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Four Treasures of the Sky
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Best Historical Fiction (2022)"Engulfing, bighearted, and heartbreaking.” —Ann Patchett
A propulsive and dazzling debut novel set against the backdrop of the Chinese Exclusion Act, about a Chinese girl fighting to claim her place in the 1880s American West
Daiyu never wanted to be like the tragic heroine for whom she was named, revered for her beauty and cursed with heartbreak. But when she is kidnapped and smuggled across an ocean from China to America, Daiyu must relinquish the home and future she imagined for herself. Over the years that follow, she is forced to keep reinventing herself to survive. From a calligraphy school, to a San Francisco brothel, to a shop tucked into the Idaho mountains, we follow Daiyu on a desperate quest to outrun the tragedy that chases her. As anti-Chinese sentiment sweeps across the country in a wave of unimaginable violence, Daiyu must draw on each of the selves she has been—including the ones she most wants to leave behind—in order to finally claim her own name and story.
At once a literary tour de force and a groundbreaking work of historical fiction, Four Treasures of the Sky announces Jenny Tinghui Zhang as an indelible new voice. Steeped in untold history and Chinese folklore, this novel is a spellbinding feat.
A propulsive and dazzling debut novel set against the backdrop of the Chinese Exclusion Act, about a Chinese girl fighting to claim her place in the 1880s American West
Daiyu never wanted to be like the tragic heroine for whom she was named, revered for her beauty and cursed with heartbreak. But when she is kidnapped and smuggled across an ocean from China to America, Daiyu must relinquish the home and future she imagined for herself. Over the years that follow, she is forced to keep reinventing herself to survive. From a calligraphy school, to a San Francisco brothel, to a shop tucked into the Idaho mountains, we follow Daiyu on a desperate quest to outrun the tragedy that chases her. As anti-Chinese sentiment sweeps across the country in a wave of unimaginable violence, Daiyu must draw on each of the selves she has been—including the ones she most wants to leave behind—in order to finally claim her own name and story.
At once a literary tour de force and a groundbreaking work of historical fiction, Four Treasures of the Sky announces Jenny Tinghui Zhang as an indelible new voice. Steeped in untold history and Chinese folklore, this novel is a spellbinding feat.
320 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 5, 2022
About the author
Jenny Tinghui Zhang
2 books472 followersJenny Tinghui Zhang is a Texas-based Chinese-American writer and the author of Four Treasures of the Sky (forthcoming from Flatiron Books on April 5, 2022). She is a Kundiman fellow and graduate of the VONA/Voices and Tin House workshops. Her work has appeared in Apogee, Ninth Letter, Passages North, The Rumpus, HuffPost, The Cut, Catapult, and more.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,607 reviews
April 24, 2022
this story is work of art. its a stunning piece of calligraphy, every word as intentional as a brushstroke, every scene as the impactful as the pressure of a hand, resulting in page after page of valuable meaning. and, after reading the authors note at the end, im even more in awe.
JTZs father came across a marker referencing a moment in history while visiting idaho and asked her to write the story of what happened. the product of the request is this book. and i am so grateful for JTZs father for wanting such a story, because i had no idea how much i wanted it, too.
the story of daiyu is full of trials and adversity, hope and optimism, strength and resilience. it it not a happy story, but it is a real one. an honest one. and it does right by daiyu. JTZ has handled her with love and care and has given a voice to a moment in history many people are unaware of.
this is definitely one to pick up!
↠ 5 stars
JTZs father came across a marker referencing a moment in history while visiting idaho and asked her to write the story of what happened. the product of the request is this book. and i am so grateful for JTZs father for wanting such a story, because i had no idea how much i wanted it, too.
the story of daiyu is full of trials and adversity, hope and optimism, strength and resilience. it it not a happy story, but it is a real one. an honest one. and it does right by daiyu. JTZ has handled her with love and care and has given a voice to a moment in history many people are unaware of.
this is definitely one to pick up!
↠ 5 stars
August 31, 2023
‘I am not afraid of death. I am afraid of no longer living.’
The 19th century American west has been mined for as many stories as it was gold and silver. The stories typically call to mind (white) men in heroic gun fights that end in dust and blood and glory, though the last few years have seen some excellent re-examinations of the Western genre to expand the horizons of who’s stories are told. Four Treasures of the Sky, the impressive debut novel by Jenny Tinghui Zhang, is a fresh approach to 19th century Wild West framed around the Chinese Exclusion Act and violence towards Chinese labororers told through the eyes of a young Chinese woman brought by force to the United States. The novel reads with the spirit of an epic, spanning continents and years in Daiyu’s life as they are thrust into perilous situation after perilous situation from being kidnapped and sold into sex work to disguising themself as a man to navigate the violent white man’s world of 19th century Idaho. While a bit uneven in tone and pacing, Four Treasures of the Sky is a fascinating debut that feels well researched and adds an important voice into stories of history and makes for a harrowing reading experience bursting full of poetic language and interpersonal insights.
‘There is no such thing as luck, I told him. Luck is just readiness that meets opportunity.’
This novel comes at a time when another uptick in anti-Asian hate crimes has become major headline news and anti-Chinese sentiments lurk about. In an interview with NPR, Zhang says writing the novel during the early months of the COVID pandemic ‘didn't even feel like I was writing about history. It just felt like so present day and in the moment.’ Which is all very distressing how little changes. And while the same hatred still creeps about today, the novel is very much about a period in history and gives a fresh look at the Western genre and period of American history from a new vantage point.
Daiyu’s life is one of seemingly endless abrupt turns. Orphaned at an early age, Daiyu seemingly lives multiple lives over the span of this novel, disguised as a boy named Feng working for a calligraphy teachers before being kidnapped and sent into sexual slavery in San Francisco, and then later discussed as a man. The frequent shift makes self-identity an unstable land territory. ‘Daiyu to Feng to Peony to Jacob Li. When will I be me again?’ she wonders, ‘and if I become me again, will I know who she is?’ To guide her along the way, Daiyu is often visited by the spirit of her namesake, Lin Daiyu( 林黛玉), who comes from Dream of the Red Chamber, an 18th century manuscript by Cao Xueqin considered one of the four Classic Chinese novels. In the story, Lin Daiyu is orphaned and when, due to trickery, she witnesses her love marry another woman she dies, and her frequent visitations during times of difficulty become a reminder to the real Daiyu to be strong and not allow herself to be destroyed. ‘The inkstone asks for destruction before creation,’ Daiyu tells us, ‘You must first destroy yourself, grind yourself into a paste, before becoming a work of art.’ Through each transformation and each moment of pure destruction upon her life, Daiyu continues to resurrect like a phoenix, becoming a figure larger than life and walk amongst the myths and legends of the West.
‘I felt different pieces of my being sliding into place, as if I had just unlocked an extraordinary secret about myself.’
The altering identities often serve to examine power structures around gender binaries, such as how men (particularly white men) seem to have access to violence while society looks the other way as long as it is directed at someone socially deemed beneath them (by race, class, or if they are a woman). While disguised as a man to be able to navigate the patriarchal society, Daiyu often reflects on what this means to inhabit the space of a man:
The novel does seem to avoid any relationship towards trans identities, in case you were looking for that, or any queer aspects as well. Daiyu does find a romantic outlet in the later half of the novel but it is thwarted simply because he believes she is a man.
Though while enjoying the privileges being male presenting gives in a patriarchal society, Daiyu quickly discovers that her race marks her as an Other, a threat, and as less-than-human in the eyes of the white society. ‘I am something they cannot fathom,’ she reflects, ‘I am something they fear. We all are.’ The aspects of racial violence will have your stomach in knots, Zhang truly delivers a sense of dread and discomfort as she examines how even with best attempts at assimilation, whiteness will play gatekeeper to the point of violence at every opportunity. This is only emboldened by the Chinese Exclusion Act, which propels the later portion of the novel towards its bloody and tense climax that resonates with an emotionally charged grimness that feels like the Coen brothers would want to film it.
‘The artist must master the art of releasing the brush, giving it the space and freedom to find itself again.’
My favorite aspects of the novel are Zhang’s incredible phrasing and poetic languages and the musings on art and creation. The lessons here are incredible, take a look:
The examination of the calligraphy functions as a metaphor for the pursuit of the Self in many ways, as the notion of becoming art through your being is a recurring motif in the novel. This also becomes insightful to the multiple layers and dynamic character building of the narrator as each adopted identity compiles together. Though, even if only taken on a surface level, the lessons on being an artist are just as instructive and inspiring:
It is a bit unfortunate that the novel itself occasionally does not live up to it’s own instructions. I found the tone and pacing to be rather uneven, with the interim sequences often needing a push and overly caught up in their own details at the same time as I found each segment of Daiyu’s life to feel underdeveloped and skipped through too quickly. The novel is impressively well researched but sometimes the details eat the scenery and it feels almost too close to itself and belaboring the individual moments without flowing from one to the next as smoothly as it could have. This is a novel of important lessons and voices though, the tone of it for me felt it could have leaned into its own darkness more instead of seeming uncertain which tone to take. There is a lot of telling at the expense of showing, particularly when it is making a point it wants you to know is about something bad (it does not tip into trauma porn though, but readers seeking content warnings should be advised violence and sexual assault are frequent) and many aspects felt overworked. Part of this may be from having just read Beasts of a Little Land and for the similar scenes these two books share I felt Beasts did some of them more effectively (to be clear they are very different histories, but similar moments). This did not detract from enjoying the moments things really connect, it just could have all meshed more effectively.
