This torn me quite a bit. On one hand, it has a creative and exciting tale about Shakespeare rise through the circumstances, but the artistic addition of oriental characters being the integral part of Shakespeare's work is a little far-fetched and in racially celebratory mood. To write great poems require years of mastering the language, somehow this girl from the orient is capable of producing prose beyond the best minds at the time. If the author intended to add diversity to his work, he could have added an ebony character, very fitting for the time. Chinatown wasn't even a concept until the 18th century when 2 things drove Chinese overseas: the weakened ruling Manchu and the opening of the trading ports a.k.a colonialism. It largely didn't hamper my enjoyment, however akin to an annoying fly in the middle of a pleasant barbecue it might be.
