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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
informative
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:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
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:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Sexual harassment
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
I like reading historical fiction about times and places I don’t know much about.
Also this was a hard book to read.
It bore a tiny resemblance, at least at first, to The Sleeping Dictionary, which I still think about often. And also, later, to A Girl Called Samson.
All three contain a brave resilient character who struggles to find (and ultimately carved out) her identity.
The author is a good writer. And yet I was glad to have finished.
I did keep asking, how did Jacob Li live and work so close to men and yet they never suspected he was a she?
Also this was a hard book to read.
It bore a tiny resemblance, at least at first, to The Sleeping Dictionary, which I still think about often. And also, later, to A Girl Called Samson.
All three contain a brave resilient character who struggles to find (and ultimately carved out) her identity.
The author is a good writer. And yet I was glad to have finished.
I did keep asking, how did Jacob Li live and work so close to men and yet they never suspected he was a she?
What a great book! I really felt for the main character and found myself wrapped with anticipation throughout some of the scenes. Really well written.
Woah. This book is mind blowing. The author has some of the most beautiful prose I have ever read and its easily one of the best books I never want to read again. Although written excellently, the writing just made the violence and brutality more real and harder to stomach. Definitely an important book, detailing the racism and abuse Chinese immigrants faced including the Chinese exclusion act, various massacres, human trafficking and other atrocities. I also think the character of Lin Daiyu throughout the story added so much depth to Daiyu's character. She was a young woman going through extreme trauma, and I think it makes sense that she has this personality separation that stays with her through her life. Again, excellent book, but heavy heavy heavy stuff.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
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:
No
Daiyu is an orphan living in Zhifu, China when she is kidnapped and taken to the United States. She is sold into a brothel that fronts as a laundromat during the day. Forced to reinvent herself time and time again, she eventually manages to escape and flees to Idaho where she works in a general store. Set against the backdrop of the Chinese Exclusion Act, Daiyu is forced to confront the ghosts of her past in order to claim her true name and self.
I like historic fiction because it digs out a hidden nugget in the past and drags it out and shines a light on it for everyone to see and examine it. And this book is no exception. I had no idea that the Chinese Exclusion Act was even a thing, let alone that there were lynchings of Chinese all across the countryside. But I digress. The author also employs magical realism to depict one character, a heroine of a folktale for whom Daiyu is named. This character slides in and out of the story, helping Daiyu out at key points in the story and offering advice or suggestions.
Daiyu is the main character and the entire story is told from her first person, limited point of view. There are a number of minor characters who stay in the story for varying lengths of time, some are relatively short while others are more permanent. All of the characters are well developed and feel like people you know. This reader never knew where the actual plot was going until it did. The setting is partially in Zhifu, China, but also in San Francisco, California, and Idaho. There were some surprises on the way to this book's poignant ending. Daiyu spends several months of her life living and working in a brothel so there are multiple sex scenes and descriptions over lots of pages. There are many instances of characters having drinks, but no one does street drugs. There is human trafficking described in pretty vivid detail. There are some acts of violence from the first page all the way to the last page. If you read this book and don't feel anything for Daiyu, then I feel sorry for you. This book broke my heart, in more than one place. I am giving this book four stars.
I like historic fiction because it digs out a hidden nugget in the past and drags it out and shines a light on it for everyone to see and examine it. And this book is no exception. I had no idea that the Chinese Exclusion Act was even a thing, let alone that there were lynchings of Chinese all across the countryside. But I digress. The author also employs magical realism to depict one character, a heroine of a folktale for whom Daiyu is named. This character slides in and out of the story, helping Daiyu out at key points in the story and offering advice or suggestions.
Daiyu is the main character and the entire story is told from her first person, limited point of view. There are a number of minor characters who stay in the story for varying lengths of time, some are relatively short while others are more permanent. All of the characters are well developed and feel like people you know. This reader never knew where the actual plot was going until it did. The setting is partially in Zhifu, China, but also in San Francisco, California, and Idaho. There were some surprises on the way to this book's poignant ending. Daiyu spends several months of her life living and working in a brothel so there are multiple sex scenes and descriptions over lots of pages. There are many instances of characters having drinks, but no one does street drugs. There is human trafficking described in pretty vivid detail. There are some acts of violence from the first page all the way to the last page. If you read this book and don't feel anything for Daiyu, then I feel sorry for you. This book broke my heart, in more than one place. I am giving this book four stars.