The Queen of the Night

 Book 68 of my 2024 Reading Challenge

read from September 2 - 14

The Queen of the Night

by Alexander Chee

My Opinion

3 stars

I'm conflicted about this book which is why I'm rating it in the middle.

What I liked: the writing.  It was easy to get swept up into the atmosphere and there was a gauzy, almost mystical feel that kept me guessing (but I also had the security of certain characters remaining alive since this happened in flashbacks).  Treating each "transformation" as its own little mini-story helped break the book so it didn't feel like I'd read an 561 page book.

What I didn't like: it was too much.  There were so many transformations/reinventions I really struggled to understand how she stayed under the radar to be able to accomplish them yet also had fame and kept friends throughout.  I also didn't like the seemingly few consequences until the end that allowed her to continue her upward mobility.

I also thought the final section between the duel and the ending was too long, although I did not know how it was going to play out.

So I would definitely read this author again but felt this particular book needed some paring down because it was too many ideas for one character to experience.