Rating: 
Summary: Yawn
Review: I am a prolific reader but I occasionally found myself dozing off as long, boring passages were fairly common. I listen to all my books on tape and this usually enhances a book but I'm sorry to say I put this one down before I reached the half-way mark.
Rating:
Summary: Boring and amateurish
Review: I am surprised to see so many positive reviews of this book. This is a silly book with ridiculous use of simile: . . ."My mind was a stewing pot where my thoughts turned into mushy beans." (p126) There is no plot to speak of, it just drones on predictably.
Rating: 
Summary: A Fascinating Look at a Complicated Heroine
Review: I do not know a great deal about Chinese history but I know enough to understand that Anchee Min gave herself a very difficult task when she decided to write about China's last empress, Tzu Hsi, or "Empress Orchid." To accurately detail all of the horrors of the Chinese court, yet let readers experience Orchid as a fully-fleshed out human being must have been extremely daunting work, yet, miraculously, Min accomplishes just that in EMPRESS ORCHID.EMPRESS ORCHID is an extremely well-written book and, in its many details, it walks a fine line between the horrifying and the truly beautiful. It is the true story of Tzu Hsi, who was born a simply country girl, became the wife of the Emperor or China and gave birth to his only son...the son who was to go on to become "the last Emperor." Orchid, herself, ruled China for nearly fifty years, many of them bloody and terrifying, yet Min manages to give us an intimate glimpse of Orchid, so we see her as a human being caught in extraordinary circumstances and not as "the Dragon Lady." She makes us realize that Orchid had to do the things she did, cruel though they may have been, in order to keep her head...literally. EMPRESS ORCHID is, at times, a heartbreaking book, as we come to know Orchid and come to realize that what she really desires in life are the simple things...love, friendship, family loyalty...things she might have found had she remained in rural China, but that were denied to her in the Forbidden City where even a yearning for happiness and contentment was seen as a sign of extraordinary weakness. Instead of love, instead of friendship, instead of loyalty, Orchid, more often than not, ends up with pain, and how she comes to terms with this pain form the emotional arc of the book. Details abound in EMPRESS ORCHID, but they are never intrusive, they are never given at the expense of the story or the characters. In fact, I think it would be impossible to write an accurate account of Orchid's life without giving us many details. Opulence was simply a part of the court of Emperor Hsien Feng and EMPRESS ORCHID abounds with details of jeweled hairpins, cabinets inlaid with precious stones and dresses spun from gold and silver. We also learn details that we may, perhaps, feel we could have done without. Details of torture, of cruelty, of barbarism. Even though these details were difficult to read and lingered long after I finished the book, I realized that Min could not have written an accurate account without including them...and I also realized that Orchid was not the monster history has made her out to be. The book is told in one long flashback as the aged Orchid is looking back at her life and reflecting at all that had happened. She tells us that she never wanted to rule China, that she never wanted to be known as the Dragon Lady and that what she did, she did to preserve the lineage of the Manchus. I came to see Orchid as a woman who had no choices in life, a woman who was as trapped as if she were in prison with no chance of escape. Many times, my heart ached for her and for her life; a life that was so empty and devoid of hope, despite being filled with every material comfort of the day. Anchee Min has managed to portray Orchid in all her complexity and, in doing so, she has given us a fascinating portrait of a fascinating time. I've read that Min is writing a sequel to EMPRESS ORCHID. It is a sequel I will surely want to read. I would recommend EMPRESS ORCHID to anyone interested in Chinese history or culture, especially Chinese history around the time of the last emperor. This is a very literary book, very well-written and very intelligently written, yet it is easy to read and fascinating as well, and if, like me, you are not well-versed in Chinese history or culture, EMPRESS ORCHID will be a valuable learning experience as well.
