Reviews with content warning for Xenophobia - Four Treasures of the Sky

Well, that was depressing.

I do actually feel kind of bad that I'm not rating this tragic-yet-realistic depiction of life for Asian-Americans in the 19th century more highly. I think it's important for stories like this to be told, so that we can re-examine our past from fresh perspectives. However, the way this was written just got on my nerves. It's so pretentious.

On an sentence level, sometimes even on a paragraph level, the prose in this novel could be beautiful. However, it started to get repetitive when, every time something bad happened, Daiyu would go on and on in her internal monologue about how the components of X character's name should have warned her not to trust X. Stuff like, oh, I forgot that under the earth, there's fire, and it burned me. I like Chinese characters too, I think they're wonderful, but when the pattern of her reflections went down that line of thinking every damn time, it started making me roll my eyes. It kind of felt like a cheap attempt at depth that didn't connect for me. I feel like this is an example of breaking the "show, don't tell" rule, because the author kept using Daiyu's internal monologue to sort of tell the reader what to think, and it was always framed as some sort of revelation. To me, the patten got old and predictable very quickly.

Also, I appreciate that this is a pretty realistic depiction of the racism that Chinese people encountered in this time period, but at a certain point the very black-and-white portrayal where white people = evil became a little...overplayed? I don't want to make this sound like some kind of complaint, like #notallwhitepeople or something, and it's not even so much that white people are bad guys, it's more the complete lack of depth or intrigue? It's kind of just: white people are racist SOB's with no personality other than their racism. And again, I understand this is centering the Chinese experience, which is why that perspective isn't challenged; my issue is more about the fact that, on a narrative level, I find that kind of boring. It just added to the kind of predictable nature of this story that made it a bit of a chore to get through at times.

One last thing: the whole thing where Daiyu was having conversations with/seeing/imagining the spirit of her namesake, but also treated her like a physical presence, just read as odd to me. It was basically another element that seemed like it was trying to be really deep and reflective, while just being a bit boring and basic to me.

Unfortunately just really not the story for me. I do think the story being told is, in itself, important, I just didn't like basically any part of how it was told.

Content Warnings

regans's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

3.75

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faduma's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

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j_hornick's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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heatherjchin's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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cecilowo's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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hjesm's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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taylizart's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

Why did I think this book would have a happy ending? I am a fool. A really important read that feels very topical considering the anti-Asian hate that has been rampant ever since the start of COVID. The main character is truly unique but real and I found myself rooting for her from the very beginning. She is not a damsel in distress but she is also not a hero. She is simply a person trying to survive.

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