The prose in this book is beautiful and the main character is fascinating. A very in depth look at life in Imperial China. If you like historical fiction, lush, poetic writing and very complex/ morally dubious female characters, I’d say this is the book for you. 

CW: There is a fair amount of sexual violence and descriptions of adults engaging in sexual relationships with minors in this book. I phrase it that way because obviously there are huge cultural differences and an over thousand year gap between when this book is set and the present day. These relationships aren’t depicted as child abuse/sexual abuse as we would see it today, understandably so, but it’s quite jarring and something to consider before diving into this story if that’s something you’d rather not read about.