This book follows the journey of former Manchurian princess turned Japanese aristocrat who experienced disturbing life-journey from childhood to adulthood, being used and abused throughout her life. Personally, I find the journey very interesting. However, the writing style bothers me. I don't know about other editions of the book but mine has no spacing so it was really overwhelming. The author is trying to cram in so many details in one page that I easily lost track.
As for the main character, I mostly pity her but I can't relate or root for her. Her upbringing and constant sexual abuse by the patriarchs around her turn her into that person. I do understand and sympathize but I guess I can never make peace with how almost every time she solve her problems by sleeping with someone. I guess that's just how it works back then. I do love the complex relationship with some of the people in her past and the conflicts she had about her identity; being born Chinese but raised as Japanese. She want to be identified as Japanese but her past keeps catching up to her. She has this conflicting frenemy with her supposed adopted mother and father (supposed because the mother refused to acknowledge her and the father sexually abuses her, and she grows to like it, even misses it). I like how the author depicts the psyche of a person who has been living in abuse all her life and conditions that way. But as she grow older, it began to feel icky as she never sees the wrong with the treatment she received.