Take a photo of a barcode or cover
krayreads 's review for:
Four Treasures of the Sky
by Jenny Tinghui Zhang
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.