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A review by sarahdm
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan
2.0
TL;DR: Wildly disappointing. Set myself up to dislike this by reading the words "Mulan meets The Song of Achilles." The main character is so poorly executed while the foil character is excellently done. The book probably should have only been about him. While stunningly written, do not recommend.
The main problem with She Who Became the Sun is its two main characters: Zhu the main character and her foil the eunuch Ouyang.
The comparison to The Song of Achilles is completely inaccurate. While the character work is wonderfully done, the relationships between the main character and their love interest is so nonexistence that I was surprised that this is being compared to such an iconic queer romance. There is more chemistry between friends then there is between the married couple. The other "couple", the eunuch and their love interest, is tragic and a lot more interesting. If you are interest in unrequited angst with zero romance then you'll definitely enjoy those parts (along with all the gut punch in chapter 15). But because the book compares itself to Song of Achilles, I was expecting actual romance. This marketing comparison really set me up to be disappointed.
Also, this book explores a lot of gender ideas and feelings. In the amab eunuch characters, feelings of gender dysphoria, misgendering, and gender queerness are investigated. In this character I feel the queer exploration was done really well. In the afab main character I feel like I am suppose to be reading it as a trans journey. However, through 80% of the book the main character adamantly identifies as a woman in disguise. Its not until chapter 19, when I'm already pretty disappointed in the "tran's narrative" that it even starts to become one which it is then rushes.
Another mark against this book is its pacing. The book will lovingly take its time with precious character moments but then gloss over huge plot points. Important events and choices will take place entirely off screen. I kept having to re-read to make sure I didn't accidently miss something.
A positive: The book is beautifully written. Its really poetic and when it does take the time to pause and describe scenes, its done stunningly.
The only thing keeping me reading is the actual interesting and well written character eunuch Ouyang as well as a small handful of interesting side characters. Its probably a good thing that the next book will be focused on him.
The main problem with She Who Became the Sun is its two main characters: Zhu the main character and her foil the eunuch Ouyang.
The comparison to The Song of Achilles is completely inaccurate. While the character work is wonderfully done, the relationships between the main character and their love interest is so nonexistence that I was surprised that this is being compared to such an iconic queer romance. There is more chemistry between friends then there is between the married couple. The other "couple", the eunuch and their love interest, is tragic and a lot more interesting. If you are interest in unrequited angst with zero romance then you'll definitely enjoy those parts (along with all the gut punch in chapter 15). But because the book compares itself to Song of Achilles, I was expecting actual romance. This marketing comparison really set me up to be disappointed.
Also, this book explores a lot of gender ideas and feelings. In the amab eunuch characters, feelings of gender dysphoria, misgendering, and gender queerness are investigated. In this character I feel the queer exploration was done really well. In the afab main character I feel like I am suppose to be reading it as a trans journey. However, through 80% of the book the main character adamantly identifies as a woman in disguise. Its not until chapter 19, when I'm already pretty disappointed in the "tran's narrative" that it even starts to become one which it is then rushes.
Another mark against this book is its pacing. The book will lovingly take its time with precious character moments but then gloss over huge plot points. Important events and choices will take place entirely off screen. I kept having to re-read to make sure I didn't accidently miss something.
A positive: The book is beautifully written. Its really poetic and when it does take the time to pause and describe scenes, its done stunningly.
The only thing keeping me reading is the actual interesting and well written character eunuch Ouyang as well as a small handful of interesting side characters. Its probably a good thing that the next book will be focused on him.