She is brave, just, and always strives to do the right thing.

But in the end, Hyeon’s conviction is strong. She is torn between her conscience and what filial piety dictates. We see her struggle with her values, her priorities. And she also wants to be of great use and importance to the ladies of the palace.īut that overbearing desire to be needed, stemming from her abandonment issues, instantly takes a back seat to Hyeon’s desire to do the right thing. Even with her profession, she’s driven by this need. She wants to be acknowledged by her father, she wants her mother to know she’s a good and useful daughter. From then on, Hyeon’s life is mostly dictated by her desire to be useful and never cast out again. So she turns to the nursing profession as her home, studies hard, and against all odds, becomes a palace nurse. She’s the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy and powerful man, and her own mother attempted to abandon her as well. Her background already makes her a super compelling character. A protagonist to whole-heartedly root for To quote the book’s tagline, “To enter the palace means to walk a path stained in blood.” Phew. It’s such a great contrast against the thought that if you end up a court lady, or a palace nurse, you’re set for life with all sorts of money and benefits. I for one really enjoyed the emphasis of life as a member of a royal household being dangerous and steeped in treachery and tragedy. The Red Palace offers us a peek at Sado’s life, and while also allowing for grace and compassion, doesn’t erase the gravity of his acts either. Modern-day historians consider the prince to have been suffering from mental illness, but at the time, he was simply viewed as a violent man prone to outbursts and lashing out. At the age of 27, Crown Prince Sado was executed by being imprisoned inside a rice chest and starving to death. In the author’s note, Hur tells us about the tragedy of Crown Prince Sado. One of the things that also made The Red Palace such an interesting read is the political intrigue sprinkled throughout. Each twist and reveal feels deliberate andt well thought out, so that when the reader finally discovers the truth, it’s as much a gut-punch to us as it is to the characters. The build-up of the mystery is a perfect match for Hur’s atmospheric writing. The sheer talent it takes to transport us readers to a setting literal centuries away from us and see it vividly in our minds. The ability to make you clench up and fear for what’s going to happen next.

Content Warnings: Murder, violence, misogyny/sexism, human trafficking

The Red Palace by June Hur