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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
Once there was a girl whose life was full of love and purpose. Her parents raised her to think for herself, and to be thoughtful in her actions. She had the hands of an artist, the mind of a philosopher, and the heart of a warrior.
Her name was Daiyu, and her story will stay with me for a very long time.
Her name was Daiyu, and her story will stay with me for a very long time.
Inspired by an Idaho road marker author Zhang saw about five Chinese immigrants lynched in the late 1800s, this novel is a propulsive feat of historical fiction.
Daiyu is a young Chinese girl whose parents are taken by the government. Her grandmother disguises her as a boy and sends her away from certain death. Daiyu finds refuge in a bustling town, but her temporary reprieve is extinguished when she's kidnapped and sent to the American West. Here, she endures not only harrowing struggles to survive, but also racist atrocities fueled by The Chinese Expulsion Act.
This isn't an easy book it read. Daiyu's struggles, at times, seem particularly unrelenting, yet it's a credit to Zhang's prose that the moments of levity, joy, and love feel as vivid as the pain and tragedy. Daiyu's connection with her namesake imbued the book with a mystical tone that was also engaging.
While hard to read in many parts, this is an engrossing book that kept me riveted. A powerful debut!
Daiyu is a young Chinese girl whose parents are taken by the government. Her grandmother disguises her as a boy and sends her away from certain death. Daiyu finds refuge in a bustling town, but her temporary reprieve is extinguished when she's kidnapped and sent to the American West. Here, she endures not only harrowing struggles to survive, but also racist atrocities fueled by The Chinese Expulsion Act.
This isn't an easy book it read. Daiyu's struggles, at times, seem particularly unrelenting, yet it's a credit to Zhang's prose that the moments of levity, joy, and love feel as vivid as the pain and tragedy. Daiyu's connection with her namesake imbued the book with a mystical tone that was also engaging.
While hard to read in many parts, this is an engrossing book that kept me riveted. A powerful debut!
It's just not my kind of read. Well written in terms of describing the characters and location, but it's a hard/sad/brutal read.
I stuck through the loss of the parents.
Stuck through the kidnapping.
Stuck through the forced education.
But when they were "packing" the main character up to be smuggled to the US in a coal container...yea, no. Not for me. I guess in 2022 I just can't handle at more trauma.
I stuck through the loss of the parents.
Stuck through the kidnapping.
Stuck through the forced education.
But when they were "packing" the main character up to be smuggled to the US in a coal container...yea, no. Not for me. I guess in 2022 I just can't handle at more trauma.
Beautifully written and the story was very interesting. May be the most depressing book I have read. The racism, abuse, and ending...
Easily one of the darkest and heaviest nonfiction I have ever read. This will stick with me for a long while.
I know very little of the time period around the Chinese Exclusion Act. This book goes into great detail of the atrocities committed against the Chinese in America. Triggers abound, and I would suggest being in a good headspace before starting this.
Thank you to LibroFM for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.
I know very little of the time period around the Chinese Exclusion Act. This book goes into great detail of the atrocities committed against the Chinese in America. Triggers abound, and I would suggest being in a good headspace before starting this.
Thank you to LibroFM for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.
Surprising! I ordered this one on a whim and it turned out to be wonderful. Very good prose and a wonderful main character. I did NOT like the ending :( But it seemed to fit with the story; just too sad. Officially a historical fiction girlina
Libby audio. This was a difficult book to listen to because of the heavy subject matter… especially knowing that not much has changed in America regarding racism and prejudices since the 1880s.