My Life as Emperor

About

A pampered, naive fourteen-year-old prince finds himself suddenly and unexpectedly named Emperor of China. He has no interest in governance, no understanding of power, and no concept of the danger that surrounds a throne. The court — a machine of intrigue, betrayal, and calculated violence — moves around him with the efficiency of predators circling prey. Su Tong, author of Raise the Red Lantern, returns with a chilling and darkly entertaining novel about the education of a ruler who never wanted to rule. The boy emperor's gradual awakening to the reality of his position — and the price of every privilege he's enjoyed — transforms what begins as a comedy of naivety into something far more disturbing. A novel about power as a trap — and the terrifying discovery that the person sitting on the throne is the one with the least freedom of all.