Four Treasures of the Sky
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK - A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITOR'S CHOICE - REVIEWED ON THE FRONT COVER - INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
"Zhang's blend of history and magical realism will appeal to fans of Ta-Nehisi Coates' The Water Dancer as well as Amy Tan's The Valley of Amazement." --Booklist (starred review)"Engrossing...Epic" (The New York Times Book Review) - "Transporting" (Washington Post) - "Propulsive" (Oprah Daily) - "Surreal and sprawling" (NPR) - "An absolute must-read" (BuzzFeed) - "Radiant" (BookPage)
A dazzling debut novel set against the backdrop of the Chinese Exclusion Act, about a Chinese girl fighting to claim her place in the 1880s American West Daiyu never wanted to be like the tragic heroine for whom she was named, revered for her beauty and cursed with heartbreak. But when she is kidnapped and smuggled across an ocean from China to America, Daiyu must relinquish the home and future she imagined for herself. Over the years that follow, she is forced to keep reinventing herself to survive. From a calligraphy school, to a San Francisco brothel, to a shop tucked into the Idaho mountains, we follow Daiyu on a desperate quest to outrun the tragedy that chases her. As anti-Chinese sentiment sweeps across the country in a wave of unimaginable violence, Daiyu must draw on each of the selves she has been--including the ones she most wants to leave behind--in order to finally claim her own name and story. At once a literary tour de force and a groundbreaking work of historical fiction, Four Treasures of the Sky announces Jenny Tinghui Zhang as an indelible new voice. Steeped in untold history and Chinese folklore, this novel is a spellbinding feat.
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Community Reviews
Truly heartbreaking. This book had me so engrossed from start to finish; I didn't know that the last part of it was inspired by true events which made it all the more heartbreaking.
The story felt incredibly relevant despite it being set in the 1800s and my heart bleeds for all the hate the Chinese people (and minorities) get then, and now.
The writing was beautiful and although the overall tone of the book was sombre, it didn't feel heavy (until right at the end).
Loved it and would probably re-read.
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