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The Palace of Heavenly Pleasure
 
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The Palace of Heavenly Pleasure (Paperback)

by Adam Williams (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
RRP: £6.99
Price: £5.48 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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The Palace of Heavenly Pleasure + The Emperor's Bones + The Dragon's Tail
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  • This item: The Palace of Heavenly Pleasure by Adam Williams

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    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
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Product details

  • Paperback: 720 pages
  • Publisher: Flame (12 April 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0340827874
  • ISBN-13: 978-0340827871
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 13 x 5.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 41,008 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #9 in  Books > Fiction > World > Chinese
    #18 in  Books > Fiction > Genre > Historical Adventure Stories

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

Adam Williams knows China well and The Palace of Heavenly Pleasure is notable as much for his vivid sense of the land and its people as for being a thumping good melodramatic yarn.

Old-style historical novels tend to see things in black and white--Williams is as fascinated with the cultural misunderstandings and downright oppressions through which Europeans made themselves hated in China as he is with the martyrdoms and heroisms involved in the European experience of the Boxer rising. He has a passionate sense of the complexities--a mystical peasant rebellion found itself co-opted by criminal elements and by an upper class which saw the rebels as shock troops who could be used against Europeans and then disowned.

His sympathies are as much with the ruthlessly pragmatic Mandarin, who believes that he can control the situation by a few regrettable sacrifices, as with the saintly medical missionary Airton, who believes himself incapable of compromise with evil. In spite of its hairsbreadth escapes, sudden reversals and fights on moving trains, Williams' novel is adult in the best sense--the damaged, intense affair between British agent Manners and Helen, the girl he seduces and comes to love, has real passion. --Roz Kaveney --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.



The Times

'A rattling good read. . . Williams is a master'
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Customer Reviews

10 Reviews
5 star:
 (7)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Complex, thought provoking but basically a thriller, 16 Dec 2003
By Mr. Roderick W. White (Belfast, Co Down United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Palace of Heavenly Pleasure (Hardcover)
It took me a while to get to grips with this book. The first few hundred pages are a rather long introduction to the historic setting but after this you are plunged into quite a frightening and thrilling story. A group of people living in China peacefully and happily suddenly find themselves under complete attack. All the Chinese people seem to turn against them and their lives are brutally threatened. I could not put the book down, almost reading the last 400 pages in about 4 days. Also I must say that whilst the book is gory in parts the history has rumours of far worse events.

The most interesting aspect is that the author has really brought both sides to life. I started to understand the viewpoints of both the foreigners and the Chinese. The Boxers issue is something we glazed over in school and almost universally it was biased against the Chinese. In this book you see the missionaries patronising, the merchants conning the people and you see the greed and on the other hand you see the ruthlessness and the brutality of the Boxers.

I don't think it was perfect, parts were too slow sometimes I found the characters a little bit predictable but the book has got me intrigued and I am now reading a history book on the Boxer rebellion and I am trying to get my head around the history and the world events of that time. It is perhaps quite relevant because China is now trying to open up and change once more.

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Chinese Dr Zhivago, 25 Sep 2003
By David Mahon (Beijing, China) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Palace of Heavenly Pleasure (Hardcover)
Adam Williams has written the Chinese equivalent of Dr Zhivago. This is an exciting, heartbreaking and inspiring book. Identifying with both foreigners and Chinese embroiled in the madness of the Boxer Rebellion gives one the sense of seeing into the heart of China. In an age when China is in the forefront of commercial and political thinking around the world, a story such as this that centres on China’s relationship with the West will resonate with a wide audience.

Adam Williams manages to avoid stereotypes, particularly in revealing his Chinese characters. There is a touch of Joseph Conrad in Adam William’s writing, for, as in Conrad’s stories, even his heroic characters are flawed and human. Conrad also wrote in his middle age about an exotic world he had come to know in an adventurous youth. It seems that with all the years that Adam Williams has lived in China he is well able to take a similarly authentic perspective. I generally don’t like fiction; yet what Adam William’s has shown us, by donning the transparent mask of fiction, are real people in a very real China.

His prose is rhythmical and the descriptive passages are poetic, yet his writing is simple. In age of formulaic political thrillers “The Place of Heavenly Pleasure” is so refreshing. I hope Mr. Williams is writing a sequel.

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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Cracking Good Read! Best Novel of the Year!, 8 Dec 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: The Palace of Heavenly Pleasure (Hardcover)
Mr. Williams has penned a first rate historical novel. The Palace of Heavenly Pleasure is a gripping yarn about Chinese and foreigners in a small Manchurian city on the eve of the Boxer Debacle. Mr. William weaves a tale that gets full marks for historical and cultural accuracy. Both old China hands and newcomers to China will be enthralled with the sophisticated treatment of the diverse set of characters. The Palace of Heavenly Pleasure is destined to be a classic among the literature about Old China. What a fabulous debut!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars One thrill too many
I might be over sensitive or maybe even simply prudish but one scene spoiled it all for me, no not spoiled, ruined is more like it. Read more
Published 10 months ago by H. Lacroix

4.0 out of 5 stars good but could have been better
an exciting and fascinating, if very sad and harrowing read.
However ... Mr Williams did break every single 'eye' rule in the writing book and it is a mystery to me why his... Read more
Published 17 months ago by White Rose

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful!!!
The first few hundred pages of this book are used to set up the scene, time, characters, etc. so it does take a little time to get into the real story but once it gets going, you... Read more
Published 21 months ago by S. Reid

5.0 out of 5 stars surprising
this was the first war/policical book i've read and i wasnt sure i would really follow it, but adam williams wrote it in such a way that it was easy to follow and i understood the... Read more
Published on 2 Aug 2007 by Karen

5.0 out of 5 stars This book has everything....
...adult liasions, violence, history, romance, intrigue, betrayal and much more. The story and the characters and detailed and complex and the book is so well written that the... Read more
Published on 16 Sep 2004 by redfinteabag

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply wonderful
This is an exceptional book. I have had absolutely no social life for 2 weeks while I immersed myself in this complex, vivid journey of China in 1900. Read more
Published on 2 Jun 2004 by misshoney

5.0 out of 5 stars The Palace of Heavenly Pleasure
Stupendous. Fantastic. An incredible read, uplifting and moving. It had me laughing and crying. Read it. By far the best novel this year.
Published on 11 Oct 2003

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