Four Treasures of the Sky

by Jenny Tinghui Zhang

Overall: Can your name determine your destiny?  Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang tells the story of Daiyu, a girl born into a happy family in rural China who’s named after a tragic heroine.  The book follows Daiyu through the 1880s as she becomes an orphan, disguises herself as a boy, and is ultimately kidnapped and trafficked to the U.S.  This is tragic historical fiction at its best, with gorgeous prose supported by in-depth research.  This book reminded me so much of Toni Morrison’s Beloved in terms of its subject matter (violence against women and racial injustice), its writing style (beautiful), and the presence of a ghost who interacts with the main character.

Likes: I loved the writing: it is flat-out gorgeous.  I connected immediately with Daiyu and wanted to know what happened to her.  Zhang excels at recreating the worlds Daiyu finds herself in: her childhood home, the calligraphy school, the brothel, even (horribly) the barrel of coal in which she’s smuggled over the ocean.  Amid the darkness, there are lovely moments of ordinary kindness.

Dislikes: I wouldn’t say I disliked the subject matter, but it is heavy.  If you can’t stand sad stories, please give this one a pass.  The book contains many scenes of historically accurate violence and sexual assault.  I did have to put it down to take a break a few times.

FYI: this book contains scenes of child prostitution, sexual assault, violence, and murder.