg. Customer Rating:  80 reviews
Sales Rank: 121971
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 368
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.5 x 1
ISBN: 0618562036
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780618562039
ASIN: 0618562036
Publication Date: April 11, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 A light and easy read, but more notable from a historical perspective than a literary one. May 1, 2008
This book is alright. It's definitely entertaining and Anchee Min's dual role as historian is very evident in the text. I was fascinated to learn about Yehonala's life, both in rural China and the imperial court. If they taught schoolchildren more about eunuchs and Peking, I'm sure they would become much more interested in ancient Chinese history.
While it's an interesting read from a historical perspective, its literary attributes are less remarkable. It's well-paced (perfect for a vacation or sick day read) and passably written, but the real flaw is Min's unabashed idolatry of Orchid/Yehonala. I can appreciate that Min painstakingly researched her subject to do justice to this important but neglected historical figure, but her portrait is overly flattering and her character has no flaws. While the first-person perspective would allow for complex internal narratives, major events - the birth of her son, her kidnapping, an unrequited love interest, etc. - are described dutifully as Yehonala simply goes through the motions. Of course, I understand that her life was very much determined by factors outside of her control. I also understand that her position would require her to behave gracefully under any circumstances, but I think of how Arthur Golden made Sayuri (who is also both a beneficiary and victim of the strange turns her life has taken) a movingly sympathetic character in "Memoirs of A Geisha." Had Min been able to execute a similar treatment of Empress Orchid, this book would have been great instead of simply good.
Interesting Book Sets the Table for the Sequel April 13, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
'Empress Orchid' begins Anchee Min's two-part story of the life of the remarkable 19th Chinese dowager empress, Tzu Hsi, also known as Lady Yehonala and Empress Orchid. I profess no expertise in Chinese history, but Min's portrayal of Tzu Hsi is decidedly revisionist and more favorable than the standard history, which was apparently originated by English writers wishing to portray the empress and China in a negative light.
Empress Orchid describes Tzu Hsi's sudden rise from low, but poverty-stricken nobility when she was chosen as a wife and one of the numerous concubines of emperor Hsien Feng. Orchid avoids fading into anonymity with the help of her eunuch slave who arranges for the emperor to visit her bed. Having prepared herself carefully for such a visit, she wins the emperor's attention long enough to bear him his only son. This event gives her the opportunity, but no more, to move near the reins of power.
Anchee Min describes court customs and costumes in great detail, but the heart of the book focuses on Orchid's attempts to outwit her competition and ensure her son's place as heir to the title of emperor. While the court intrigue dominates the front story, China is under assault from the West and from the Tai Ping rebellion. The imperial party must flee the Forbidden City.
As the story closes, Orchid's son is named emperor and she outmaneuvers her internal enemies in the regency. A humiliating peace is negotiated with the British and French to end the Second Opium War.
One knows that Empress Orchid must have been a remarkable woman to achieve long-lasting political power in imperial China. Anchee Min's Orchid demonstrates persistence in fighting for her son's power (and thus her own as well). She is not portrayed as a sharp political operator, but rather a somewhat reluctant one. While this book was enjoyable and interesting in its own right, it mainly serves to set the table for the main course, the story of the long reign of the dowager empress which Min continues in The Last Empress: A Novel.
As good historical fiction does, 'Empress Orchid' whets the appetite for more information. Some related works that appear quite interesting, which I have not yet read myself, include Dragon Lady: The Life and Legend of the Last Empress of China by Sterling Seagrave and "Flashman ; the Dragon from the Flashman Papers, 1860" featuring the irrepressible Harry Flashman.
Good....Not Great.... March 9, 2008
Anchee Min has an interesting and well-told story here, but to my mind not quite up to previous works (Red Azalea and Becoming Madame Mao were fantastic). I thought the first half of the book or so was a bit slow and then moved along better at the end; we see more deeply into the main character near the book's conclusion. This is fun and good reading but not, as I understand, historically accurate. Some of the details are very hard to imagine being real or true. I've purchased Sterling Seagraves' biography of the empress and look forward to reading that. I will go on and read Min's other books and expect to be entertained.
 Interesting subject but highly flawed execution February 14, 2008
A woman who rises to become the de facto ruler of China for over 40 years is no ordinary person. The Chinese Imperial court, with all of its ceremonial functions and symbolism, is fascinating. The transformations the country had to go through at the turn of the 19th century were astonishing. All of these elements must combine to create an outstading story - right?
Not in the case of Empress Orchid, where three main flaws bring the book down.
The first is the author's inability to juggle all the storylines going. For example, when Orchid leaves her mother's house, she promises to find a husband in court for her sister. No more mention of this is made until around seventy pages on, when suddenly Orchid says that she will conspire to marry her sister to an important prince. Then, another 70 or so pages on, Orchid needs a favour and asks her sister, mysteriously married. How did the marriage come about? How where the difficulties overcome?
This flaw also appears in the "flash fowards". In the beginning of the book, the narrator mentions that she had the habit of walking in her garden at night, specially during her most difficult periods, when she contemplated suicide. The reader immediately wonders what could drive this strong woman to think of suicide and what her thoughts were during those walks. The reader will keep wondering, since these walks are never mentioned again.
The second flaw is a tendency to "tell, not show", instead of the usual advice of "show, not tell". Eunuchs are described as vicious and cruel, manipulating the intrigues behind the scene in the Imperial scene. However, other than the head eunuch, this is barely touched upon during the rest of the novel. If they were so powerful, surely their influence must have been felt much more often than just the one bribery scene. Orchid's two eunuch servants are shown as resourceful and loyal, with none of the cruelty so aptly described in the beginning. The relationship between the concubines, the intrigues in court and many other important themes receive the same treatment.
Finally, the book is peppered with glaring inconsistencies. It is difficult to say if these are the results of misunderstanding Chinese culture (in which case, I would have expected the author, who writes to a western audience, to explain these) or of bad writing. For example, Orchid is raised to the same rank as the Empress and granted the same privileges. Half a page down, she is arrested for speaking without the Empress's permision - but didn't she just receive the privilege? Very confusing.
These flaws all work together in the book. We are told how the Grand Empress wouldn't tolerate "favourites" and the grisly fate alotted to a previous favourite. However, when Orchid monopolizes the Emperor's attention for months, there is no reaction from the Grand Empress or from any of the other concubines, who would have been scheming for the Emperor's bed.
Finally, the ending is very disappointing. The book suddenly ends, leaving too many open threads and with no satisfying conclusion. It is almost as if the author got tired of the characters and stopped writing.
Despite the glamourous setting and exotic descriptions, I felt let down by this book and do not feel compelled to read other books by Ms. Anchee Min.
 What a Beautiful Book! February 7, 2008
I had bought this book to keep my mind occupied during a flight layover. I typically stick to murder mysteries but decided to try something new. Needless to say even after the layover I still couldn't put it down! (much to my fiancees dislike.) The book is so vivid and descriptive that I could actually see the beautiful colors in front of my eyes. The characters are amazing and well presented and you can't help but feel for them. Anchee Min did an excellent job bring the story to life.
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