skygiants | (no subject)

The Empress of Salt and Fortune, an extremely recent novella by Nghi Vo, is more or less specifically targeted to appeal to me in several ways, being as it is:

- the secret history of an unwanted royal wife's secret rebellion and rise to power
- as told through the perspective of her most trusted handmaiden
- to a historian/archivist who is taking an oral history of the handmaiden's memories around various Significant Artifacts as they catalog them in the empress' home of exile!

'wait,' you may say, at this juncture, 'that sounds like two frame stories? that's a lot of frame story for one relatively small novella?' And: okay, yes, perhaps, but also, if what you're interested in is history and historiography and memory and narratives of empire, in my personal opinion it is fine and OK to have a high frame story::actual story ratio (see also: specifically targeted to appeal to my personal interests and enjoyment. If I could change anything I would add even another frame story and have a layer of scholarly commentary and footnotes and that's probably why I'm not in charge of changing things.)

Anyway, I enjoyed it very much and would absolutely recommend; it's a big scope for a little book but at this time, when I don't actually have much attention span for long and meaty books, I would actually rank the fact that it's a mosaic of a story told in curated glimpses and vignettes as more of a pro than a con. Also, beautifully written!

Threaded | Flat

AND it's four bucks on Kindle! //still guiltily using Amazon between RSI and lack of shelf space

I really enjoyed this as well! I saw people on Goodreads griping that they found the frame narrative distancing, but I found it completely delightful and didn't have that problem at all.

I also really love stories about women exercising power undetected through 'women's work'/in women's spaces, so the novella was super appealling to me in that regard.

Did you hear there is going to be a sequel?

Ooh this sounds delightful!

I vote you in charge of changing things. Who do I talk to about that?

Have you read JY Yang's Tensorate series? Asking because The Ascent To Godhood, the most recent one, is about the late Protector's rise to power as told to a note-taking listener by her former most trusted handmaiden and lover who later fought against her.

YESSSS a layer of scholarly commentary! Especially if the footnotes are salty.

ohhh I've heard goood things about this book but that description makes me extremely more into it than I had been previously!

Ooooh! That sounds excellent!

It's on my holds list and I can't WAIT. I am actually even more excited to read it now I know of the extravagant framing!

This sounds exactly up my alley.

Are they, you know . . . handmaiden and feudal lord?

Oh that sounds lovely! I'm so excited to check it out!

Oh BOY this sounds super relevant to my interests!

I don't know how you do it but your reviews always say such USEFUL things about books. It does have a high frame story to actual story ratio! In a very enjoyable way!

I just read this last week! I really enjoyed it for the same reasons you did -- framing devices, the empress and the handmaiden's relationship, every instance of people and traditions unvalued/unappreciated by the empire being used in the rebellion. I *did* wish this was a whole novel instead of a novella, because some events would have hit harder given more page space devoted to fleshing out certain relationships, but it does mostly work and there is a sequel coming, so overall I'm pretty satisfied.

Yay! I just got this and will move it up my list.

if what you're interested in is history and historiography and memory and narratives of empire, in my personal opinion it is fine --Agreed! I'll look for it and perhaps even overcome inertia and actually *get* it.

Edited (correcting strange typo) 2020-05-09 03:39 (UTC)

This sounds delightful!

If I could change anything I would add even another frame story and have a layer of scholarly commentary and footnotes and that's probably why I'm not in charge of changing things.

"The further scholarly discussion of the in-universe academic work": Exchange fic request?

this sounds FASCINATING.

*adds to goodreads*

I found the novella beautiful and spellbinding, so I'm glad I read the comments to find out there's a sequel!! :D

Considering the broad topics and great sweeps of history, I found the novella's spare but evocative prose perfectly suited. Loved, loved the worldbuilding and the characters.

I see Tor using silkpunk to describe it as well. Which was also used for JY Yang's Tensorate series which I can see has already been recced.

I am generally one of those people who is meh on novellas, but considering the only literary novels I've been able to get through in the last two months are Jenny Offill's Weather and Dept. of Speculation, stories told in glimpses and vignettes are probably my speed right now.