Rating:
Summary: Weak plot, weaker writing
Review: I don't understand how this book has received so many positive reviews. I have read "Memoirs of a Geisha" by Arthur Golden and I think reading that has ruined me. I hoped that I would be getting the same quality reading in Empress Orchid and I was disappointed. "Memoirs of a Geisha" had vivid descriptions and great character development. This book sometimes had a lot of descriptive quantity but not a lot of quality. I think this book was boring. Her descriptions of the Forbidden City were weak and not as vivid as Geisha. The first 100 pages or so are SO boring (when she's waiting and waiting and waiting for the Emperor to call on her). How many different ways can you describe a garden, etc? And even then it just seemed that she was sort of half-ass describing things - more like listing this and that (there's a vase here and a flower there). Nothing particularly exceptional about her writing style. I will also say that if I'd of known that there was going to be that much political stuff in the book I would not have bought it. I'm not saying it had to be all romance but it should have been more balanced.
Rating:
Summary: My review of Empress Orchid
Review: I enjoyed reading this novel very much. The setting of the novel is the Forbidden City of China in Peking in 1852. Anchee Min describes the life of Princess Orchid in such specific detail. She is served 99 individual dishes at every meal, but she does not have the privacy to use the toilet by herself.
I loved reading about how Orchid ascended from her status as a mere concubine to becoming the ruler of China. Orchid is a very courageous woman. She sneaks out of the forbidden city dressed as a commoner and goes to a brothel to learn how to please a man. Orchid is the only concubine to bear the Emperor a son which instantly elevates her status. Orchid literally runs China when her husband's health declines. I enjoyed how Orchid struggles to raise and teach her son how to be a good ruler. Orchid competes with another one of the Emperor's wives named Nuharoo for her son's love which is interesting to read. I did not know that eunuchs played such an important role in the running of the Forbidden City. The head eunuch was responsible for supervising the vaults which contained gold, silver, tea, and silk. He was also responsible for providing the imperial court with sacrificial animals, grains and fruits for religious ceremonies. The head eunuch also oversaw the departments that maintained the palaces, temples, and gardens. Empress Orchid has very interesting characters besides Orchid. I loved the loyalty of Orchid's eunuch Antehai. He has pledged his life to serve Orchid, but still dreams of having a family and being free. Su Shin is an advisor to the Emperor who challenges Orchid's authority and tries to kill her.
Foreigners tried to impose their ways on the Chinese which was an overwhelming burden on Emperor Hsien Feng. There was religious strife between Christian missionaries and Chinese people. Missionaries were murdered and churches were burned. British and French soldiers attacked Chinese forts and villages. were burned by foreign invaders leaving many Chinese people homeless.
Anchee Min writes with such detail about every aspect of Chinese life in the mid 19th century. Life in the Forbidden City was lonely for everyone including the Emperor Hsien Feng who sadly died at a young age without knowing his mother's love. Although Orchid became the ruler of China, she yearned for a man's companionship after being widowed at a young age. Anchee Min makes the reader feel for all the characters which I think is the mark of a great writer. Empress Orchid is an excellent read.
Rating: 
Summary: Min fan
Review: I have enjoyed all of Min's books, "Wild Ginger" and "Red Azalea" being two other favorites. Her ability to capture settings and dialogue reminds me of either Martel's "Life of Pi" or McCrae's "Bark of the Dogwood." And her ability to pull us along through the book is great--trust me, this is not something every author can do well. This is not a heavy, complicated book, but it is well written and full of life.
Rating:
Summary: Can't get it out of my mind!!
Review: I highly recommend Empress Orchid. It is definately my favorite fbook so far this year. It is easy to read and a real page turner. The author Anchee Min does an incredible job describing the Forbidden City's beauty and weaving an historical story without bogging the reader down with lots of useless words.Each paragraph has meaning. I was so fascinated with the story that I went on to purchase "The Imperial Woman" by Pearl Buck, whose "Good Earth" is one of my all time favorites.So far, I can say I have enjoyed Empress Orchid much more than the Imperial Woman. I don't know how I am going to wait till her next book comes out(it is to be a trilogy). Thanks you Ms Min for a wonderful story!
