Empress Orchid

By: Anchee Min

Narrated by: Alexandra O'Karma

Length: 17 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

The critically acclaimed author, Anchee Min, paints a fresh portrait of the last Chinese empress in this brilliantly fictionalized tale set during the waning days of the empire.

Seventeen-year-old Orchid belongs to an aristocratic family that has fallen on hard times. Unexpectedly, she is chosen as one of the emperor's lesser concubines. Within the Forbidden City are thousands of women hoping to bear the emperor a son and become his empress. Orchid, determined and resourceful, schemes her way into the royal bed and seduces the emperor. But as the opium trade erodes the might of the Ch'ing dynasty, Orchid find herself at the center of a crumbling nation.

A colorful depiction of one of history's least understood women, The Empress Orchid is another enthralling masterpiece for Anchee Min.

©2004 Anchee Min

Critic reviews

"Powerful and brilliantly conceived....[An] insightful, magnetic, and quietly revolutionary resurrection of a remarkable woman." (Booklist)

tai hao le!

(My title means GREAT! in Chinese.) This story was a very interesting and well written story and the narrator didn't butcher the native language too badly. Her voice is a bit odd - slow and she pauses at odd places and you can hear her swallowing and her mouth is VERY moist or something! But if you can get past this, you will really enjoy the book. I gave it 5 stars b/c I could clearly understand her reading and I felt that she was an appropriate narrator. As for the plot, it was believeable and I felt that it was well researched in terms of dress and food and decorum of the times. Also, I believe that her actions and manner of speaking were believeable, too.

Captivating

I enjoyed this audio book. It exposed me to a time and place that I did know about. Like some of the other reviewers I found the narator a little anoying at first. Sometimes she read very slowly with long pauses in between sentances. It was like she was reading a sentance, then going out for lunch, coming back and then recording another couple of sentances before taking a nap. I bet she couldn't tell you a thing about the book after she was done recording it. She didn't even have a Chinese accent. However, I got used to the narrator and in the end it didn't distract me from the facinating story.

Empress Orchid

Yes, the swallowing was very annoying but the book was so good that to me it was worth putting up with. It is intersting that some things that are so degrading to one culture can be an honor to those of another culture. I can't wait to see the movie.

Interesting look at a great ruler in history

I purchased this book in 2004 and forgot I owned or for some reason it didn't capture my attention at the time. This go-around, however, found me much more willing to get into the story. The narrator--yes, she did swallow from time to time, but I did not find it off-putting, and her slow narration was not that bad. Those of you who want to speed things up can always push it up a notch. But the historical fiction was quite good.

We have heard Empress Cixi portrayed as a vile creature, but Anchee Min gives a sympathetic look at the power behind China from 1861 to 1908, unlike many other biographers who paint her as a witch. While in her later years she may have become somewhat of a dragon, it is quite possible that at the age of 17, she could have been forced into a surreal existence in the Forbidden City, something unimaginable in her former life. To survive in that climate, she must have made some desperate choices.

The story was slow, at times. My God, I thought they would never get the Emperor in the ground. I thought it took years for them to do it, and was totally surprised that it only took a matter of 3 months or so.

In reading this book, I got some idea of why China is so alienated from Euro-American society. What the British, French, Russians and Americans did to them for OPIUM is totally disgusting. These people were INVADED by these power hungry money-grabbing vultures. Mmmm, sound familiar?

Well worth the read. I'm glad I searched it out again. I'll probably have a look at The Last Empress, Anchee Min's continuation of Empress Orchid. Oh, there is a 2-hour movie on YouTube about Empress Orchid, which gives you the Chinese perspective of this woman. It's pretty interesting, and has a much faster pace.

Great story marred by narration.

Shall we have the narrator or the editor of this recording whipped? What a shame! It's a great story of imperial China; it's accurate in its history and artful in its fiction. But it was impossible not to be frequently distracted and annoyed by the narrator's salivating, swallowing, and flat reading. My condolences to the author.

Concubine rises trying to aid besieged China

I was afraid this might end up as more of a “docudrama” than a well-written biographical novel. I’m so pleased to say that it is nothing if th

WONDERFUL

This was a great book. I loved it and would listen to it again. The narrator was annoying because you can hear her swallowing and it was a little disgusting, but the book was so well written and so interesting, I could not wait to get back to the story every evening. I don't know anyone who read it or listened to it that did not love it. Do order this.

A fascinating glimpse into the Forbidden City

I enjoyed this perspective on the early career of China's last empress, and found Anchee Min's descriptions and details fascinating. The story grabbed me from the opening scene, when the aged Empress recalls her initial journey to Peking at the age of 17, walking behind her father's coffin, footsore and penniless, trailed by the scent of decay and thousands of flies.

Sadly, however, Alexandra O'Karma's performance was rather monotone--a disappointment, since she is a long-time narrator for Recorded Books, and usually does a terrific job.

Story Great - Narration flat

I have enjoyed all of Anchee Min's books. I love reading about Chinese culture and especially the methods women used to gain their own sort of power against, but through the men. This book never caught my attention because the narrator was so flat. She did have a nice Asian tone to her voice, but no character or life to the dialogue. I had to stop mid-way through -- something I avoid doing with vigor. Try the "sample" and if the reader resonates with you, buy the book.

Narrator's sinus-y, protagonist's impotent

I found this book interesting, particularly regarding the manners and goings on in the mysterious Forbidden City. I don't think the character of Orchid was particularly well-developed. She recognizes that her husband has many problems (both personal and political) but doesn't seem to do anything to help him overcome his personal problems, and doesn't plot to help him avoid his political troubles (she does answer his mail in his name.) While it may be historically accurate that there's not much she could do while her husband was alive, history now records her as far from retiring or inactive.

More annoying, especially at the beginning of the book, was the narrator's apparent sinus trouble. She constantly seemed to be dealing with post nasal drip, which required audible gulps.

In addition, her voice throughout the book was extremely calm and placid. While this might seem to be appropriate for an empress, Orchid never seemed to convey any excitement. Even when she sees the marvels of Forbidden City, which she says are amazing, the narrator shows no awe in her voice.

If you'd like to hear about life at the end of the imperial age, this may be worth a listen, provided the narrator's sinuses and placidity don't turn you off.