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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
oh ok LITERALLY THAT ENDING WAS DIABOLICAL!!! i'm writing this review unable to see the screen completely because of the TEARS in my fucking eyes!!!!!!!!!!
"the inkstone asks for destruction before creation - you must first destroy yourself, grind yourself into a paste, before becoming a work of art."
this is a story that takes place in the 1880's about daiyu, a young girl who was studying calligraphy in her small town in china before getting kidnapped and smuggled to san francisco where she is sold into a brothel. then her story continues on when she flees again and finds herself working at chinese shop in a small town in idaho. we follow as her life turns from one tragedy to another, while still having hope, trying to make the best of her circumstances, and doing whatever it takes to survive along the way. she meets friends and even finds a place she can call home. but then the chinese exclusion act gets passed and hatred for chinese across the country has daiyu and her new found family fighting for their lives.
the writing? beautiful! the imagery was so vivid and captured emotions well. i felt everything for daiyu and the other characters. they were a result of circumstances and though tragic, the author wrote certain moments and details with such beauty and underlying hope. i also loved how calligraphy was a running theme in this book - i learned just how powerful and symbolic chinese characters are, especially with names. each character carries a story!
the pacing was slow which i always expect with a character driven historical fiction novel. so, there were times where i felt like it lagged, but i found that i was bracing myself since these slower chapters were always followed with a momentous event that would change the course of daiyu's journey.
ugh and that ending. i won't ever get over it! loved this!
"names exist before the people they belong to, the oldest part of us. my name existed long before i was born, so i think, i have lived for a long time."
P L E A S E.
"the inkstone asks for destruction before creation - you must first destroy yourself, grind yourself into a paste, before becoming a work of art."
this is a story that takes place in the 1880's about daiyu, a young girl who was studying calligraphy in her small town in china before getting kidnapped and smuggled to san francisco where she is sold into a brothel. then her story continues on when she flees again and finds herself working at chinese shop in a small town in idaho. we follow as her life turns from one tragedy to another, while still having hope, trying to make the best of her circumstances, and doing whatever it takes to survive along the way. she meets friends and even finds a place she can call home. but then the chinese exclusion act gets passed and hatred for chinese across the country has daiyu and her new found family fighting for their lives.
the writing? beautiful! the imagery was so vivid and captured emotions well. i felt everything for daiyu and the other characters. they were a result of circumstances and though tragic, the author wrote certain moments and details with such beauty and underlying hope. i also loved how calligraphy was a running theme in this book - i learned just how powerful and symbolic chinese characters are, especially with names. each character carries a story!
the pacing was slow which i always expect with a character driven historical fiction novel. so, there were times where i felt like it lagged, but i found that i was bracing myself since these slower chapters were always followed with a momentous event that would change the course of daiyu's journey.
ugh and that ending. i won't ever get over it! loved this!
"names exist before the people they belong to, the oldest part of us. my name existed long before i was born, so i think, i have lived for a long time."
P L E A S E.
This book is beautifully written. I have so many highlights. I posted a few of my favorites. But it is a challenging read. At first, I didn't think all of the details at the beginning were necessary but after reading the author's note, I see why it was. As Tinghui-Zhang says "My hope is that this book brings the United States’ history of anti-Chinese violence out of scholarship and research and into our collective memory."
There are atrocities that are hard to read but also there are amazingly good parts as it is folded into "etymologies" (for lack of a better word) of Chinese characters. I loved all of those nuggets so much, being someone who wishes she knew more Chinese.
There are atrocities that are hard to read but also there are amazingly good parts as it is folded into "etymologies" (for lack of a better word) of Chinese characters. I loved all of those nuggets so much, being someone who wishes she knew more Chinese.
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book needed a HUGE trigger warning for me.
It was amazing, but I was not prepared for the content. It was so heavy. I teach 5th grade social studies, and we actually discuss the Chinese Exclusion Act. However, I didn’t realize the amount of violence it caused. I feel very ignorant for that. My “white privilege” is definitely showing.
It was very interesting to learn how she traveled and got to America. That whole process was shocking to me. It was also so satisfying to hear her kidnapper had been killed. That was our only real revenge of the story.
Overall, the book was shocking, saddening, and I left it feeling devastated. Daiyu deserved better, but her story is truly like so many other Asians in America. We need to never forget her story and our history. I feel even more convicted to teach my students about these amazing heroes.
It was amazing, but I was not prepared for the content. It was so heavy. I teach 5th grade social studies, and we actually discuss the Chinese Exclusion Act. However, I didn’t realize the amount of violence it caused. I feel very ignorant for that. My “white privilege” is definitely showing.
It was very interesting to learn how she traveled and got to America. That whole process was shocking to me. It was also so satisfying to hear her kidnapper had been killed. That was our only real revenge of the story.
Overall, the book was shocking, saddening, and I left it feeling devastated. Daiyu deserved better, but her story is truly like so many other Asians in America. We need to never forget her story and our history. I feel even more convicted to teach my students about these amazing heroes.
adventurous
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated