A Song to Drown Rivers
A devastating Chinese retelling of love, sacrifice and revenge
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- 39,00 kr
Publisher Description
Instant New York Times bestseller
‘Exquisite and devastating. It won’t fail to move you’ – Shelley Parker-Chan, author of She Who Became the Sun
Her beauty hides a deadly purpose . . .
Since birth, Xishi’s extraordinary beauty has been seen as a blessing. When Xishi draws the attention of the famous young military advisor Fanli, he presents her with a rare opportunity: to use her beauty as a weapon. One that could topple the rival neighbouring kingdom, improve the lives of her people and avenge her sister’s murder. All she has to do is infiltrate the enemy palace as a spy and seduce their immoral king.
What neither Xishi nor Fanli expects is the doomed attraction that ignites between them. Even worse, Xishi soon finds herself under the hungry gaze of the king and his advisors. A brutality lurks behind his gentleness, and Xishi knows she can never let her guard down. But the higher she climbs in the court, the further she and Fanli have to fall. And if she is unmasked as a traitor, she will bring both kingdoms down . . .
Inspired by the legend of Xishi, one of the famous Four Beauties of Ancient China, A Song to Drown Rivers is an epic historical fantasy about womanhood, war, sacrifice and love against all odds, as the fate of two kingdoms hangs in a delicate balance.
Why readers love A Song to Drown Rivers:
‘I am STUNNED by just how beautiful this was’
‘This book will break your heart in a way only a talented author can do’
‘Ended up reading until 2 a.m. on a work night . . . Beautiful writing and characters’
‘Amazing . . . I was fully crying on the plane while reading it’
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Liang's propulsive adult debut (after the YA novel I Hope This Doesn't Find You) offers a straightforward retelling of the life of one of ancient China's fabled Four Beauties. Xishi's good looks are so arresting that, when she was born, "all the wild geese flew down from the sky, and the fish sank beneath the waves, having forgotten how to swim... beauty is not so different from destruction." As she grows older, she wears a half veil in public to stop people from gawking. Word of her beauty spreads to Fanli, the Yue king's top minister, who recruits her for a covert operation to bring down the enemy State of Wu by acting as a tribute concubine to the king. She's reluctantly trained in court etiquette by Fanli—and both of them are surprised by a growing attraction. As the operation moves closer and closer to success, Xishi realizes the rumors about the evil king of Wu may not all be true and comes to question her role. The historical details occasionally feel fudged—including Xishi's husband allowing her to remain a virgin—but Xishi's narration brings personalized stakes to imperial court drama and shows the double-edged sword of beauty. Fans of plot-driven historical fantasy should take note.
