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The Queen of the Night Alexander Chee Books

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The Queen of the Night Alexander Chee Books

I am an opera nut who loves to read about nineteenth-century history. Thus I thought this would be just the book for me. I was wrong. The main character is well conceived, and the story is decent, if contrived. There is good description of the setting and clothing—lots (and lots) of description of clothing. The problem is the author’s style.

For, you see.

This is one of those books written in many short sentences.

And many short paragraphs.

Like this one.

It is very difficult to establish a sense of rhythm in reading.

The sentences.

Or sentence fragments, like this one.

Constantly interrupt the flow of the narrative.

You see what I mean?

So, my advice is.

That you reread Cather’s "The Song of the Lark," which is a story somewhat like this one. Or (yes, sometimes paragraphs consist of more than one sentence) a good biography of Jenny Lind.

And save this book for those people.

Who like short sentences.

And sentence fragments.

I’m just not one of them.

Hope you understand.


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The Queen of the Night Alexander Chee Books Reviews

I was so excited to read this and held on to it to savor the anticipation. At times it met my expectations. At other times I just wanted it to end. I know next to nothing about opera, but the author gives enough background and explanation that It does not matter. However, people who are knowledgeable about opera may have a richer experience.

I have dreaded trying to write this plot summary because it is heavy on plot (550+ pages heavy) and light on character development. It is a combination of fiction and historical fiction. Lilliet Berne, not her birth name, is from farm land Minnesota in about 1850. However, when the book begins, she is a famous falcon soprano and is the toast of Europe. At a party, she is approached by a man who has written a book. He and a composer plan to make it into an opera and want Lilliet to play the lead. However, the book is the story of her life. There are only four people who she believes could have told her story and she sets out to find the culprit. In the course of finding her betrayer, we learn of her beginnings and how she became a successful opera singer. We also learn about the people who loved her, protected her, manipulated her, and used her as a political pawn. The book goes back in time, then to the present, and then forward when she discovers the source of her life story. Large sections of the book deal with the reign of Emperor Napoleon III and the Franco-Prussian war.

And then there is all the other stuff that happens! This is an ambitious novel. Sometimes I felt that Mr. Chee was packing in too much. Too much story, too much detail, too much to keep track of. I think the book bogged down about two-thirds in, but it improved toward the end. I wish there had been more character development. Knowing what was motivating some of the characters would have made the plot easier to follow. There are so many twists and turns to the plot, just like a complex opera. The writing was solid--no complaint with that. I feel like I would get a lot more out of it with a second reading. I just don't have the strength. I think this is a very interesting idea for a story, but the execution of it needs some work. I don't regret reading this book.
In September 2017, a fairly large group met at The LGBT Center to discuss "Queen of the Night" by Alexander Chee. This was a BIG book and even though we read it over the summer, a number of people couldn't finish it. Some didn't finish it because it was such a big book but others abandoned it because of its impenetrable language.

"Queen of the Night" takes places in late 19th-century frontier America and early 20th-century Europe (Paris and a few other cities). It's an operatic story full of plot twists, unbelievable story contrivances, beautiful custom ball gowns, spies, dazzling jewels, as well as handsome and cruel leading men. It's a historical novel that mixes real events within a rich fantasy.

Much of our discussion unpacked some of the historical events, which all seem pretty true (again, remembering that they're interpreted as fantasy), based on real events and characters with Wikipedia pages. It's helpful to know about Napoleon III, the Franco-Prussian war, and the Paris Commune but not essential -- and if you don't know anything, you'll learn a bit. Other parts of our discussion revolved around opera, which once again seemed true. Similarly, it's helpful to know a little about opera plots, opera singers, and the opera "fach" system, but the book gives enough information to keep you informed. You'd better enjoy descriptions of gowns and jewels, which are threaded throughout the novel.

The biggest discussion centered on the language. The novel is very well reviewed and many of us wanted to like but had a hard time. Everyone thought that it needed an editor to cut it down to size. Several readers stopped reading after a few chapters and others after 100 pages. Chee's style is often too verbose. A number of readers thought it was poorly written. Those of us who plowed through were interested in the story and the outcome but I don't think that anybody felt compelled to finish it.

I enjoyed reading "The Queen of the Night," but when I put the book down I had to remind myself "I'd better finish this." I was never compelled to read another chapter or get to the end. I thought some individual scenes and occurrences were spectacular (like arias in an opera) but then followed by pages of drivel (like much of the emotive and silly repetition that drives me crazy in opera). It's sort of the opposite of "a page turner." Having said that, the ending is very satisfying although perhaps (once again) over written.

A few observations

-- Sometimes the language in the book is so dense that I found it difficult to read very carefully. And the narrator-diva's self-analysis and meditations are often tedious and not helpful in advancing the plot or the character.

-- Chee is a gay author but there's only very minor gay content in the novel (unlike his only previous novel "Edinburgh"). But opera seems "gay" and there's something about this story and diva that seems to give the novel a gay sensibility. Maybe it's all the gowns and jewels.

-- The action in the novel is often romantic, fantastic, and soap-opera-ish, much like opera plots. The plot is episodic. Characters often seem thin or poorly defined, and motivations are often hard to discern. A couple of times I lost track of why something was going on. The psychology of the opera-singer narrator is sometimes hard to understand.

-- One of the problems of the psychology of the narrator might be that she never really knows herself. Her sense of self-preservation is strong but she seems unaware of who she really is. She's often just a diva wearing fabulous gowns and jewels. (Uh huh, I mentioned fabulous gowns and jewels again.)
I am an opera nut who loves to read about nineteenth-century history. Thus I thought this would be just the book for me. I was wrong. The main character is well conceived, and the story is decent, if contrived. There is good description of the setting and clothing—lots (and lots) of description of clothing. The problem is the author’s style.

For, you see.

This is one of those books written in many short sentences.

And many short paragraphs.

Like this one.

It is very difficult to establish a sense of rhythm in reading.

The sentences.

Or sentence fragments, like this one.

Constantly interrupt the flow of the narrative.

You see what I mean?

So, my advice is.

That you reread Cather’s "The Song of the Lark," which is a story somewhat like this one. Or (yes, sometimes paragraphs consist of more than one sentence) a good biography of Jenny Lind.

And save this book for those people.

Who like short sentences.

And sentence fragments.

I’m just not one of them.

Hope you understand.