Having read empress orchid, and really enjoying it, i decided to also read becoming madame mao, and was disappointed to find the writing style and story telling completely different. Although a fascinating story, i found that half way through the book, i wasn't too bothered about finishing it.
It's definitely worth a read if you want to learn more about the history of china from a different perspective, but considering the life madame mao led, its made to sound much duller than it could have been written, even when following the facts.