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My Last Empress: A Novel
by
Da Chen
A sweeping story of passion and obsession, set against the upheavals of 19th-century imperial China, by the New York Times bestselling author Da Chen
When Samuel Pickens’ great love tragically loses her life, Samuel travels the globe, Annabelle always on his mind. Eventually, he comes face to face with the mirror image of his obsession in the last place he would expect, and...more
When Samuel Pickens’ great love tragically loses her life, Samuel travels the globe, Annabelle always on his mind. Eventually, he comes face to face with the mirror image of his obsession in the last place he would expect, and...more
Hardcover, 288 pages
Published
October 2nd 2012
by Crown
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Mentally-disturbed. Over-sexed. Selfish and self-loathing. Meet our hero, Samuel Pickens,son of an up-right and prosperous turn of the century New England lawyer. Expected to follow in his father's oppresive and repressed footsteps, he meets the beautiful and fresh young Annabelle after his first tawdry affair with an older woman and his life begins to revolve around her. Even after her tragic death, her flitting butterfly spirit guides him in his every move, from finishing school, through his f...more
Oh how I want to love this book... Da Chen weaves a complex, delicious, dark tale like few others. He has excellent character development and uses symbolism beautifully. I devoured the book in one day. So this is when I want to give it 5 stars and 1 star at the same time...The perverse story line, unlikable characters and weak ending, left me fairly disappointed. I felt like the whole time you are on this epic journey, waiting for all the pieces to fall together, or at least come to an ending of...more
Historical fiction famously being neither history nor fiction, Da Chen nonetheless combines both in a pornographic entertainment. The history derives from Da Chen's inspiration, a statue at Yale of an unfortunate alumnus who died in China during the reign of the Dowager Empress. Da Chen mines traditional Chinese sex literature, courtly abuses of power by the Empress and her eunuchs prior to the Boxer Rebellion and the Opium Wars, tribal skirmishes during the nineteenth century in China and Ameri...more
Samuel Pickens, New England WASP aimless heir becomes obsessed with Annabelle, a woman he hardly knows, after she dies smoking opium with him in a New Haven barn. He then spends the rest of his life scheming to get to China and then crashing around looking for her reincarnation, totally sure that the coincidences that have allowed him to do this are Romantic Fate and entitle him to pursue any end. As a tutor to the young puppet emperor, he transfers his obsession to the Fourth Empress, a young h...more
This is a book that has a rather unlikeable 'hero' and yet it is still entrancing and captivating.
Pickens is a character that I guess you can love to hate. Some of his choices and his views make me shudder, but his story is an interesting one that kept me turning the pages despite my dislike of him.
What really made this book for me, though, is the prose. It is utterly beautiful and poetic: a joy to read. I loved Chen's descriptions; the way he set the scene and painted a portrait of the charact...more
Pickens is a character that I guess you can love to hate. Some of his choices and his views make me shudder, but his story is an interesting one that kept me turning the pages despite my dislike of him.
What really made this book for me, though, is the prose. It is utterly beautiful and poetic: a joy to read. I loved Chen's descriptions; the way he set the scene and painted a portrait of the charact...more
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I always find it hard to read books with a protagonist I don’t particularly like. Samuel Pickens is perverted and obsessed with Anabelle, who seems more like a homage to the literary nymphets who have gone before her than a real person. Of course, the story is told in first person by Samuel himself, who is molesting mannequins while fantasizing about Annabelle’s ghost – like Humbert Humbert’s Dolores she is not a real person to him.
Snark Alert: I kept feeling like I had read this book before, r...more
Snark Alert: I kept feeling like I had read this book before, r...more
I find it difficult to write a review on a novel that I have mixed feelings about. First this is really not my kind of genre, historical yes in the sense that it takes place in the Forbidden City in the Orient, but also very sexual and obsessive as well. The prose is beautiful, if at times almost over the top, and it is this that kept me reading. The main character is very self obsessed, very unlikable and his obsession with his dead love was extreme. Definitely a different type of book but this...more
A compelling but rather odd read. Detailed icky factual stuff combined with a fairly good and readable story.
I find my self puzzled. Not enough to lower the score, but too much to hardily recommend to those with limited reading time. Perhaps if you have a fetish about Eunuchs or a strong interest in ancient Chinese politics?
I find my self puzzled. Not enough to lower the score, but too much to hardily recommend to those with limited reading time. Perhaps if you have a fetish about Eunuchs or a strong interest in ancient Chinese politics?
The author of this book is rather hard to relate to or like. The author seems to try very hard to incorporate Chinese culture into the story, but certain parts of the book just seem like they don't belong. Certain superstitions are inserted and they aren't well set up in the story. The ending is quite abrupt and also a bit unrealistic.
Ugh, so tough to rate this. Amazing writing, interesting story, one of my favorite settings (Imperial China) but seriously? It's borderline pedophilia. Just imagine Lolita as a Chinese Empress, add in some ghosts, very flowery language, and viola! At times I was too grossed out to enjoy this, even if it is by an author that I really liked (his Brothers is so super good).
poetic, creative and brilliant...use of language, weaving of narrative, sense of humour...I thought it was brilliant
I'm not normally a prude, but this book was way too much sex for me. Death by sex, ghostly sex, anal sex, rough and bloody sex. You probably get the idea. The protagonist is a weak, whiny guy (except when having sex) who never really develops. I kept reading because I expected it to get better; it didn't.
I cannot believe I actually got through this book. STUPID!!!! The ONLY reason I read it was because it was about China. This book was a total waste of my time.
The main protagonist leaves you confused - one minute you despise him, the next you sympathize with him and actually start to become fond of him and the ebb and flow continues. A motley character best describes Pickins.
The composition is unique and complex. The melodious prose captivates your attention and is a sheer pleasure to read.
The magically written prose and the
convoluted protagonist give the novel a captivating edge.
I suggest this book for its poetic prose and inviting story line.
I recei...more
The composition is unique and complex. The melodious prose captivates your attention and is a sheer pleasure to read.
The magically written prose and the
convoluted protagonist give the novel a captivating edge.
I suggest this book for its poetic prose and inviting story line.
I recei...more
It was an okay book. Just couldn't seem to really get into it.
The author should have written something else. This is trash.
Heard Joe Donohue interview this amazing author, Da Chen. Can't wait to read his new book. Will add review after I read it.
Oh brother...
I found this book a little odd. At first it was okay but then I got uninterested and a little lost. The author didnt keep me hooked I sort of drifted off.
May 20, 2013
Bonnie Dunbar
marked it as to-read
May 19, 2013
Maureen
marked it as to-read
May 19, 2013
Angela Chaney
added it
May 17, 2013
Samira
marked it as to-read
May 15, 2013
Dia Lao
marked it as to-read
May 15, 2013
Bianca
marked it as to-read
May 10, 2013
Maggie
marked it as to-read
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Read It Forward: * MY LAST EMPRESS by Da Chen | 2 | 16 | Oct 19, 2012 05:55am |