Four Treasures of the Sky is a lovely debut with a lot of heart and a wonderful depth of knowledge and history. Especially of a history that often gets swept under the rug. As poet and writer Cathy Park Hong says in her memoir Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning, ‘The problem with silence is that it can’t speak up and say why it’s silent. And so silence collects, becomes amplified…and eventually this silence passes over into forgetting.’ Jenny Tinghui Zhang is a fresh and necessary voice, with a powerful prose subverting the idea of novels of the Wild West and delivering a wonderful and dynamic heroine for us to follow and root for. The supporting cast is fantastic as well. I will be eager for their next book.
3.5/5
‘My life was written for me from the moment the name was given to me. Or it was not. That is the true beauty. That is the intent. We can practice all we want, telling and retelling the same story, but the story that comes out of your mouth, from your brush, is one that only you can tell. So let it be. Let your story be yours, and my story be mine.’
The 19th century American west has been mined for as many stories as it was gold and silver. The stories typically call to mind (white) men in heroic gun fights that end in dust and blood and glory, though the last few years have seen some excellent re-examinations of the Western genre to expand the horizons of who’s stories are told. Four Treasures of the Sky, the impressive debut novel by Jenny Tinghui Zhang, is a fresh approach to 19th century Wild West framed around the Chinese Exclusion Act and violence towards Chinese labororers told through the eyes of a young Chinese woman brought by force to the United States. The novel reads with the spirit of an epic, spanning continents and years in Daiyu’s life as they are thrust into perilous situation after perilous situation from being kidnapped and sold into sex work to disguising themself as a man to navigate the violent white man’s world of 19th century Idaho. While a bit uneven in tone and pacing, Four Treasures of the Sky is a fascinating debut that feels well researched and adds an important voice into stories of history and makes for a harrowing reading experience bursting full of poetic language and interpersonal insights.
‘There is no such thing as luck, I told him. Luck is just readiness that meets opportunity.’
This novel comes at a time when another uptick in anti-Asian hate crimes has become major headline news and anti-Chinese sentiments lurk about. In an interview with NPR, Zhang says writing the novel during the early months of the COVID pandemic ‘didn't even feel like I was writing about history. It just felt like so present day and in the moment.’ Which is all very distressing how little changes. And while the same hatred still creeps about today, the novel is very much about a period in history and gives a fresh look at the Western genre and period of American history from a new vantage point.
Daiyu’s life is one of seemingly endless abrupt turns. Orphaned at an early age, Daiyu seemingly lives multiple lives over the span of this novel, disguised as a boy named Feng working for a calligraphy teachers before being kidnapped and sent into sexual slavery in San Francisco, and then later discussed as a man. The frequent shift makes self-identity an unstable land territory. ‘Daiyu to Feng to Peony to Jacob Li. When will I be me again?’ she wonders, ‘and if I become me again, will I know who she is?’ To guide her along the way, Daiyu is often visited by the spirit of her namesake, Lin Daiyu( 林黛玉), who comes from Dream of the Red Chamber, an 18th century manuscript by Cao Xueqin considered one of the four Classic Chinese novels. In the story, Lin Daiyu is orphaned and when, due to trickery, she witnesses her love marry another woman she dies, and her frequent visitations during times of difficulty become a reminder to the real Daiyu to be strong and not allow herself to be destroyed. ‘The inkstone asks for destruction before creation,’ Daiyu tells us, ‘You must first destroy yourself, grind yourself into a paste, before becoming a work of art.’ Through each transformation and each moment of pure destruction upon her life, Daiyu continues to resurrect like a phoenix, becoming a figure larger than life and walk amongst the myths and legends of the West.
‘I felt different pieces of my being sliding into place, as if I had just unlocked an extraordinary secret about myself.’
The altering identities often serve to examine power structures around gender binaries, such as how men (particularly white men) seem to have access to violence while society looks the other way as long as it is directed at someone socially deemed beneath them (by race, class, or if they are a woman). While disguised as a man to be able to navigate the patriarchal society, Daiyu often reflects on what this means to inhabit the space of a man:
‘But being a man demands more. For the ruse to work, the transformation must take place under the skin, in all the corners of myself that I have not yet even come to understand. What does it mean to be a man? My experiences then told me everything. It was a matter of believing oneself invincible and strong and owed everything.’
The novel does seem to avoid any relationship towards trans identities, in case you were looking for that, or any queer aspects as well. Daiyu does find a romantic outlet in the later half of the novel but it is thwarted simply because he believes she is a man.
Though while enjoying the privileges being male presenting gives in a patriarchal society, Daiyu quickly discovers that her race marks her as an Other, a threat, and as less-than-human in the eyes of the white society. ‘I am something they cannot fathom,’ she reflects, ‘I am something they fear. We all are.’ The aspects of racial violence will have your stomach in knots, Zhang truly delivers a sense of dread and discomfort as she examines how even with best attempts at assimilation, whiteness will play gatekeeper to the point of violence at every opportunity. This is only emboldened by the Chinese Exclusion Act, which propels the later portion of the novel towards its bloody and tense climax that resonates with an emotionally charged grimness that feels like the Coen brothers would want to film it.
‘The artist must master the art of releasing the brush, giving it the space and freedom to find itself again.’
My favorite aspects of the novel are Zhang’s incredible phrasing and poetic languages and the musings on art and creation. The lessons here are incredible, take a look:
‘In calligraphy, you must have respect for what you are writing and who you are writing for. But above all, you must have respect for yourself. It is the monumental task of creating unity between the person you are and the person you could be. Think: What kind of person could you become, both as yourself and as an artist?’
The examination of the calligraphy functions as a metaphor for the pursuit of the Self in many ways, as the notion of becoming art through your being is a recurring motif in the novel. This also becomes insightful to the multiple layers and dynamic character building of the narrator as each adopted identity compiles together. Though, even if only taken on a surface level, the lessons on being an artist are just as instructive and inspiring:
‘Every calligrapher, every artist, starts the same way, he said. They set out to create art. But this intentionality is what makes the art become work rather than art. What you must practice is creating art without a destination or plan in mind, relying only on your discipline and training and good spirit. This is a stage few calligraphers will ever reach. This is what following your heart looks like.’
It is a bit unfortunate that the novel itself occasionally does not live up to it’s own instructions. I found the tone and pacing to be rather uneven, with the interim sequences often needing a push and overly caught up in their own details at the same time as I found each segment of Daiyu’s life to feel underdeveloped and skipped through too quickly. The novel is impressively well researched but sometimes the details eat the scenery and it feels almost too close to itself and belaboring the individual moments without flowing from one to the next as smoothly as it could have. This is a novel of important lessons and voices though, the tone of it for me felt it could have leaned into its own darkness more instead of seeming uncertain which tone to take. There is a lot of telling at the expense of showing, particularly when it is making a point it wants you to know is about something bad (it does not tip into trauma porn though, but readers seeking content warnings should be advised violence and sexual assault are frequent) and many aspects felt overworked. Part of this may be from having just read Beasts of a Little Land and for the similar scenes these two books share I felt Beasts did some of them more effectively (to be clear they are very different histories, but similar moments). This did not detract from enjoying the moments things really connect, it just could have all meshed more effectively.
Four Treasures of the Sky is a lovely debut with a lot of heart and a wonderful depth of knowledge and history. Especially of a history that often gets swept under the rug. As poet and writer Cathy Park Hong says in her memoir Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning, ‘The problem with silence is that it can’t speak up and say why it’s silent. And so silence collects, becomes amplified…and eventually this silence passes over into forgetting.’ Jenny Tinghui Zhang is a fresh and necessary voice, with a powerful prose subverting the idea of novels of the Wild West and delivering a wonderful and dynamic heroine for us to follow and root for. The supporting cast is fantastic as well. I will be eager for their next book.
3.5/5
‘My life was written for me from the moment the name was given to me. Or it was not. That is the true beauty. That is the intent. We can practice all we want, telling and retelling the same story, but the story that comes out of your mouth, from your brush, is one that only you can tell. So let it be. Let your story be yours, and my story be mine.’
May 23, 2022
When I read historical fiction I want to come away learning something about the times it reflects. I want to come away with an emotional connection to the characters who represent those who lived then and I always hope for beautiful writing that will take me to that time and place. This debut novel is a powerful piece of historical fiction, based on a real event and inspired by the author’s father who asked her to write about something that impacted him while in Pierce, Idaho . Jenny Tinghui Zhang gave me everything I hoped for.
Daiyu, a young Chinese girl endures losses she doesn’t understand, is forced to leave her home in Zhifu, China in 1882 to stay safe and survive. Instead she meets a fate that brings danger in so many ways . Her fate also brings out her strength and her savvy intuition as she comes of age under horrific circumstances from China to San Francisco to Pierce, Idaho.
Circumstances that reflect the terrible treatment of Chinese with the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 banning Chinese immigrants. Heinous acts against Chinese immigrants when white men took the law in their own hands are at the center of this novel. It’s difficult to read about, but so important to get an understanding of what happened . Important to read because it sadly has relevance today as we witness frequently in the news hate crimes against Asian Americans today .
I should mention that there is a ghost, but this is not a ghost story. It’s a stunning portrayal of historical events, brought to us through Daiyu, a character whose story broke my heart and a character that I won’t soon forget. An amazing debut.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Flatiron/Macmillan through Edelweiss.
