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| Image: Goodreads, edited by me |
Mulan meets The Song of Achilles in Shelley Parker-Chan's She Who Became the Sun, a bold, queer, and lyrical reimagining of the rise of the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty from an amazing new voice in literary fantasy.To possess the Mandate of Heaven, the female 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.
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Inhale... exhale...
To be very honest, this book won't be my favourite and I am not sure why it has become so popular? I mean... Sigh. I get it that this is historical fiction with a sort of LGBT-ish element, but I don't think the story itself is that compelling. I mean, the plot is a little bit scattered and the pace is very slow. It made me lose interest when reading it. At least, I need 1.5 months to finish it.
Zhu and the greatness
Nobody will ever end me. I’ll be so great that no one will be able to touch me, or come near me, for fear of becoming nothing. - Zhu
Zhu decided to take her brother's identity in order to survive. At that time, there's fate that has given for her and her brother. A boy, greatness. A girl, nothingness. To be able to survive in the middle of the harsh Mongol rule, Zhu tries her best to fight her nothingness. Whatever it takes, Zhu desire greatness. The highest greatness that heaven can let her get.
Let's see. I spend almost 1.5 months reading this book. Not gonna lie, I feel so exhausted but I push myself to finish it. Even though the premise is interesting, I think the pace of the story is very slow. Other than that, so many things that distract me from the main story.
One thing that I recognize when reading this book is, there are so many characters here. Moreover, there will be two main stories. The first is about Zhu's struggle to claim her position in the Red Turban alliance, and the second one is about Esen and Ouyang's side story. For me, the story is confusing.
At first, I salute Zhu's struggle. Try to survive in the monastery and become a female monk, then step by step climb to be the war commander and finally get what she wants in terms of the position. But, the thing is, the story is too long and make me exhausted. And, maybe I should agree that Zhu's character is very boring.
What do I like about this book? The cover. Lol. Only the cover that I think is good. Maybe the character that I like would be Xu Da. I know his character isn't that much explored yet, but I can see his potential to become an attractive character.
Then, even though the exploration of gender and sexuality is highlighted through this book... I don't find it that wholesome. So sad.
Conclusion
I am very aware that this is the first book of the series. Maybe that's the reason why the author is like dragging the story. But still... I don't think it's a good decision. I couldn't find many positive sides to this book. Maybe, at the end of the day, I should say that this book isn't my cup of tea. Will I read the next book? I don't think so.
2 out of 5 stars.
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