The Last Emperor suicide, but is quickly revived and told he must stand trial. 42 years earlier, in 1908, a toddler Puyi is summoned to the Forbidden City by the dying Empress Dowager Cixi. After telling him that the previous emperor had died earlier that day, with her last words, Cixi tells Puyi that he will be the next emperor. After his coronation, Puyi, frightened by his new surroundings, repeatedly expresses his wish to go home, which is denied. Despite having scores of palace eunuchs and maids to wait on him, his only real friend is his wet nurse, Ar Mo, who accompanied
When the Emperor was Divine conclusion, the earlier pages testify to the author's lyric gifts and narrative poise". Sylvia Santiago of "Herizons" magazine described Otsuka's writing style as "scrupulously unsentimental", thus "creating a contrast to the sensitive subject matter". "" said the novel was "a meditation on what it means to be loyal to one's country and to one's self, and on the cost and the necessity of remaining brave and human". "When the Emperor was Divine" won the American Library Association's Alex Award in 2003 and also won an Asian American Literary Award. When the Emperor was Divine When the Emperor was Divine is