Rating:
Summary: Very Enjoyable Book to Read
Review: I must say, this is a pretty interesting and enjoyable novel I've ever read about the Empress of China the well known Cixi or also known as Yulan "Orchid" when she was still a concubine. Though this is imaginative writing. Anchee Min has tried to get as real as possible which I find that its great. The novel is full of realistic points of views of a life of a girl who comes from a background set in those times that would be so hard to eek out a living. There are some points in the novel which I found with a sense of humour etc... overall the novel conveys how she made her way up from a lowly official's daughter through to concubine and then empress dowager. Through the gates of Peking (modern Bejing) her future was uncertain and through the help of a former palace maid. How life was like in the Forbidden city and how she encounters other Manchurian girls who were chosen to be the Emperor Xiangfeng's wives or concubines. Through selection she manages to rise through the ranks. Anchee Min conveys thoughts and feelings of what would be going through Orchid's mind in regards to having never seen the palace and going through the large gates only to realise that once she was in she wasn't able to leave at all. Through intrigue, gossip, the palace had ears and eyes that could see and hear what was going on between concubines and eunuchs like An-Te-Hai became a faithful servant who served Orchid with loyalty and through compassion they managed to survive many things that China was going through... having to leave the imperial city and spend time in Chengde or Jehol while the foreign troops raided the imperial city. This is a wonderful book to read and each page I turned... I found it more inviting to know what lays beyond it each... its like a surprise full of interesting incidents and many personal feelings are expressed in regards to new consorts or jealously amongst the concubines, anxiety grows as mere humans who are hailed high of high above the subjects to become consorts, wives and concubines, relating issues of household matters and love, chosen to be the next in favour... it goes on and I guess this what must have been going on through the minds of those who are confined within the palace grounds unable to do anything else. There are sections that shows plain reality and how Anchee Min also relates how boring it would have been like to be in the palace and not even venture out into the outside, she does express mundane things that we as human beings are able to contemplate in regards to having no movement and restrictions, and other times there would be great celebrations and social events that concubines and wives would take part in. Very wonderful book... to find out what goes on... you will need to find out... its all a surprised...
Rating:
Summary: Very Enjoyable Book to Read
Review: I must say, this is a pretty interesting and enjoyable novel I've ever read about the Empress of China the well known Cixi or also known as Yulan "Orchid" when she was still a concubine. Though this is imaginative writing. Anchee Min has tried to get as real as possible which I find that its great. The novel is full of realistic points of views of a life of a girl who comes from a background set in those times that would be so hard to eek out a living. There are some points in the novel which I found with a sense of humour etc... overall the novel conveys how she made her way up from a lowly official's daughter through to concubine and then empress dowager. Through the gates of Peking (modern Bejing) her future was uncertain and through the help of a former palace maid. How life was like in the Forbidden city and how she encounters other Manchurian girls who were chosen to be the Emperor Xiangfeng's wives or concubines. Through selection she manages to rise through the ranks. Anchee Min conveys thoughts and feelings of what would be going through Orchid's mind in regards to having never seen the palace and going through the large gates only to realise that once she was in she wasn't able to leave at all. Through intrigue, gossip, the palace had ears and eyes that could see and hear what was going on between concubines and eunuchs like An-Te-Hai became a faithful servant who served Orchid with loyalty and through compassion they managed to survive many things that China was going through... having to leave the imperial city and spend time in Chengde or Jehol while the foreign troops raided the imperial city. This is a wonderful book to read and each page I turned... I found it more inviting to know what lays beyond it each... its like a surprise full of interesting incidents and many personal feelings are expressed in regards to new consorts or jealously amongst the concubines, anxiety grows as mere humans who are hailed high of high above the subjects to become consorts, wives and concubines, relating issues of household matters and love, chosen to be the next in favour... it goes on and I guess this what must have been going on through the minds of those who are confined within the palace grounds unable to do anything else. There are sections that shows plain reality and how Anchee Min also relates how boring it would have been like to be in the palace and not even venture out into the outside, she does express mundane things that we as human beings are able to contemplate in regards to having no movement and restrictions, and other times there would be great celebrations and social events that concubines and wives would take part in. Very wonderful book... to find out what goes on... you will need to find out... its all a surprised...
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: I never write a review any of the books I read even though many have been great, but it has been a long time since I've read something that drew me in so much. There's just enough detail to draw up a good scene in your head. I couldn't put this book down. I finished it the day I bought it and I wish I had taken my time since now I'm so eager for the next. It's great how the author wrote the story so your constantly wanting know what's going to happen next.
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