#ReadAroundTheWorld. #China #New Zealand

This is the debut work of Shelley Parker-Chan, an Asian-Australian author born in New Zealand. The book has been nominated for many awards including the Hugo Award and British Book Award for Fiction. It is more historical fiction with a touch of fantasy or magical realism than pure fantasy. Beginning in 1345 it is a reimagining of the 1351-1368 Red Turban rebellions in China that led to the overthrow of the Mongol led Yuan dynasty and the establishment of the Ming dynasty.

The main character is Zhu Chongba, a poor village girl who takes on her brother’s identity when he dies, to escape starvation. She is taken into a monastery as a boy novice. Her fierce determination to survive and find greatness is the main theme of the story and sees her become part of the rebel army and meet Ma the General’s daughter.

The second storyline involves General Ouyang, a Han eunuch fighting for the Yuan and secretly in love with Prince Esen. His shame and anger over the death of his family and his own emasculation makes revenge a driving motivation for Ouyang.

The story is well-written and the early and later parts are engaging. It definitely experienced a slump in the middle where I found myself bored. Zhu’s obsession with her quest for greatness is also repetitive and almost monosyllabic with little expansion on this theme. The exploration of gender issues was another theme. I enjoyed the creation of 14th century China but the main character needed more fleshing out for me. 3 stars ( )

*3,5 - 3,8* - but I am not rounding up…

I expected to like this one a lot, so there is quite a mixed bag of feelings here. The setting is great, as the author makes Ancient China come alive, close enough to touch. The relationships between certain characters were cool to watch.
But, but, but:
- I did not find the characters particularly interesting (especially Zhu), they rarely came alive. At times I was quite tired of everybody’s constant suffering (not that they did not have their reasons…).
- Around the middle of the book, I was slightly bored and kept checking how much I had left, a bad sign.
- The writing, generally good, rang false at times. A word here, a sentence there, that made think “some extra editing, if you please.”
This book did not leave me cold - rather, it left me lukewarm…
I have no idea whether I’ll be reading the next book in this series. If I have nothing better to do - maybe. ( )

Really interesting and unique story of the power of sheer will and determination. A few things bugged me a bit.

SPOILER ALERT...
- I want to know more about the ghosts
- It annoyed me that we never learn Zhu's actual name, only her patronymic and her brother's name
- I really want to know more about Ouyang ... his life and what happens after ( )

In a lot of ways, this book reminded me of the legend of Mulan, a woman who disguises herself as a man to fight the Mongols and expel them from China. However, this story is so much more than that. She Who Became the Sun is a novel about identity, acceptance, familial expectations, and fate. It is a novel that will keep you guessing and leave you in awe.

Our female protagonist is unnamed until she learns that her brother is destined for greatness and so steals his name at his unexpected death. Going primarily by her family name Zhu, the girl navigates her world as a boy, going to great lengths to conceal her identity. She begins working her way up the ranks in the Wuhuang Monastery followed by the army of the Red Turban rebels. Zhu is the definition of 'work smarter not harder'. She is repeatedly given impossible tasks but always manages to achieve them through unusual means.

Zhu spends the majority of the novel shunning her female self. Eventually, she learns that her strength comes, in part, from this side of her. If she wasn't female, she wouldn't have the tenacious desire to survive nor would she be as cunning as she is. In fact, her greatest achievements - the taking of the city of Lu and the Yao River encounter - are not won by masculine behaviors such as fighting. Instead, Zhu uses her intelligence to win the day. In particular, she uses her understanding of the limitations facing women in her society to her advantage as she connects with the other women in her life. Zhu truly sees her female companions and thus truly sees her female readers.

Meanwhile, our other major character of General Ouyang is a foil to Zhu. Unlike Zhu, he is surrounded by family (albeit their ghosts), and he cannot escape his fate while Zhu seeks hers. He acts very much like he has not control over his life while Zhu wants nothing more than to control hers. Ouyang's journey is just as tough and gut-wrenching, even as he succeeds in his goals. Ultimately, I worry about Ouyang because I get the feeling his future is limited because he refuses to accept his duality, or that a duality exists in others. While he was born male, Ouyang was castrated as punishment by the Mongols. As a result, he despises his body and what it is not. He even goes a step further to detest women because they remind him of what they have in common. Whereas Zhu eventually learns that her strength stems from the balance of her identities, Ouyang is trapped in a realm of toxic masculinity.

This book is very light on the fantasy. There are ghosts and bursts of light/flame that come from certain people, but that's about it. Sometimes it didn't feel like a fantasy novel, but that didn't take away from my enjoyment of it at all. I highly recommend this book for its creative storytelling and the fact that it packs an emotional wallop. ( )

She Who Became the Sun is a fascinating historical fantasy, the likes of which I have rarely (if ever) encountered before.

I was completely gripped by this book and its many, highly complex and morally grey characters. They were definitely my favourite part, even though most of them are extremely unlikeable! The settings are also gorgeously rich, and I loved the fact that some of the plot is based on actual historical facts. I didn't go on a research (read: google) spree like I normally would because I desperately want to avoid spoilers for the next book, but I certainly will catch up on that afterwards!

The only thing I struggled with was the pace, which in certain parts of the book seemed to drag a little, and the multitude of characters, which I sometimes struggled to keep straight in my head. The were also some rather explicit violent scenes which I personally wasn't a fan of, but were well inserted in the narrative and I could certainly see why they have been included.

Other than that, this was a fantastic read and I am definitely looking to the next one!

I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way. ( )