The Empress of Salt and Fortune

A wonderful little fairytale about a foreign empress and her servant girl. The power of women.

*4.5

“Do you understand?” Yes, I do.

This little novella felt very whimsical from the start in its storytelling and atmosphere - Cindy Kay's narration in the audiobook no doubt amplified these feelings. I was immediately drawn in by the interactions with the mysterious Grandmother, but the tale turned into something unexpected. The book introduces you to three characters and intersperses other stories in between their interactions - the tones somewhat felt like it was two different books. While being swept away by some beautiful storytelling in between the interactions of the three characters, I really just wanted more of the latter. The end was surprisingly satisfying to me however and I plan to read the next one, even if it follows the same formula of the first, which I suspect it will. Highly recommend as an audiobook.

4.5/5 stars

I really liked this story and look forward to reading more from this author. Originally, I thought I'd be put off by the way it was written. Yet that was what caused me to be more engaged with the story Getting to know the politics and traditions of the world through Bunny's storytelling was definitely a surprise. I came into this without knowing much about the book, and I think that was for the best. This was almost a five-star read for me because I really enjoyed it but I did feel like it was a bit short.

I will definitely be recommending this book in the future. At this moment, I don't have any major complaints other than it's length.

Shouldn't really be rating this, as I think I need to reread this as a physical copy to truly appreciate it's beauty. The audio book just didn't work for me.

A nice quick read but there is so much packed into this book. Everything is presented so well and was never boring or tedious to read.

3.5 stars

An interesting novella that explores the tale of two empresses through the medium of oral histories passed down from an older generation to a younger one. As a story this could've easily filled a whole novel with deception, intrigue, revenge and a splash of magic here and there.

It borders a little on being an info-dump - and if this were a preface to a full novel or series then it certainly would qualify as one - which made me feel it was, at times, a little dry. Cleric Chih is the protagonist but they aren't really developed; they just listen, which is their purpose, yes, but I would've like to know more about them as opposed to looking over the shoulder of this very passive character.

I really thought this book would be it...but it's not.
I didn't realize it was literary fiction otherwise I wouldn't have picked it up. I don't know why but it seems like every single literary fiction book is devoid of characters and plot. There's nothing to grab onto the story and nothing that makes sense. Honestly, when the ‘twist' came at the end, I was so confused.

I liked this a fair bit - it sort of pulled me along well although i found myself a little confused at times. Na lent this to me, she found it quite sad and emotional which was surprising. I agree that the things that happened to In-Yo and Rabbit were tragic however i feel the story is told quite matter of factly, its quite unemotional in its presentation or perhaps as its far removed, i didnt feel particularly moved at any point.

I did really enjoy it tho and i felt like it accomplished what it set out to achieve - the story moved along at a good pace and for such a short read i felt the characters were well enough developed. I really enjoyed the structure of the narrative and feeling like we are looking in at the story rather than in the midsts of it. This illustrated the relationship between In-Yo and Rabbit and the act of recoding these second hand reflections beautifully. When Almost Brilliant told Rabbit ‘I understand. I will remember Sukai for you, and so will my children and their children.' i felt this captured a beautiful sentiment of love, loss and the sacricity (?) of memory. I would have liked the idea explored more if this were a series or longer book of the stories Chih and Almost Brilliant collected however i think it was nicely achieved given the length. Particualrly Almost Brilliants comforting of Rabbit, she understands (often unlike Chih), Rabbit doesnt have to ask.

Its hard to formulate my feelings nicely into a review but tldr - 3.7 <3