The Palace of Heavenly Pleasure

Rating:
Summary: It was a dark and stormy night . . .
Review: I bought this book last summer because it was the only English-language book available in Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris that I had not read and was not written by Jacqueline Susann. As my plane lifted off for the States, I was at first afraid that I had made a mistake. The style is much more like something from the Victorian era than 2004. However, I soon became entranced by the story, and the anachronistic prose just made it better for a long flight. The characters are well-developed, even when not totally credible, and the reader soon comes to care about their trials and tribulations. Mr. Williams displays a thorough knowledge of Chinese history as he paints a panoramic portrait of a country in turmoil. If nothing else, the book should be nominated for a Bulwer-Lytton award, since it really does begin on a "dark and stormy night."

Rating:
Summary: A good yarn
Review: This book is just a brilliant read. It isn't the best written book ever and some of the reviews are right in saying that maybe one never really forms a true attachment to the characters. That said it is a fantastic and gripping story, scenes are well set and although I know nothing about the history of this time, it certainly created a lovely image in my mind of how it may have been in China at this time.
Above all it is good fun!