Daiyu, a young Chinese girl endures losses she doesn’t understand, is forced to leave her home in Zhifu, China in 1882 to stay safe and survive. Instead she meets a fate that brings danger in so many ways . Her fate also brings out her strength and her savvy intuition as she comes of age under horrific circumstances from China to San Francisco to Pierce, Idaho.
Circumstances that reflect the terrible treatment of Chinese with the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 banning Chinese immigrants. Heinous acts against Chinese immigrants when white men took the law in their own hands are at the center of this novel. It’s difficult to read about, but so important to get an understanding of what happened . Important to read because it sadly has relevance today as we witness frequently in the news hate crimes against Asian Americans today .
I should mention that there is a ghost, but this is not a ghost story. It’s a stunning portrayal of historical events, brought to us through Daiyu, a character whose story broke my heart and a character that I won’t soon forget. An amazing debut.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Flatiron/Macmillan through Edelweiss.
February 3, 2022
Lin Daiyu, born in a fishing village outside Zhifu, China, recounted memories of home. Grandmother had a large garden of vegetables and herbs. "In that garden, I learned to care for living things...my grandmother wanted to teach me...patience." "It was my mother who taught me how to be good with my hands." "My father taught me to work with my mind."
When Daiyu was twelve years old, her parents disappeared. "Any day, the people who captured your parents will come for you, too", according to grandmother. "Go to Zhifu...disappear in the city...". Dressed in boy's clothes, quilted jacket, and with a shaved head, Daiyu became Feng.
His name was Master Wang. "Feng with the good hands" was hired to sweep the steps and the courtyard outside Wang's Calligraphy School. "[Daiyu/Feng] would become someone who did not bend to the will of fate and the stories she was named after...I began at once...I traced over the characters in the stone tiles [in the courtyard] I was ravenous for what calligraphy might bring me."
A daily walk from Master Wang's to the fish market...a man in strange clothes...the promise of food from a noodle shop. At age thirteen, Daiyu aka Feng, was kidnapped. Held captive for more than one year, Feng was taught English, a language spoken half a world away. Smuggled into San Francisco in a bucket packed with coal, another reinvented life would begin. "Once I thought love was simple- a round embrace, a gentle kiss...I never even knew that there could be something that was so not love...Tonight, you can call me Peony."
Daiyu was convinced that her namesake, a heroine who died an untimely death, was the cause of her troubles. Despite these misgivings, Daiyu's ghost becomes her sounding board and confidant. "In calligraphy, as in life, we do not retouch strokes, we must accept that what is done is done." "Lightning splits the sky into pieces and I think, this is what I look like inside, not a whole, but a many, separated by something I cannot control...could I ever be whole...ever call myself unified?" First Daiyu, then Feng, followed by Peony, and now Jacob Li working in the Old West in the mining town of Pierce, Idaho.
"Four Treasures of the Sky" by debut author Jenny Tinghi Zhang is a powerful, eye-opening work of historical fiction which highlights a little known chapter in American history. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 created a ten year moratorium on Chinese labor immigration. A historical signpost on a road in Idaho denoting a vigilante hanging was the inspiration for this magnificent novel. Kudos to Zhang for a well researched, haunting, emotionally filled read with overtones of magical realism and Chinese folklore. Highly recommended.
Thank you Flatiron Books and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
When Daiyu was twelve years old, her parents disappeared. "Any day, the people who captured your parents will come for you, too", according to grandmother. "Go to Zhifu...disappear in the city...". Dressed in boy's clothes, quilted jacket, and with a shaved head, Daiyu became Feng.
His name was Master Wang. "Feng with the good hands" was hired to sweep the steps and the courtyard outside Wang's Calligraphy School. "[Daiyu/Feng] would become someone who did not bend to the will of fate and the stories she was named after...I began at once...I traced over the characters in the stone tiles [in the courtyard] I was ravenous for what calligraphy might bring me."
A daily walk from Master Wang's to the fish market...a man in strange clothes...the promise of food from a noodle shop. At age thirteen, Daiyu aka Feng, was kidnapped. Held captive for more than one year, Feng was taught English, a language spoken half a world away. Smuggled into San Francisco in a bucket packed with coal, another reinvented life would begin. "Once I thought love was simple- a round embrace, a gentle kiss...I never even knew that there could be something that was so not love...Tonight, you can call me Peony."
Daiyu was convinced that her namesake, a heroine who died an untimely death, was the cause of her troubles. Despite these misgivings, Daiyu's ghost becomes her sounding board and confidant. "In calligraphy, as in life, we do not retouch strokes, we must accept that what is done is done." "Lightning splits the sky into pieces and I think, this is what I look like inside, not a whole, but a many, separated by something I cannot control...could I ever be whole...ever call myself unified?" First Daiyu, then Feng, followed by Peony, and now Jacob Li working in the Old West in the mining town of Pierce, Idaho.
"Four Treasures of the Sky" by debut author Jenny Tinghi Zhang is a powerful, eye-opening work of historical fiction which highlights a little known chapter in American history. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 created a ten year moratorium on Chinese labor immigration. A historical signpost on a road in Idaho denoting a vigilante hanging was the inspiration for this magnificent novel. Kudos to Zhang for a well researched, haunting, emotionally filled read with overtones of magical realism and Chinese folklore. Highly recommended.
Thank you Flatiron Books and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
August 7, 2022
I don’t know why I still get shocked by the lack of humanity humans show over the past, the present, No doubt the future.
Daiyu, 11, has been abandoned. Her parents taken. Her grandmother sends her to city of Zhifu, China in order to be “safe”.
The story begins in China in 1882.
Safety is found in a calligraphy school. Where she learns by listening outside classroom windows. But when she ventures into the market, it is here where she is kidnapped and sent to america to work in a brothel. She escapes but racism and discrimination by the white man follow her and the Chinese population across the west.
The writing is beautiful. The character is amazingly strong & resilient. How she employs ways of separating herself in order to survive. Living as a male to keep her safe. Living the truth through calligraphy.
Another shameful history quietly hidden. Chinese exclusion act?! Wtf. History has a way of repeating itself in different forms but with the same horrid results. Discrimination still exists- louder in some countries/cities/towns than others but it unfortunately still rears its ugly face.
5⭐️
Daiyu, 11, has been abandoned. Her parents taken. Her grandmother sends her to city of Zhifu, China in order to be “safe”.
The story begins in China in 1882.
Safety is found in a calligraphy school. Where she learns by listening outside classroom windows. But when she ventures into the market, it is here where she is kidnapped and sent to america to work in a brothel. She escapes but racism and discrimination by the white man follow her and the Chinese population across the west.
The writing is beautiful. The character is amazingly strong & resilient. How she employs ways of separating herself in order to survive. Living as a male to keep her safe. Living the truth through calligraphy.
Another shameful history quietly hidden. Chinese exclusion act?! Wtf. History has a way of repeating itself in different forms but with the same horrid results. Discrimination still exists- louder in some countries/cities/towns than others but it unfortunately still rears its ugly face.
5⭐️
April 20, 2022
4.5⭐️
“My life was written for me from the moment the name was given to me. Or it was not. That is the true beauty. That is the intent. We can practice all we want, telling and retelling the same story, but the story that comes out of your mouth, from your brush, is one that only you can tell. So let it be. Let your story be yours, and my story be mine.”
Daiyu always resented being named after a tragic heroine of Chinese literature (Lin Daiyu from Cao Xueqin's classic 18th-century Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber), fearing that it would be ominous. Born to a family of tapestry merchants, her happy childhood is interrupted when at the age of twelve her parents suddenly disappear. Fearing for her grandchild's life, her grandmother dresses Daiyu as a boy and sends her to the port city of Zhifu. Once there, she, now calling herself “Feng”, is given shelter and work at the calligraphy school run by Master Wang. She develops an interest in the art of calligraphy and learns as much as she can eavesdropping while he instructs his students. The Master acknowledges her potential and here she learns about the Four Treasures of the Study, the principles of which have a deep impact on her and as the story progresses we see how Daiyu draws strength from what she had learned even in the darkest moments of her life. At the age of thirteen, she is kidnapped and trafficked to San Francisco (smuggled across the ocean in a barrel of coal) and sold to a brothel. As “Peony” she witnesses firsthand the violence and sexual brutality young girls like her are subject to and vows to find a way to return home. She manages to escape the brothel with the help of a kind patron who also gets her identification papers as “Jacob Li” but eventually betrays her. She moves on and ultimately finds herself in the employ of kind Chinese shopkeepers in the town of Pierce,Idaho. She intends to save enough from her earnings to buy herself a passage home. But the surge in anti-Asian sentiment fueled by the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 triggers a series of events that changes her destiny irrevocably.
“Daiyu to Feng to Peony to Jacob Li. When will I be me again? And if I become me again, will I know who she is?"
