Empress

This was an interesting book.  I don't think I liked it, but I was interested by it.  It was written in French by an author originally from China and translated into English.  The writing style is unusual, but I'm not sure how much of that is translation, how much of that is an author writing in a second language, and how much of that is authorial intent.
It is written from the perspective of Empress Wu, whom we know as Heavenlight; a real woman who ruled China and contributed to the historical archetype of the evil usurping empress.  As an East Asian History major, I know all about that archetype.  Critics of the cultural revolution used Empress Wu and others as examples to malign Madame Mao... it's that central.  Anyway, the book follows her from fetus (no, really) to death.  She is an interesting character - sympathetic at first, dealing with the loss of her father and her family status, then with isolation and lonliness as an unnoticed imperial concubine.  Then, she gains strength, love, then power and eventually destroys her own family to maintain what she's gained.  All the while, there are lovers (male and female) and political machinations.  At times, I got bored with the story and with Heavenlight. I lost track of which advisor she trusted or was executing at any given moment and why she was mad at her husband or her current lover.  I suppose that is a risk with a story that covers such a long, complex life.  But I had trouble finishing it, maybe because I knew her rule fell apart at the end and I didn't want to see the unraveling.
I'd recommend it for history nerds and people who are dedicated lovers of historical fiction, but I'm not sure it has much wider appeal. It is just so overwhelmingly detailed and so centered on a single person's perspective that I didn't find it very enjoyable.
I give it a 5 out of 10.

Next: #8 Midwives by Chris Bohjalian