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A review by erynnotfar
The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee
5.0
The Queen of the Night can best be described as a murder mystery where the victim is still alive, and also plays the role of the detective. It is the story of Lilliet Berne, known to the world as a Parisian opera star. Only four people know her true past: that she was born in America and did what she had to do, became who she had to become - a circus star, a courtesan, and a maid to the Empress - in order to rise to stardom. When she is approached with a new role, based on the past she thought she left behind her, Lilliet must go back through her past to figure out which of those four people betrayed her secret.
Many reviews describe various books as "luxurious" to read. This book truly was. The writing was smooth and the plot twists flowed effortlessly while still being surprising. Plenty of famous operas were referenced, but despite having no knowledge of opera, I still found that they added to my enjoyment of the novel. Chee summarized them for the audience's sake in such a way that they fit perfectly and felt like they were written to fit in this book, not that the books was written around them. The formatting was a bit odd, in that quotation marks were not used to denote dialogue, but once I got into the groove of reading it, I barely noticed it anymore. I can't recommend this book enough.
Many reviews describe various books as "luxurious" to read. This book truly was. The writing was smooth and the plot twists flowed effortlessly while still being surprising. Plenty of famous operas were referenced, but despite having no knowledge of opera, I still found that they added to my enjoyment of the novel. Chee summarized them for the audience's sake in such a way that they fit perfectly and felt like they were written to fit in this book, not that the books was written around them. The formatting was a bit odd, in that quotation marks were not used to denote dialogue, but once I got into the groove of reading it, I barely noticed it anymore. I can't recommend this book enough.