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A review by saintmaud
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan
adventurous
medium-paced
3.25
Okay, first of all, this turned out to be my first novel of the year, so yay for that! I’ve been in a reading slump for a while now, and while I wouldn't say the book got me out of it, it still got me reading, and I love it for that.
Coming to the actual review, I thought it was an enjoyable read. The three main characters were well developed and it was interesting to see the focus on gender and societal roles ( and subverting them!) I loved both Zhu and Ouyang's ambition, how *intense* their want was and all the parts about them talking about their fate, each setting the other on their path and being unable to turn away was great to read. I love stories about stories that don’t stop until they play out their course, the characters hurtled toward their fate something something Orestes “ this was always going to happen / she was dead since the beginning” and Jean Anouilh “In a tragedy, nothing is in doubt and everyone’s destiny is known. That makes for tranquillity” (the latter very much highlighted in Ouyang’s narrative) and Ouyang himself mentioning “that same awful momentum that powered everything he had put into motion and couldn't have stopped even if he wanted to.”
The writing itself didn’t do much for me; like mesal pointed out it was at times too matter-of-fact and attempted to cover that by using unnecessary metaphors. And maybe this was just me but Zhu’s introspections were sometimes hard to read, it felt repetitive and lacked clarity. The book could’ve done with better pacing too: a lot of the plot revolves around war and capturing cities but the battles were mentioned only in passing, the middle drags on for too long and meanders too much in coming to the conclusion, which itself felt very rushed.
There wasn’t much worldbuilding either the main conflict was explained away in a few lines and the fantasy aspect-the divine mandate-wasn’t given much attention when it could’ve been a genuinely important part (also I think Zhu having the mandate should’ve been a much more important moment? but it was just dropped into the story I was like ok well here we are I guess) Just wish Parker-Chan had utilised the novel’s length better. There’s also the part about Zhu’s problems being solved a bit too easily. I hate it when the lead’s problems are solved magically like isn’t that convenient lol
Despite all that it was very immersive, honourable mention to Ouyang I have a special place in my heart for insane men written by women heart emoji so no surprise that I loved his part the best.
Coming to the actual review, I thought it was an enjoyable read. The three main characters were well developed and it was interesting to see the focus on gender and societal roles ( and subverting them!) I loved both Zhu and Ouyang's ambition, how *intense* their want was and all the parts about them talking about their fate, each setting the other on their path and being unable to turn away was great to read. I love stories about stories that don’t stop until they play out their course, the characters hurtled toward their fate something something Orestes “ this was always going to happen / she was dead since the beginning” and Jean Anouilh “In a tragedy, nothing is in doubt and everyone’s destiny is known. That makes for tranquillity” (the latter very much highlighted in Ouyang’s narrative) and Ouyang himself mentioning “that same awful momentum that powered everything he had put into motion and couldn't have stopped even if he wanted to.”
The writing itself didn’t do much for me; like mesal pointed out it was at times too matter-of-fact and attempted to cover that by using unnecessary metaphors. And maybe this was just me but Zhu’s introspections were sometimes hard to read, it felt repetitive and lacked clarity. The book could’ve done with better pacing too: a lot of the plot revolves around war and capturing cities but the battles were mentioned only in passing, the middle drags on for too long and meanders too much in coming to the conclusion, which itself felt very rushed.
There wasn’t much worldbuilding either the main conflict was explained away in a few lines and the fantasy aspect-the divine mandate-wasn’t given much attention when it could’ve been a genuinely important part
Despite all that it was very immersive, honourable mention to Ouyang I have a special place in my heart for insane men written by women heart emoji so no surprise that I loved his part the best.