Jenny Tinghui Zhang’s debut novel Four Treasures of the Sky is a tragic and heartbreaking story that combines historical fact, fiction, Chinese folklore and magical realism. The prose is beautiful and the characters memorable. Despite its slow start, the novel is evenly paced and at no point did I lose interest in Daiyu’s story. The episodes of brutality Daiyu witnessed and experienced in the course of her jouney are difficult to read. The author’s narrative tone in some parts might be interpreted by some as stilted or detached but I thought that the occasional factual, clipped tone of the narrative suited the story that was being told. I loved the segments on Chinese calligraphy and the description and symbolism of the different Chinese characters which are shared in the text. The author does a brilliant job in depicting Daiyu’s emotional growth through the years - from a trafficked child of thirteen in 1883 to a young girl who while admitting that she is safer dressed as a man also struggles with her feelings about Nelson, the young violin teacher she meets in Pierce. Daiyu’s interactions with the spirit of her fictional namesake Lin Daiyu that act as her inner voice and conscience throughout her journey, are depicted with much feeling and emotion as are Daiyu’s memories of Master Wang’s teachings and how she applies those principles in her life. The author also sheds a light on the xenophobia, racially-motivated violence and vigilantism that Chinese immigrants had to endure post the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 . The Page Act of 1875, which preceded the Chinese Exclusion Act and prohibited the entry of Chinese women into the United States is also mentioned. The author was inspired by true events, which she discusses in detail in her notes at the end of the book. Extremely well-researched and beautifully penned, this is a brilliant debut and I will be looking out for more of this author’s work in the future.
“A line can only be called strong when it has the conviction to stay on paper. Strong lines are important, but how does one make a strong line with a soft brush? Answer: resilience. A resilient brush is one that, after depositing ink on paper, can spring back up in preparation for the next stroke. But resilience is not achieved by pressing harder. No, the artist must master the art of releasing the brush, giving it the space and freedom to find itself again. Resilience is simple, really. Know when to push and when to let go.”
“My life was written for me from the moment the name was given to me. Or it was not. That is the true beauty. That is the intent. We can practice all we want, telling and retelling the same story, but the story that comes out of your mouth, from your brush, is one that only you can tell. So let it be. Let your story be yours, and my story be mine.”
Daiyu always resented being named after a tragic heroine of Chinese literature (Lin Daiyu from Cao Xueqin's classic 18th-century Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber), fearing that it would be ominous. Born to a family of tapestry merchants, her happy childhood is interrupted when at the age of twelve her parents suddenly disappear. Fearing for her grandchild's life, her grandmother dresses Daiyu as a boy and sends her to the port city of Zhifu. Once there, she, now calling herself “Feng”, is given shelter and work at the calligraphy school run by Master Wang. She develops an interest in the art of calligraphy and learns as much as she can eavesdropping while he instructs his students. The Master acknowledges her potential and here she learns about the Four Treasures of the Study, the principles of which have a deep impact on her and as the story progresses we see how Daiyu draws strength from what she had learned even in the darkest moments of her life. At the age of thirteen, she is kidnapped and trafficked to San Francisco (smuggled across the ocean in a barrel of coal) and sold to a brothel. As “Peony” she witnesses firsthand the violence and sexual brutality young girls like her are subject to and vows to find a way to return home. She manages to escape the brothel with the help of a kind patron who also gets her identification papers as “Jacob Li” but eventually betrays her. She moves on and ultimately finds herself in the employ of kind Chinese shopkeepers in the town of Pierce,Idaho. She intends to save enough from her earnings to buy herself a passage home. But the surge in anti-Asian sentiment fueled by the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 triggers a series of events that changes her destiny irrevocably.
“Daiyu to Feng to Peony to Jacob Li. When will I be me again? And if I become me again, will I know who she is?"
Jenny Tinghui Zhang’s debut novel Four Treasures of the Sky is a tragic and heartbreaking story that combines historical fact, fiction, Chinese folklore and magical realism. The prose is beautiful and the characters memorable. Despite its slow start, the novel is evenly paced and at no point did I lose interest in Daiyu’s story. The episodes of brutality Daiyu witnessed and experienced in the course of her jouney are difficult to read. The author’s narrative tone in some parts might be interpreted by some as stilted or detached but I thought that the occasional factual, clipped tone of the narrative suited the story that was being told. I loved the segments on Chinese calligraphy and the description and symbolism of the different Chinese characters which are shared in the text. The author does a brilliant job in depicting Daiyu’s emotional growth through the years - from a trafficked child of thirteen in 1883 to a young girl who while admitting that she is safer dressed as a man also struggles with her feelings about Nelson, the young violin teacher she meets in Pierce. Daiyu’s interactions with the spirit of her fictional namesake Lin Daiyu that act as her inner voice and conscience throughout her journey, are depicted with much feeling and emotion as are Daiyu’s memories of Master Wang’s teachings and how she applies those principles in her life. The author also sheds a light on the xenophobia, racially-motivated violence and vigilantism that Chinese immigrants had to endure post the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 . The Page Act of 1875, which preceded the Chinese Exclusion Act and prohibited the entry of Chinese women into the United States is also mentioned. The author was inspired by true events, which she discusses in detail in her notes at the end of the book. Extremely well-researched and beautifully penned, this is a brilliant debut and I will be looking out for more of this author’s work in the future.
“A line can only be called strong when it has the conviction to stay on paper. Strong lines are important, but how does one make a strong line with a soft brush? Answer: resilience. A resilient brush is one that, after depositing ink on paper, can spring back up in preparation for the next stroke. But resilience is not achieved by pressing harder. No, the artist must master the art of releasing the brush, giving it the space and freedom to find itself again. Resilience is simple, really. Know when to push and when to let go.”
May 9, 2022
Audiobook…read by Jenny Tinghui, and Katharine Chin
…..12 hours and 18 minutes (absolutely terrific narration)
NO SPOILERS….
[no book could be easier to write spoilers than this one]…..
It’s sooo tempting, but I promise I won’t.
It’s a book I’d love to discuss with others. Outstanding debut!
The beginning was an ‘audiobook- ‘BANG’…..’BAM’…..’BAM’…..
I couldn’t have gotten pulled into the ‘tragedy-happenings’ any faster if I had tried.
The storytelling stayed this way > non-stop gripping-addicting listening-tragedies-mixed with suspense-hope for almost the first half of the entire book…
I’m telling you —it’s GOOD….tragic as hell — but GOOD….
It’s the type of storytelling that readers devour with all our senses.
The prose is gorgeous….highly imagined….with an aura of wisdom and spiritually that’s not jammed down our throats — but is sincerely moving.
It was easy to appreciate certain nuances about the tales and symbolism from calligraphy….and horrific to reflect on the tragedies of the realities.
It’s not until the second half — where I felt the bigger purpose for this novel…
Fact is….history teaches….
……Americans have been brutally nasty to people from China, but rather than textbook telling …
Jenny Tinghui Zhang wrote an intimate story following Lin Daiyu…..(with a *superb* supporting cast of characters), as she comes of age under devastating circumstances.
….an abandoned girl, disguised as a boy….as a man…horrors, hope, love, kidnapped, treated cruel, empowering family memories, (that helped to draw strength), at times starving — unbearable hunger….a few openings to greater days of possibilities—only to have life poison a young girls dreams….
forced to do hard labor work, forced to learn English, forced into sexual coercion > all these really awful things….
but the beauty, bravery, and storytelling prose is truly magnificent.
Jenny Tinghui Zhang, did an outstanding job delivering this heart wrenching emotional - very personal historical novel.
The authors notes are interesting. Jenny shared about the research she did, (Covid hit during parts of it), and her relationship between her parents — and how her own Dad had a great influence on in relation to writing this book.
Just a wonderful complete package novel-experience.
…..12 hours and 18 minutes (absolutely terrific narration)
NO SPOILERS….
[no book could be easier to write spoilers than this one]…..
It’s sooo tempting, but I promise I won’t.
It’s a book I’d love to discuss with others. Outstanding debut!
The beginning was an ‘audiobook- ‘BANG’…..’BAM’…..’BAM’…..
I couldn’t have gotten pulled into the ‘tragedy-happenings’ any faster if I had tried.
The storytelling stayed this way > non-stop gripping-addicting listening-tragedies-mixed with suspense-hope for almost the first half of the entire book…
I’m telling you —it’s GOOD….tragic as hell — but GOOD….
It’s the type of storytelling that readers devour with all our senses.
The prose is gorgeous….highly imagined….with an aura of wisdom and spiritually that’s not jammed down our throats — but is sincerely moving.
It was easy to appreciate certain nuances about the tales and symbolism from calligraphy….and horrific to reflect on the tragedies of the realities.
It’s not until the second half — where I felt the bigger purpose for this novel…
Fact is….history teaches….
……Americans have been brutally nasty to people from China, but rather than textbook telling …
Jenny Tinghui Zhang wrote an intimate story following Lin Daiyu…..(with a *superb* supporting cast of characters), as she comes of age under devastating circumstances.
….an abandoned girl, disguised as a boy….as a man…horrors, hope, love, kidnapped, treated cruel, empowering family memories, (that helped to draw strength), at times starving — unbearable hunger….a few openings to greater days of possibilities—only to have life poison a young girls dreams….
forced to do hard labor work, forced to learn English, forced into sexual coercion > all these really awful things….
but the beauty, bravery, and storytelling prose is truly magnificent.
Jenny Tinghui Zhang, did an outstanding job delivering this heart wrenching emotional - very personal historical novel.
The authors notes are interesting. Jenny shared about the research she did, (Covid hit during parts of it), and her relationship between her parents — and how her own Dad had a great influence on in relation to writing this book.
Just a wonderful complete package novel-experience.
July 12, 2021
Thank you to Flatiron and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
First off, as a reader of Chinese descent, I am so happy to support an author of Chinese descent. The best historical fiction novels uncover a forgotten part of history, and this book definitely did that for me. Although I had previously learned about the Chinese Exclusion Act and the influx of Chinese immigration to America during that time, I had mistakenly believed that laws at the time prevented Chinese women from leaving China. I had not known about the plight of girls and women who were kidnapped and sent to America to work in brothels. Thank you to the author for teaching me about this neglected part of history!
Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang is a brutal and unflinching historical fiction novel about a 13 year-old girl who is kidnapped from China and sent to America with other Chinese girls to work in a brothel. Eventually, she escapes and disguises herself as a boy so that she won't get preyed on by perverts on the street. She finds work and makes friends and allies, but she must also deal with growing discrimination and racism against Chinese immigrants that resulted in many instances of violence and death. The story definitely doesn't shy away from violence and sensitive topics, including sexual assault, so if you are triggered and/or would prefer not to read about these topics, you should take that into consideration.
Here is an excerpt from the beginning of Chapter 1:
"When I am kidnapped, it does not happen in an alleyway. It does not happen in the middle of the night. It does not happen when I am alone.
When I am kidnapped, I am thirteen and standing in the middle of the Zhifu fish market on Beach Road, watching a fleshy woman assemble white fish the shape of spades into a pile. The woman squats, her knees in her armpits, rearranging the fish so the best ones rise to the top.
...
The whole place smells wet and raw.
Someone yells about red snapper. Fresh, they say. Straight from the Gulf of Pechili. Another voice tumbles over that one, louder, brighter. Real shark fin! Boost sexual potency, make skin better, increase energy for your little emperor!""
Overall, Four Treasures of the Sky is a well-researched historical fiction novel that also added elements of Chinese myths, specifically in the form of a deity that shared Daiyu's name who talks to her sometimes. There is a lot to admire here, particularly the meticulous research that the author conducted in order to write accurately about the experiences of a Chinese girl in America during this time. Unfortunately, reading this book was not an enjoyable experience. I had to take off 2 stars because of the unrelenting violence and threats of rape that the main character experiences. Imagine if the Mulan movie, which had similar cross-dressing themes, ended with Mulan defeated by the Huns, never able to see her family again, and no happily ever after romance with Shang. Even if it was a historically dark and depressing time, I want to be able to feel hope or at least some happiness while reading a novel. Nevertheless, if you are intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you enjoy reading historical fiction, you can check out this book when it comes out in April 2022.
First off, as a reader of Chinese descent, I am so happy to support an author of Chinese descent. The best historical fiction novels uncover a forgotten part of history, and this book definitely did that for me. Although I had previously learned about the Chinese Exclusion Act and the influx of Chinese immigration to America during that time, I had mistakenly believed that laws at the time prevented Chinese women from leaving China. I had not known about the plight of girls and women who were kidnapped and sent to America to work in brothels. Thank you to the author for teaching me about this neglected part of history!
Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang is a brutal and unflinching historical fiction novel about a 13 year-old girl who is kidnapped from China and sent to America with other Chinese girls to work in a brothel. Eventually, she escapes and disguises herself as a boy so that she won't get preyed on by perverts on the street. She finds work and makes friends and allies, but she must also deal with growing discrimination and racism against Chinese immigrants that resulted in many instances of violence and death. The story definitely doesn't shy away from violence and sensitive topics, including sexual assault, so if you are triggered and/or would prefer not to read about these topics, you should take that into consideration.
Here is an excerpt from the beginning of Chapter 1:
"When I am kidnapped, it does not happen in an alleyway. It does not happen in the middle of the night. It does not happen when I am alone.
When I am kidnapped, I am thirteen and standing in the middle of the Zhifu fish market on Beach Road, watching a fleshy woman assemble white fish the shape of spades into a pile. The woman squats, her knees in her armpits, rearranging the fish so the best ones rise to the top.
...
The whole place smells wet and raw.
Someone yells about red snapper. Fresh, they say. Straight from the Gulf of Pechili. Another voice tumbles over that one, louder, brighter. Real shark fin! Boost sexual potency, make skin better, increase energy for your little emperor!""
Overall, Four Treasures of the Sky is a well-researched historical fiction novel that also added elements of Chinese myths, specifically in the form of a deity that shared Daiyu's name who talks to her sometimes. There is a lot to admire here, particularly the meticulous research that the author conducted in order to write accurately about the experiences of a Chinese girl in America during this time. Unfortunately, reading this book was not an enjoyable experience. I had to take off 2 stars because of the unrelenting violence and threats of rape that the main character experiences. Imagine if the Mulan movie, which had similar cross-dressing themes, ended with Mulan defeated by the Huns, never able to see her family again, and no happily ever after romance with Shang. Even if it was a historically dark and depressing time, I want to be able to feel hope or at least some happiness while reading a novel. Nevertheless, if you are intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you enjoy reading historical fiction, you can check out this book when it comes out in April 2022.
April 7, 2023
four treasures of the sky is brutal but also incredibly lyrical. rare is a book that is honest about the dark reality of chinese people's fate in america in the 19th century but still retains such beauty. this is written art ans jenny tinghui zhang definitely proved herself as a capable writer and storyteller.
*4.5/5
*4.5/5
September 5, 2022
[4+] I was enthralled with "Four Treasures of the Sky" from the opening pages to the epilogue. Superbly and imaginatively written, the narrative follows a young Chinese woman in the late 1800s who is kidnapped and brought to the US. The perils of surviving as a Chinese woman in the US, are heartbreakingly brought to life - particularly the impact of anti-Chinese sentiment after the Chinese Exclusion Act.
April 16, 2022
At the end of this novel, is a very informative and interesting author’s note about how the story is based on a real life unexplained event. I wish that this author’s note was at the beginning of the story instead of the end, so I could better prepare myself for what is to come, which is a story of emotional devastation caused by the real life actions of our own history as Americans.
The novel follows Daiyu, whos difficult life in China becomes an even more difficult life in America when she is kidnapped off the streets and forced to immigrate into the sex trade.
The novel has an amazing beauty which perfectly mixes hope and tragedy throughout the story. While the story could almost feel exploitative in lesser hands, Zhang’s writing never makes it feel that way. It always felt like a real life story that happened and needed to be told.
The magical realism interspersed within the story is often something that I am not a huge fan of but felt like it worked here completely. Daiyu has asides talking to the ‘ghost’ of her namesake. It was a great narrative way to express the trauma and loneliness she herself is facing.
Daiyu is a wonderful and beautiful character who throughout her journey never really loses her sense of hope and wonder or her ability to love and be kind even when faced with the worst of people. She represents the best of youth and character and you want the absolute best for her. The side characters involved are written richly and create a great sense of a real community which is facing such deep opposition to their very existence.
This book is obviously filled with tons of deeper and darker subjects. I knew very little about the Chinese Exclusion Acts. I remember learning that people from China immigrated to build railroads and then…that’s it. That’s as far as it went for schooling. This story focuses on the exploitation, racism, and segregation that the Chinese community faced after traveling all this way to a supposed land of hope. Daiyu is also dragged into the sex trade and this form of abuse is focused on in the beginning half of the book.
It's a dark and tragic story but it is absolutely beautiful while telling it. I would recommend reading this with a few tissues handy. This is also a debut novel which is AMAZING. I will definitely be looking out for this author in the future.
Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for a copy of this audiobook. It was narrated by Katherine Chin who did an absolutely wonderful job.
The novel follows Daiyu, whos difficult life in China becomes an even more difficult life in America when she is kidnapped off the streets and forced to immigrate into the sex trade.
The novel has an amazing beauty which perfectly mixes hope and tragedy throughout the story. While the story could almost feel exploitative in lesser hands, Zhang’s writing never makes it feel that way. It always felt like a real life story that happened and needed to be told.
The magical realism interspersed within the story is often something that I am not a huge fan of but felt like it worked here completely. Daiyu has asides talking to the ‘ghost’ of her namesake. It was a great narrative way to express the trauma and loneliness she herself is facing.
Daiyu is a wonderful and beautiful character who throughout her journey never really loses her sense of hope and wonder or her ability to love and be kind even when faced with the worst of people. She represents the best of youth and character and you want the absolute best for her. The side characters involved are written richly and create a great sense of a real community which is facing such deep opposition to their very existence.
This book is obviously filled with tons of deeper and darker subjects. I knew very little about the Chinese Exclusion Acts. I remember learning that people from China immigrated to build railroads and then…that’s it. That’s as far as it went for schooling. This story focuses on the exploitation, racism, and segregation that the Chinese community faced after traveling all this way to a supposed land of hope. Daiyu is also dragged into the sex trade and this form of abuse is focused on in the beginning half of the book.
It's a dark and tragic story but it is absolutely beautiful while telling it. I would recommend reading this with a few tissues handy. This is also a debut novel which is AMAZING. I will definitely be looking out for this author in the future.
Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for a copy of this audiobook. It was narrated by Katherine Chin who did an absolutely wonderful job.
January 24, 2023
11/10💔
повний відгук буде в інстаграмі @booklow3, тут скажу коротко - дивовижно, боляче, too much heartbreaking..
хоч і з розбитим, просто розтрощеним серцем, але я залишилась в захваті від книжки
раджу цю історію всім і кожному, вона варта вашої уваги безумовно
мене переповнює біль за Дайю, за її друзів та родину, за усіх китайців в Америці в ХІХ столітті загалом, це невимовна жорстокість, несправедливість і біль, суцільний біль
це все просто невкладається в голові, не вкладається в голові, що це не видумка, а реальність
що історія Дайю не одна єдина в тому світі, їх сотні та тисячі
сподіваюсь, що колись, усі расисти вимруть
тварюкам немає місця серед Людей.
