Summary and Reviews of Empress Orchid by Anchee Min

Media Reviews

St. Louis Post-Dispatch - Repps Hudson Min was aided greatly by her ability to read Chinese documents and to obtain records that outlined the basics of 19th-century court life. Writing in her second language of English, Min handles the development of this novel very smoothly and with dialogue that usually seems apt for court life.

San Francisco Chronicle - Irene Wanner Min's efforts to do justice to both imaginative fiction and accurate history become strained. A huge cast of characters races through these pages, and keeping track of who's who, much less whose side they're on, grows difficult.

The Guardian - Julia Lovell Min keeps the melodrama under control with plenty of mind-improving history, while spicing up the stolid period detail with a few touches of romantic historical schlock: the evil, moneygrubbing uncle intent on marrying his beautiful niece off to his idiot opium-addict son, the will-they-won't-they sexual tension between Cixi and her bodyguard, Yung Lu.

Booklist - Donna Seaman In her second powerful and brilliantly conceived fictionalized portrait of a strong and controversial woman intrinsic to Chinese culture, Min continues to fulfill her mission to tell the truth about her homeland, particularly China's long tradition of demonizing women.

Library Journal - Edward Cone This imaginative work should be welcome in all public libraries with a taste for history and the exotic.

Publishers Weekly At times her writing is textbook-flat, and she sometimes loses track of her teeming cast of characters. But readers will be enthralled by the gorgeously woven cultural tapestry and the psychologically astute portrait of the empress - a talented girl from the provinces who married (way) up.

Kirkus Reviews Evocative, but underpowered in simple narrative.