An Empire of Women

by Karen Shepard

Book Overview

The three generations of Arneaux women have never gotten along. Now they must unite, to decide the fate of their temporary charge, a displaced six-year-old Chinese girl. But to do so, they'll have to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• ISBN: B001DEULUQ
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons

Customer Reviews

Unsettling

Talk about a seriously hostile look at familial relationships between women! Disturbing, to be sure, but well-written and thought-provoking.

Brutal - Bloody - Brilliant

In this stunning debut offering, author Karen Shepherd tells the story of three very strange, alienated and ultimately cruel women. Celine Arneux, famed photographer -- her daughter Sumin -- and granddaughter Cameron are connected by blood only. Forget the warm and cozy relationships of Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club. These three women of Chinese heritage are more akin to Madame Mao.Celine is now retired and living in her beloved Paris. Sumin and her lover Grady live in the states, as do Cameron and her ward, the 6-year old Alice. The four females agree to meet at a cabin in Virginia where Celine took provocative photos of Cameron when she was a child. Not one relationship in this family is healthy or based on any kind of true respect for its circle. Celine is aloof and cruel to her daughter. Sumin resents the one-time relationship her mother had with Cameron and has never really found her way in the world. Cameron boils over with anger at grandmother for taking such intimate photos of her and at her mother for allowing the photos to be taken. There are so many unresolved issues in this book that one needs a scorecard to keep up with them all. Add to this caldron of raw anger and emotional immaturity the fate of the young Alice, whose mother has been forced to return to China without her. Each of the three women -- Celine, Sumin and Cameron -- wants to raise Alice and the battle over her future becomes bloody and extremely brutal. An Empire of Women at once riveted and repulsed me. Although the author does an excellent job of telling the story, the subject matter and its devastation were a bit too much for my taste. The only character who truly evoked sympathy was Celine's Chinese mother -- and my heart broke for her on almost every page. I look forward to other work from this author. She's got a voice and a gift -- my wish is that she finds something lighter to write about next time around. This story just wore me out.

A born storytller tell one heck of a good dramatic tale

Renowned photographer Celine Arneux reached the epitome of fame with her controversial pictures of her family. The collection includes a provocative set of photos of her granddaughter Cameron as a child. Now the wheels of fate have turned. Grady, the lover of Sumin, the middle generation between Celine and Cameron, is doing a magazine article on the celebrated artist and her work. The three women agree to meet in the Virginia cabin site of Celine's most famous work. Also at the cabin is six-year old Alice, whose guardian is Cameron. The three women, whose relationships between each other are poor, use the child as a battlefield as they battle to gain Alice's affection and the right to claim victory. Any deep reconciliation could mean heartbreak so the child is the pawn and the salvation in this emotional war. If the reader wants action, they need to pass on AN EMPIRE OF WOMEN. However, if the fan desires a deep look into the emotions of three mixed raced women, this novel is for them. The prime cast is all fully developed and each one's feelings understandable since Karen Shepard deftly peels away their feelings through their actions towards one another and especially towards the child. Alice serves as a final chance at redemption or a final failure. Ms. Shepard will leave her admiring audience to question the impact of his or her heritage.Harriet Klausner

An Elegant Debut

AN EMPIRE OF WOMEN is an elegant and poignant novel about three generations of women, none of whom understands the others. Celine Arneaux, a renowned photographer of Chinese and French ancestry, is the would-be matriarch, although she feels little connection to her daughter Sumin, only slightly more to her granddaughter Cam. The three women agree to meet at a cabin in Virginia for the benefit of Apertures magazine, which wants to celebrate the famous photos Celine took of Cam at the site. Cam brings along Alice, the six year old daughter of a Chinese friend, who evokes emotions and desires in the adult women as they struggle to claim her as their own.Shepard writes with simple precision, with exact and memorable details that give this book life; however, the emotional exploration - the stripping away of the outer layers of each character - gives AN EMPIRE OF WOMEN its depth. The mixed racial backgrounds of the women (Cam, for example, has Chinese, French, and Japanese blood) serves as a metaphor for their complicated and often contradictory lives. The closer the women get to the truth about themselves, the more powerful this book becomes. Issues about Communist China and the politics of art further define this story.Although the natural audience for this novel is women, anyone with an interest in human relations, the politics of art, and good literature should find this a rewarding read.