повний відгук буде в інстаграмі @booklow3, тут скажу коротко - дивовижно, боляче, too much heartbreaking..
хоч і з розбитим, просто розтрощеним серцем, але я залишилась в захваті від книжки
раджу цю історію всім і кожному, вона варта вашої уваги безумовно
мене переповнює біль за Дайю, за її друзів та родину, за усіх китайців в Америці в ХІХ столітті загалом, це невимовна жорстокість, несправедливість і біль, суцільний біль
це все просто невкладається в голові, не вкладається в голові, що це не видумка, а реальність
що історія Дайю не одна єдина в тому світі, їх сотні та тисячі
сподіваюсь, що колись, усі расисти вимруть
тварюкам немає місця серед Людей.
April 14, 2022
Rounding up to 5 ⭐️
Audiobook Review
I don’t think I’ve ever read a book like this before. My reason for picking it up was to learn more about the Chinese Exclusion Act, but what kept me reading was this layered story that tugged at my heart start to finish! I loved the poetic writing! I think what kept me from giving it a perfect 5 stars is that this book was set in the late 1800’s but it felt too modern at times. I don’t know if that makes sense. It just felt like too modern and not so “old fashioned.” I loved the authors note at the end, I think that was what really helped around out my review! So many incidences that happened in the story were true, which made it even more heartbreaking. The audio was really well done.
Audiobook Review
I don’t think I’ve ever read a book like this before. My reason for picking it up was to learn more about the Chinese Exclusion Act, but what kept me reading was this layered story that tugged at my heart start to finish! I loved the poetic writing! I think what kept me from giving it a perfect 5 stars is that this book was set in the late 1800’s but it felt too modern at times. I don’t know if that makes sense. It just felt like too modern and not so “old fashioned.” I loved the authors note at the end, I think that was what really helped around out my review! So many incidences that happened in the story were true, which made it even more heartbreaking. The audio was really well done.
April 25, 2022
I was so torn about what to rate this book, but my visceral reaction after finishing was that I hated it so I’m going with 2 stars.
The writing itself doesn’t deserve 2 stars. It’s beautifully written. I really cared for Daiyu and I loved the reoccurring spirit of her namesake that visits her.
However, it’s brutal to read a story that is so devoid of any joy or hope. The time period is dark with so much anti-Chinese racism and violence in the West. That’s where the fiction of historical fiction comes in though. I need a little kernel of hope to hold onto somewhere or it’s just torture as a reader.
Also, it really bugged me in the end that no one discovered Daiyu was a girl and not Jacob. How did she share a jail cell with 4 men for days using a bucket toilet and no one figured it out?!
The writing itself doesn’t deserve 2 stars. It’s beautifully written. I really cared for Daiyu and I loved the reoccurring spirit of her namesake that visits her.
However, it’s brutal to read a story that is so devoid of any joy or hope. The time period is dark with so much anti-Chinese racism and violence in the West. That’s where the fiction of historical fiction comes in though. I need a little kernel of hope to hold onto somewhere or it’s just torture as a reader.
Also, it really bugged me in the end that no one discovered Daiyu was a girl and not Jacob. How did she share a jail cell with 4 men for days using a bucket toilet and no one figured it out?!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 30, 2022
Based on true events, this novel examines the life of a young girl kidnapped from a Chinese fishing village and sold into prostitution in 19th-century San Francisco. To say it's an unpleasant story is an understatement. There is not much joy or hope to be found here, but it's beautifully written and compelling.
May 23, 2023
This is a really difficult book to read. And review. It was beautifully written, meticulously researched, lyrical and powerful. It is also brutal, devoid of joy, and a sad reminder of man’s inhumanity to man. I feel as though I have had the breath knocked out of me-which is exactly how we should feel when racism comes to call.
April 5, 2022
Happy release day!
Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced audio copy of Four Treasures of the Sky. This title drops on April 5th and if you enjoy historical fiction and a lens thrown on rarely-spotlighted history, it is for you.
This is a book that hits hard in the emotions and doesn’t stop hitting. It holds up a mirror to the average white American and says “did your history class cover this?” and no, my classes certainly did not. This book hurt to read, but it hurts more to know that mainstream American education just omits so much of our worst doings. It is relentlessly grim, readers should know, but I don’t think that’s a reason to knock significant stars off your review, as I’ve seen others do.
Lin Daiyu is a girl named after a tragic romance heroine in perhaps a significant foreshadowing of Daiyu’s own fate. When she is suddenly left to fend for herself, without family or connections, she dresses as a boy and makes her way to a calligraphy school to find shelter and a living. There her worldview and frame of reference are shaped by the eloquent lessons calligraphy teach her. The different radicals that go into a Chinese character, every stroke coalescing into a beautiful little almost-poem, inform Daiyu’s narration as she struggles to make sense of the cruel world around her. I enjoyed how much calligraphy would come up later, how it is a consistent line through the plot.
I listened to the audio format as mentioned, and Katharine Chin is a beautiful narrator. She does justice to the Chinese in the book while making the story more than the sum of its parts, the trademark of whether or not a book serves well as an audiobook for me. You feel painful passages, you’re touched at the inspiring ones. I ended the book crying at work, so, good job to Katharine.
The book is realistic and gritty, following Lin Daiyu through being trafficked to the United States, forced to work in a brothel, and her subsequent escape and struggle to survive, to try to make it back to China. Her personal struggles are shadowed by sexual violence and the ongoing threat of sexual assault for much of the book, as well as the specter of the Chinese exclusion act and increasing anti-Chinese sentiment and violence. The book feels so eerily timely to publish when and where we are now in America. History often feels like a wheel, and the worst kind of wheel.
I will say that enjoyment of a book should play into a rating, not just the craft, research and content. For that I will mark this overall four stars, because it is very sad, and there is minimal emotional payoff for any optimistic readers. But it is also inspiring and educational, the research and emotional investment I was coerced into are very effective and the book deserves high marks. The author’s note is well worth listening to or reading, by the way.
Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced audio copy of Four Treasures of the Sky. This title drops on April 5th and if you enjoy historical fiction and a lens thrown on rarely-spotlighted history, it is for you.
This is a book that hits hard in the emotions and doesn’t stop hitting. It holds up a mirror to the average white American and says “did your history class cover this?” and no, my classes certainly did not. This book hurt to read, but it hurts more to know that mainstream American education just omits so much of our worst doings. It is relentlessly grim, readers should know, but I don’t think that’s a reason to knock significant stars off your review, as I’ve seen others do.
Lin Daiyu is a girl named after a tragic romance heroine in perhaps a significant foreshadowing of Daiyu’s own fate. When she is suddenly left to fend for herself, without family or connections, she dresses as a boy and makes her way to a calligraphy school to find shelter and a living. There her worldview and frame of reference are shaped by the eloquent lessons calligraphy teach her. The different radicals that go into a Chinese character, every stroke coalescing into a beautiful little almost-poem, inform Daiyu’s narration as she struggles to make sense of the cruel world around her. I enjoyed how much calligraphy would come up later, how it is a consistent line through the plot.
I listened to the audio format as mentioned, and Katharine Chin is a beautiful narrator. She does justice to the Chinese in the book while making the story more than the sum of its parts, the trademark of whether or not a book serves well as an audiobook for me. You feel painful passages, you’re touched at the inspiring ones. I ended the book crying at work, so, good job to Katharine.
The book is realistic and gritty, following Lin Daiyu through being trafficked to the United States, forced to work in a brothel, and her subsequent escape and struggle to survive, to try to make it back to China. Her personal struggles are shadowed by sexual violence and the ongoing threat of sexual assault for much of the book, as well as the specter of the Chinese exclusion act and increasing anti-Chinese sentiment and violence. The book feels so eerily timely to publish when and where we are now in America. History often feels like a wheel, and the worst kind of wheel.
I will say that enjoyment of a book should play into a rating, not just the craft, research and content. For that I will mark this overall four stars, because it is very sad, and there is minimal emotional payoff for any optimistic readers. But it is also inspiring and educational, the research and emotional investment I was coerced into are very effective and the book deserves high marks. The author’s note is well worth listening to or reading, by the way.
November 1, 2021
4.5 stars rounded up. This book broke my heart, and took my breath away. I finished this last week after spending 2 nights of marathon reading. I needed to wait a while before reviewing. Incredibly good writing which kept me so interested, I barely slept for the 2-3 days it took me to finish it. I'm not going to explain the story, as so many other reviewers do, you can read the description given by Goodreads. What I am going to do is say that this book is a must-read. I'd like to thank Flatiron Books for my ARC that I won in a Goodreads giveaway.
March 12, 2023
«У каліграфії, як і в житті, мазків не виправляють. Треба змиритися: що зроблено, те зроблено».
Коли очікування виявились завищеними🙄
Після багатьох відгуків про те, що книга дуже болюча, дуже емоційна і взагалі часто її записували в свої топи я й чекала чогось такого і ще раз впевнилась, що не треба дивитись відгуки на те, що тільки збираєшся читати.
Історія Лін Дайю одна з сотень таких самих для того часу - юна дівчина лишається сиротою, її насильно вивозять в Америку, де продають в бордель. І, здавалось би, героїню може чекати лише одне майбутнє, але на її долю ще випаде поворотів та печалей.
Почну з того, що мені не зайшло - я не змогла прив’язатись до Дайю і тому конкретно про її відчуття читала доволі відсторонено. Чи жахливі речі з нею трапились? Так. Чи викликало це вир емоцій який мав би б��ти? Ні. Окрім фінальної сцени. Отам вийшло прям потужно і завдяки їй книга заслуговує високої оцінки.
