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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
5 stars for this book is too little, not enough. I cant even describe what I’m feeling as I read the last sentences… it hurts because it feels too real, and somehow too close to reality. But maybe because it was/is reality for so many people for so long :(
The writers words and thoughts are absolute gems, much better than a philosophy book. So many times I had to stop after a sentence and just give myself time to soak in the profoundness it was offering me. almost every day for two months I encountered with Lin Daiyu. I must say I feel for her. A lot. I will carry Dayiu in my heart for a long time.
PS: how great would it be to have a movie adaptation of this book (but with Asian cinematography characteristics and not Hollywood-ian)??! I can already see the narration and meeting both Daiyus and Nelson, Nam and Lum… I hope it happens
The writers words and thoughts are absolute gems, much better than a philosophy book. So many times I had to stop after a sentence and just give myself time to soak in the profoundness it was offering me. almost every day for two months I encountered with Lin Daiyu. I must say I feel for her. A lot. I will carry Dayiu in my heart for a long time.
PS: how great would it be to have a movie adaptation of this book (but with Asian cinematography characteristics and not Hollywood-ian)??! I can already see the narration and meeting both Daiyus and Nelson, Nam and Lum… I hope it happens
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Bom, mais um livro da TAG chegou aqui em casa e como de praxe não sabia muita coisa sobre a história. E ao longo da história fui me emocionando com a história da nossa protagonista.
Nesse livro acompanhamos a vida de Daiyu, uma garota que não queria ser uma heroína trágica que lhe deu o nome. Porém, tudo em sua vida muda quando ela é sequestrada e contrabandeada da China para os Estados Unidos para poder trabalhar em um bordel. Ao longo dos anos seguintes, Daiyu teve que renunciar seu lar e ao futuro que ela tanto queria para poder sobreviver.
As quatro vidas de Daiyu é um livro que traz temas bastantes fortes como sequestro, luta pela sobrevivência, abusos, xenofobia. E a autora soube muito bem como tratar esses temas no decorrer das obras, mostrando claramente como a vítima fica após sofrer esses traumas.
Daiyu é uma das personagens mais fortes que já vi, pois mesmo com tudo o que aconteceu com ela, ela se mantém lutando para poder finalmente viver a vida com que ela sempre sonhou.
É um livro que não temo como não se emocionar durante a leitura, em várias partes deu vontade de entrar no livro e proteger a protagonista de tudo e de todos, a menina não teve um segundo de paz do início ao fim do livro.
Uma coisa que gostei foi como a autora trouxe a cultura chinesa para o livro, principalmente, na parte da escrita, foi tão natural e bem colocado. Deu para aprender bastante sobre a China.
Não é um livro que recomendo para todo mundo, por conter vários gatilhos. Porém, se você tiver coragem de ler, é um livro que vale muito apena.
Nesse livro acompanhamos a vida de Daiyu, uma garota que não queria ser uma heroína trágica que lhe deu o nome. Porém, tudo em sua vida muda quando ela é sequestrada e contrabandeada da China para os Estados Unidos para poder trabalhar em um bordel. Ao longo dos anos seguintes, Daiyu teve que renunciar seu lar e ao futuro que ela tanto queria para poder sobreviver.
As quatro vidas de Daiyu é um livro que traz temas bastantes fortes como sequestro, luta pela sobrevivência, abusos, xenofobia. E a autora soube muito bem como tratar esses temas no decorrer das obras, mostrando claramente como a vítima fica após sofrer esses traumas.
Daiyu é uma das personagens mais fortes que já vi, pois mesmo com tudo o que aconteceu com ela, ela se mantém lutando para poder finalmente viver a vida com que ela sempre sonhou.
É um livro que não temo como não se emocionar durante a leitura, em várias partes deu vontade de entrar no livro e proteger a protagonista de tudo e de todos, a menina não teve um segundo de paz do início ao fim do livro.
Uma coisa que gostei foi como a autora trouxe a cultura chinesa para o livro, principalmente, na parte da escrita, foi tão natural e bem colocado. Deu para aprender bastante sobre a China.
Não é um livro que recomendo para todo mundo, por conter vários gatilhos. Porém, se você tiver coragem de ler, é um livro que vale muito apena.
“Sometimes,” she said “I think if I swallow things I love, they will grow inside of me.”
A truly poetic, powerful and gruesome journey of trading identity for survival. It is masterful in its phrasing, which brought the most unsavory scenes to the point of being repulsive. Those scenes are made palatable by the beauty of character’s mind, punctuated with metaphors of calligraphy. I don’t think I can stomach to read this again, but it’s beautiful work.
