Book: The Cold Palace
Author: Melissa
Addey
Pages: 252
Date(s)
Read: November 24th, 2024 to December 14th, 2024
Date
Published: August 16th, 2019
Rating: 5/5
Favorite
Quotes:
“The
bitterness that rises up inside me cannot be suppressed, it grows greater all
the time as I feed it with my misery.”
“But you have
always remained unhappy. Your heart still aches.”
Review:
In this
installment of The Forbidden City, we see things from the perspective of
Step-Empress Ula Nara. This was an interesting book, and I found myself
frustrated and disgusted by Ula Nara's actions throughout the novel. I despised
and reviled her, yet I was invested in her story.
In this
book we see Ula Nara go from a happy and secure young girl to a bitter and
cruel empress. Instead of trying to make the best of her circumstances, Ula
Nara becomes a bottomless pit of cruelty, every action worse than the previous.
Yet, I found myself rapt and interested in her well-being. It takes a great
author to write a character I can hate and feel invested in simultaneously. Ula
Nara's narrative is as engrossing and riveting as she is deplorable and
vicious.
This was a
compelling and surprisingly cathartic story. I was initially ambivalent about
reading this knowing the little I knew about Ula Nara. At times she frustrated
and enraged me but I also felt sympathy and empathy for her, all emotions
warring with one another with no one emotion staying with me long until she
would prompt me to feel another way about her. It makes for an engrossing story
that held my attention throughout. If you've even a passing interest in the
Qing dynasty then this is worth reading.
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