Дуже сподобався історичний контекст. І як пише сама авторка в післямові - це і було її основною метою: розповісти людям про той період історії з точки зору китайських емігрантів і тут прям на 100% вдалось, бо хочеться піти на вікіпедію щоб дізнатись більше про тогочасні закони США і все інше.
Також підняті питання расизму та нетерпимості - добре прописана сліпа безпідставна ненависть до інших, ну просто тому що вони відрізняються.
Ще величезний плюс за моменти з описом каліграфії - це було дійсно поетично та пізнавально і додавало несподіваних відтінків історії.
Книга вартує уваги, хоча і не співпала з моїми очікуваннями.
Коли очікування виявились завищеними🙄
Після багатьох відгуків про те, що книга дуже болюча, дуже емоційна і взагалі часто її записували в свої топи я й чекала чогось такого і ще раз впевнилась, що не треба дивитись відгуки на те, що тільки збираєшся читати.
Історія Лін Дайю одна з сотень таких самих для того часу - юна дівчина лишається сиротою, її насильно вивозять в Америку, де продають в бордель. І, здавалось би, героїню може чекати лише одне майбутнє, але на її долю ще випаде поворотів та печалей.
Почну з того, що мені не зайшло - я не змогла прив’язатись до Дайю і тому конкретно про її відчуття читала доволі відсторонено. Чи жахливі речі з нею трапились? Так. Чи викликало це вир емоцій який мав би б��ти? Ні. Окрім фінальної сцени. Отам вийшло прям потужно і завдяки їй книга заслуговує високої оцінки.
Дуже сподобався історичний контекст. І як пише сама авторка в післямові - це і було її основною метою: розповісти людям про той період історії з точки зору китайських емігрантів і тут прям на 100% вдалось, бо хочеться піти на вікіпедію щоб дізнатись більше про тогочасні закони США і все інше.
Також підняті питання расизму та нетерпимості - добре прописана сліпа безпідставна ненависть до інших, ну просто тому що вони відрізняються.
Ще величезний плюс за моменти з описом каліграфії - це було дійсно поетично та пізнавально і додавало несподіваних відтінків історії.
Книга вартує уваги, хоча і не співпала з моїми очікуваннями.
May 12, 2023
At the start I was uncertain how I was going to feel about this book, but I’m glad I kept with it because it truly swept me away
Set in the late 1800s this book follows a young girl who is kidnapped from China and smuggled to America where she is forced to adopts many different personas as a way to survive. All of which is happening during a time when the Chinese Exclusion Act was in place restricting immigration from China to the United States.
This story not only brings to light many parts of American history that is often left out of history books, but it also demonstrates that discrimination and prejudice against Asian American individuals is not just something that begin in current time - It is rooted in the very foundation of this country’s history
From the lyrical fairytale like writing to the historically accurate past treatment of Asian, and in this case, Chinese Americans during an unforgivable time in US history, this is a book everyone should read.
Four Treasures of the sky gives a voice to those whose story has been taken away- rewritten and revised. Even deeper it illustrates that the past is destined to be repeated when left buried and hidden away.
Although heartbreaking, I really enjoyed this book!
CW/TW: rape, sexual assault, racism, xenophobia, trafficking, racial slurs, murder, death, torture, confinement
Set in the late 1800s this book follows a young girl who is kidnapped from China and smuggled to America where she is forced to adopts many different personas as a way to survive. All of which is happening during a time when the Chinese Exclusion Act was in place restricting immigration from China to the United States.
This story not only brings to light many parts of American history that is often left out of history books, but it also demonstrates that discrimination and prejudice against Asian American individuals is not just something that begin in current time - It is rooted in the very foundation of this country’s history
From the lyrical fairytale like writing to the historically accurate past treatment of Asian, and in this case, Chinese Americans during an unforgivable time in US history, this is a book everyone should read.
Four Treasures of the sky gives a voice to those whose story has been taken away- rewritten and revised. Even deeper it illustrates that the past is destined to be repeated when left buried and hidden away.
Although heartbreaking, I really enjoyed this book!
CW/TW: rape, sexual assault, racism, xenophobia, trafficking, racial slurs, murder, death, torture, confinement
October 24, 2022
interesting novel of Chinese immigrants in the mid west of 1880's based on a true story and how racism rears its ugly head in anti chinese feelings and the backdrop of the anti chinese legalisation
May 11, 2022
It’s often interesting to see what motivated an author to craft a particular story. Especially when the push to create something powerful comes from empathy for the powerless. Like Sabaa Tahir who says her own experience of growing up as a kid who didn’t fit in and then reading about various stories of some absolutely voiceless people when she worked as a copy editor for Washington Post’s international desk, inspired her to finally write An Ember in the Ashes. So it’s no surprise to find —through the book’s author note— that Jenny Tinghui Zhang’s Four Treasures of the Sky came into existence after her father requested her to write a story based on what he had come across: a marker, while visiting a site in Idaho, referencing to an incident of 1885 when five Chinese people were hanged by vigilantes.
The raw intention that must have fuelled Zhang when first drafting this novel is evident from a plot that doesn’t hold back on what can happen —must have happened and is still happening— to those who are destined to or want their stories to span two continents, two directions: the East and the West. It’s a historical fiction that draws on the infamous Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 that was founded on anti-Asian sentiments in America. But there’s a sense of urgency in this fiction that reads real and the historical context that unfortunately holds true even in present times.
“When I am kidnapped, it does not happen in an alleyway. It does not happen in the middle of the night. It does not happen when I am alone.” From the very first line, Zhang warns you that the story isn’t one you would expect, especially if you wish for it to abide by what you must have already read with respect to the plot’s events. Daiyu, a thirteen-year-old girl, was born in a Chinese village where she had a place and its people to call home: her grandmother taught her patience while learning to care for the living things in her garden; her mother taught her how to be good with hands while she made tapestries; and her smart father taught her to work with her mind. But this family also gave her the name of a tragic heroine. From the story of Dream of the Red Chamber, one of China’s four great classic novels, Lin Daiyu is a poet who fell in love with a boy above her in the pyramid of social hierarchy. When the boy’s family disapproves of the match and disguises another girl as their son’s one true love on his wedding day, Lin Daiyu falls terribly ill and dies.
Daiyu frequently wonders throughout the story if she would succumb to the misfortune of the character she is named after, and constantly tries to run away from the destiny attached to this name. Every adversity in her life is blamed on the fate her name holds. Like the first domino falling, her parents disappear and her grandmother warns her that the same people who captured her parents would come for her too —urging her to run away to the city.
The city teaches her she can’t be a girl anymore if she wishes to survive. So with a jacket and shaved head, she becomes Feng. Sweeping steps outside the calligraphy school, she discovers her interest in the art form and the father-like Master Wang teaches her how to write. Zhang’s research shines through these pages of momentary happiness in our protagonist’s life as a lyrical meditation on the language and its beautiful strokes can be witnessed. The idea of how one’s first language shapes them is unmissable.
Another domino subsequently falls when Daiyu is kidnapped at the fish market by a dangerous Chinese gang. A year locked in a dark room, forced to learn English, Daiyu traces Chinese characters with her fingers in hope for familiarity, home, and roots —recounting the significance of each stroke in a character. Shipped to America to be sold to a brothel, Daiyu’s destiny is once again indisputable and devastating. It is here that the ‘timely’ historical fiction interspersed with Chinese mythology makes space for magical realism when Daiyu’s namesake appears as a ghost. The spirit acts as a materialisation of what our heroine believed was only her, of what she believed was now only hers to suffer through: the cruel fate married to this name. The teenage Daiyu’s trauma finds a release in the times she summons the ghost.
The United States teaches Daiyu that here, she doesn’t need to disguise herself as a boy to be safe, because it is just as dangerous for Chinese men as it is for Chinese women. But that bit of her identity isn’t changeable; it can’t be taken off like a jacket. She realises the injustices are different on this other side of the world but aren’t any less brutal. Like the very many starts to Daiyu’s story— the author subtly begins a lot of sections with the phrase, “This is the story of…” —through the course of this journey, another blank page is drawn to start over when she escapes to Idaho. In this mining town, she creates a new life disguised as a man.
Four Treasures of the Sky isn’t easy to read but it’s easy to comprehend as one meant to be difficult. It explores the exploitation, fetishization, segregation, and blatant racism faced by the Chinese in a land they come to with hope or are dragged to with abuse. At the core of it all, this debut is dark and tragic. It’s not one you can escape through. It’s one your emotions will force you to hold on to as Zhang’s poetic prose unravels a story of reclamation—even though there’s no justice, no closure, no happiness at the end. Though, there is a reminder and an encouragement throughout.
The raw intention that must have fuelled Zhang when first drafting this novel is evident from a plot that doesn’t hold back on what can happen —must have happened and is still happening— to those who are destined to or want their stories to span two continents, two directions: the East and the West. It’s a historical fiction that draws on the infamous Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 that was founded on anti-Asian sentiments in America. But there’s a sense of urgency in this fiction that reads real and the historical context that unfortunately holds true even in present times.
Consider reading this review over on my blog.
