A review by bookishlymonique
Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang

challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.5

Artfully written. A beautifully, tragic story with wonderful symbolism and imagery. 

 

Four Treasures of the Sky covers a part of American history that has been significantly limited in public education and general history. Similar to Black History and Indigenous history and the history of many marginalized groups in the US. I barely learned about the Chinese Exclusion Act and this book was able to highlight how it affected the everyday Chinese people who it was inflicted upon. 

 

The use of magical realism created tension and hope. Although the story focuses on the main character, Daiyu, the story becomes even richer as each side character is introduced. These characters help build a more realistic picture of Chinese life in America during the mid-to-late 1800s as well as illuminate multiple aspects of the MC’s culture and experience. 

Favorite Quotes

“I am beginning to realize that everyone has two faces to them: the face they show to the world and the one on the inside, that keeps all its secrets. I still do not know who my faces are, or which one is which.” 

“English, it seems, is a matter of timing and chaos.” 

“The inkstone asks for destruction before creation—you must first destroy yourself, grind yourself into a paste, before becoming a work of art.” 

“I am the constellation of all the names within me, of every name I have ever inhabited. And this is the truth I see for the first time: I have only been able to survive because of my name.” 

“I never thought about it before, but every cloud I have ever seen must have been on its way to somewhere. Those who witness clouds only ever see a moment of their journey. In this way, I could call myself a cloud.”