A truly poetic, powerful and gruesome journey of trading identity for survival. It is masterful in its phrasing, which brought the most unsavory scenes to the point of being repulsive. Those scenes are made palatable by the beauty of character’s mind, punctuated with metaphors of calligraphy. I don’t think I can stomach to read this again, but it’s beautiful work.
Ugh. Nope. I know the ending is supposed to be poetic or something but I didn’t like it.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Incredible debut. Thank you, Jenny, for writing such a well-researched historical fiction and homage go the Chinese and Chinese-American in Idaho.
I knew many laborers came to SF and worked on the transcontinental railroad, but if your father hadn't come across the plaque commemorating the death of 5 men in Idaho, then we might not have known there was more to the story than that.
I had learned about the Chinese Exclusion Act and ban/limit on women, but had not known much about what that could have meant on a human, everyday level and the repercussions and ripple effect on everyday life. The things people had to endure.
I read the audiobook, which included a conversation with the author in the end, and two things stayed with me:
I knew many laborers came to SF and worked on the transcontinental railroad, but if your father hadn't come across the plaque commemorating the death of 5 men in Idaho, then we might not have known there was more to the story than that.
I had learned about the Chinese Exclusion Act and ban/limit on women, but had not known much about what that could have meant on a human, everyday level and the repercussions and ripple effect on everyday life. The things people had to endure.
I read the audiobook, which included a conversation with the author in the end, and two things stayed with me:
- Parallels from the past to the present: the xenophobia and anti-Asian/Chinese racism that existed and still exist over 160 years between when Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act in the early 1860s and the COVID-19 pandemic of the early 2020s.
- I appreciate comemmorative plaques but they feel inadequate in truly conveying the heartbreak and horror the words carry. The idea of the book started when the author's dad traveled to Idaho and found a plaque denoting the site of the hanging of 5 Chinese men in Idaho. How many plaques do we walk past everyday? And to think that this plaque has been vandalized multiple times!
I hope the souls of these 5 people, and those of their families, find peace l--even if the wish seems like but a drop of water in an ocean.
Trigger warning: the book contains sex trafficking, sexual harassment, and racially-based hate crimes. The disgusting crimes of the past have so many parallels in the present. This book hit a little too disturbingly close to home as an Asian-American. I don't think I'll be re-reading this one anytime soon because of that very reason.
All of this to say, however, this book is hauntingly brilliant. Left a hole in my heart and a pit in my stomach. I wish it had a different ending, but I am glad that Jenny Tinghui Zhang didn't sugar-coat the past. Kudos to the author. I was well aware of the Chinese Exclusion Act and the hatred that Chinese immigrants experienced in the late 19th century, but experiencing it fr the firsthand POV of JTZ's characters was a whole new experience.
All of this to say, however, this book is hauntingly brilliant. Left a hole in my heart and a pit in my stomach. I wish it had a different ending, but I am glad that Jenny Tinghui Zhang didn't sugar-coat the past. Kudos to the author. I was well aware of the Chinese Exclusion Act and the hatred that Chinese immigrants experienced in the late 19th century, but experiencing it fr the firsthand POV of JTZ's characters was a whole new experience.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
This was a great debut novel from Jenny Tinghui Zhang, who takes the reader to the time when the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed in the late 1800s and draws attention to a Chinese girl’s arduous journey from being kidnapped in China then smuggled into the United States (first landing in San Francisco then ending up in Idaho). A lot of careful research clearly went into this novel, and I found that it was as informative as it was imaginative; I thought that Zhang found a great balance between providing historical facts while also taking creative liberties to tell a compelling story (particularly in her handling of incorporating Chinese folklore). Furthermore, this novel was by no means an easy read, and the protagonist, Daiyu, suffers quite a bit. I’d highly recommend checking the content warnings for this novel before picking it up, especially considering that Zhang doesn’t shy away from sharing the grim realities of Chinese people during this time period (especially towards the end).
I enjoyed the author’s writing style, which was lyrical but also not to the point that she was dipping into purple prose. (In some ways, the writing style read as more “grounded,” for lack of a better word, than C Pam Zhang’s How Much of These Hills Is Gold, which had a similar setting and was apparently an influence for Jenny Tinghui Zhang.) I did feel that the limited narrative (told from Daiyu’s perspective) made some parts of the novel feel repetitive (especially as Daiyu’s thoughts circle around the same topic), but at the same time, there was something authentic about her perspective as she tried to make sense of the world around her and survive as best as she can.
I don’t think this novel will be for everyone, and I would stay away if you’re not interested in anything heavy and traumatic, but I think it’s worth picking up if you want a close-up of a subject that isn’t as talked about when United States history is brought up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Torture, Trafficking, Murder
Moderate: Rape, Violence
Minor: Excrement, Vomit