“When I am kidnapped, it does not happen in an alleyway. It does not happen in the middle of the night. It does not happen when I am alone.” From the very first line, Zhang warns you that the story isn’t one you would expect, especially if you wish for it to abide by what you must have already read with respect to the plot’s events. Daiyu, a thirteen-year-old girl, was born in a Chinese village where she had a place and its people to call home: her grandmother taught her patience while learning to care for the living things in her garden; her mother taught her how to be good with hands while she made tapestries; and her smart father taught her to work with her mind. But this family also gave her the name of a tragic heroine. From the story of Dream of the Red Chamber, one of China’s four great classic novels, Lin Daiyu is a poet who fell in love with a boy above her in the pyramid of social hierarchy. When the boy’s family disapproves of the match and disguises another girl as their son’s one true love on his wedding day, Lin Daiyu falls terribly ill and dies.
Daiyu frequently wonders throughout the story if she would succumb to the misfortune of the character she is named after, and constantly tries to run away from the destiny attached to this name. Every adversity in her life is blamed on the fate her name holds. Like the first domino falling, her parents disappear and her grandmother warns her that the same people who captured her parents would come for her too —urging her to run away to the city.
The city teaches her she can’t be a girl anymore if she wishes to survive. So with a jacket and shaved head, she becomes Feng. Sweeping steps outside the calligraphy school, she discovers her interest in the art form and the father-like Master Wang teaches her how to write. Zhang’s research shines through these pages of momentary happiness in our protagonist’s life as a lyrical meditation on the language and its beautiful strokes can be witnessed. The idea of how one’s first language shapes them is unmissable.
Another domino subsequently falls when Daiyu is kidnapped at the fish market by a dangerous Chinese gang. A year locked in a dark room, forced to learn English, Daiyu traces Chinese characters with her fingers in hope for familiarity, home, and roots —recounting the significance of each stroke in a character. Shipped to America to be sold to a brothel, Daiyu’s destiny is once again indisputable and devastating. It is here that the ‘timely’ historical fiction interspersed with Chinese mythology makes space for magical realism when Daiyu’s namesake appears as a ghost. The spirit acts as a materialisation of what our heroine believed was only her, of what she believed was now only hers to suffer through: the cruel fate married to this name. The teenage Daiyu’s trauma finds a release in the times she summons the ghost.
The United States teaches Daiyu that here, she doesn’t need to disguise herself as a boy to be safe, because it is just as dangerous for Chinese men as it is for Chinese women. But that bit of her identity isn’t changeable; it can’t be taken off like a jacket. She realises the injustices are different on this other side of the world but aren’t any less brutal. Like the very many starts to Daiyu’s story— the author subtly begins a lot of sections with the phrase, “This is the story of…” —through the course of this journey, another blank page is drawn to start over when she escapes to Idaho. In this mining town, she creates a new life disguised as a man.
Four Treasures of the Sky isn’t easy to read but it’s easy to comprehend as one meant to be difficult. It explores the exploitation, fetishization, segregation, and blatant racism faced by the Chinese in a land they come to with hope or are dragged to with abuse. At the core of it all, this debut is dark and tragic. It’s not one you can escape through. It’s one your emotions will force you to hold on to as Zhang’s poetic prose unravels a story of reclamation—even though there’s no justice, no closure, no happiness at the end. Though, there is a reminder and an encouragement throughout.
Thank you, Flatiron Books, for the review copy!
May 16, 2022
So many aspects of it drew me to this historical novel, but mainly because rarely so I read books around the period of time of the Chinese Exclusion Act. This racist law gave way to the modern immigration laws we have today. With that background, the novel touches on kidnapping, sexual slavery, sexual assault, the loss of family, hiding identities, found family, and racism on all ends of the spectrum. But the characters fall flat in Four Treasures, and they are not great vehicles for conveying so many stories and emotions. The pacing wasn’t great, some parts would be so detailed only to be rushed at the end. I was left wanting more but also waiting for it to end. It was well written, but there was something lacking at the end.
January 23, 2023
Спонсор такої оцінки - завищені очікування. Це зробили зі мною реклама книги і численні захоплені відгуки в буктоці.
Це буде відгук-застереження: нічого не чекайте. Стиль сухуватий (втім, характерний для азійських письменників), сюжет простий і передбачуватий, усі другорядні герої картонні, історичний матеріал біднуватий (як на мій смак, не дотягує до історичного роману, лише декорації). Ідейних відкриттів та інсайтів не буде. Настрій роман вам не підійме.
Втім, він читається швидко, переклад непоганий, оформлення від "Лабораторії" (як завжди) чудове.
Не шкодую потраченого часу. Книга з бібліотеки уже помандрувала далі.
Це буде відгук-застереження: нічого не чекайте. Стиль сухуватий (втім, характерний для азійських письменників), сюжет простий і передбачуватий, усі другорядні герої картонні, історичний матеріал біднуватий (як на мій смак, не дотягує до історичного роману, лише декорації). Ідейних відкриттів та інсайтів не буде. Настрій роман вам не підійме.
Втім, він читається швидко, переклад непоганий, оформлення від "Лабораторії" (як завжди) чудове.
Не шкодую потраченого часу. Книга з бібліотеки уже помандрувала далі.
January 24, 2023
Beautiful, sad, heartbreaking and memorable😢
November 26, 2022
In the 1880s, protagonist Daiyu, a thirteen-year-old Chinese girl, is kidnapped and taken to San Francisco. She winds up first in a brothel and then in a mining town. She takes on different identities in order to survive. She starts out as an innocent, but soon learns of the evils in the world. She was named after a tragic character in a myth, and Daiyu “sees” the spirit of this character, which occasionally assists her in dealing with difficult times.
This book explores the idea of whether a person’s destiny is controlled by fate. It is set during a period time when anti-Asian sentiments were high. It features a real act, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which limited Chinese eligibility for immigration and naturalization. Daiyu must deal with the violence that accompanies bigotry.
There are some beautiful passages related to the art of calligraphy and Daiyu is a sympathetic character. However, there are a few events that require suspension of disbelief, and it occasionally feels a bit more contemporary than the time period. It is a tragic story. Daiyu deals with one horrible event after another. I wish I had known it was unrelentingly sad before reading it.
This book explores the idea of whether a person’s destiny is controlled by fate. It is set during a period time when anti-Asian sentiments were high. It features a real act, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which limited Chinese eligibility for immigration and naturalization. Daiyu must deal with the violence that accompanies bigotry.
There are some beautiful passages related to the art of calligraphy and Daiyu is a sympathetic character. However, there are a few events that require suspension of disbelief, and it occasionally feels a bit more contemporary than the time period. It is a tragic story. Daiyu deals with one horrible event after another. I wish I had known it was unrelentingly sad before reading it.
Read
May 14, 2022Content warnings:
This book is so haunting. It has a multitude of stories within the same story. It's the story of a Chinese girl who gets stolen from China and trafficked into the US to work at a brothel, it's a story of five Chinese men who get framed for the murder of a white man, and it's the untold story of so many Chinese people who lived in the US during and around the Chinese partition act (I highly recommend listening to the audiobook if you can, it has an interview with the author at the end that explains a lot of her influences).
It's also a story about identity, about the way our names haunt and defines us, a story about reclaiming your story and about how far we are willing to go for the sake of survival. This was a hard read, but a heartbreakingly beautiful one.
This book is so haunting. It has a multitude of stories within the same story. It's the story of a Chinese girl who gets stolen from China and trafficked into the US to work at a brothel, it's a story of five Chinese men who get framed for the murder of a white man, and it's the untold story of so many Chinese people who lived in the US during and around the Chinese partition act (I highly recommend listening to the audiobook if you can, it has an interview with the author at the end that explains a lot of her influences).
It's also a story about identity, about the way our names haunt and defines us, a story about reclaiming your story and about how far we are willing to go for the sake of survival. This was a hard read, but a heartbreakingly beautiful one.
July 23, 2022
This novel tells the story of a young, orphaned Chinese woman who is kidnapped and sent to the United States to work in a brothel. She escapes the brothel to find a better life in Idaho – but only for a little while. This novel (based on a true story) is so tragic it is really hard to read. After being kidnapped, the young woman is sent to the US hidden in a bucket of coal. She is then forced into prostitution. She hopes for a better life in Idaho, but, alas, that is not to be – Chinese were demeaned and worse in Idaho in the late 1800’s. There is also a well done element of magical realism/Chinese myth in the novel. The protagonist has the same name as a tragic mythical heroine, and their “relationship” definitely adds to the story. This was quite well done, but just a little to brutal for me at this moment.
July 19, 2022
What a debut by Jenny Tinghui Zhang! This book delivers on so many levels.
It spans the spectrum of just about every emotion you can think of. I cannot get over how brilliant the prose is throughout, and just how vivid the story comes to life. It is a gut-wrenching tale, but told so brilliantly through the main character's eyes, that you can picture every little detail-as well as remember every character
Some of the most memorable things are how beautifully Zhang describes how Chinese characters are written. To be honest, I was floored by this book.
I eagerly await Zhang's next novel.
It spans the spectrum of just about every emotion you can think of. I cannot get over how brilliant the prose is throughout, and just how vivid the story comes to life. It is a gut-wrenching tale, but told so brilliantly through the main character's eyes, that you can picture every little detail-as well as remember every character
Some of the most memorable things are how beautifully Zhang describes how Chinese characters are written. To be honest, I was floored by this book.
I eagerly await Zhang's next novel.
June 28, 2023
Fantastic historical fiction about the Chinese immigration experience in the late 19th century. There were moments where the writing was a little to fantastical but overall a great read.
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