Name: Patrick Book's review of Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang
Item: Four Treasures of the Sky
Rating: 4
Author: Patrick Book

Jenny Tinghui Zhang

A propulsive and 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 forced 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.

Four Treasures of the Sky

Lindsay

The clouds above list to the right, and soon they will be far from where we are now, in another land, floating above an ocean, and who knows where they will end up or if they will end up at all. 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.

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

I have felt many things, given them many names. This one I do not want to name. It is as if someone has tied a large stone to my heart, tied it so tight that the veins are full and swelling, and dropped the stone in the deepest part of the ocean.

I want to fight, but I know it is pointless. I am not sinking because of the stone but because I am the stone.

Love 愛, a giving up of self for another. But to do that, you must have a heart that is free to give itself away. I have nothing to give to Nelson, because nothing I have is true.

He is different from Master Wang, who only believed in spreading art if it was the right kind, if it had been done according to the proper rules. Nelson wants to spread all the art he can, because to him, everything is art.

In America, being a boy was easy, but being a man was essential.

What does it mean to be a man? My experiences then told me everything: It was a matter of believing oneself invincible and strong, and owed everything.

When winter came to our little fishing village, the cold did not move. Instead, it hung in the air. My father said the cold was attaching itself to all the drops of water that had not yet found their home in the ocean, and that was what made it stick to our clothes, our hair, even our bones.

Daiyu to Feng to Peony to Jacob Li. When will I be me again? And if I become me again, will I know who she is?

Here, I am finally free, but with that freedom comes a new decree: to stay free, you must stay hidden.

There is no such thing as luck, I told him. Luck is just readiness that meets opportunity.

If the body eats itself from the inside out, what will be the last thing to go?

Genesis (@whisperingchapters)

Patrick Book

The old west seems like it was ROUGH. ALL. OVER.

katie ꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱

beautifully written. the ending left me broken and staring at the ceiling at 3:48 am

Isabella 

an honest and heartbreaking work of art 3

Sophie Wang

This is not so much a magical realism story but a historic fiction book with slight elements of magic used to dissect the horrors of the Chinese Exclusion Act in painstaking, life-size detail. The first 60% is just decent, but the last 40% really picks up the pace and truly unifies all of the personal struggles you see the MC face in the book. A very quick read, it probably only took me two short sittings (just spaced over a very long time). Somehow I feel like the hazy, slightly detached storytelling makes it very suitable for a younger reading demographic? High school maybe.

altlovesbooks

"In calligraphy, as in life, we do not retouch strokes. We must accept that what is done is done."

A sad look at a period of US history I was unaware of, and one based (loosely) around a similar unjust real life event that took place in Idaho. I know that historical fiction sometimes plays fast and loose with facts and history, and while the characters here are made up to fit the roles of the actual real life event, the story told is plausible and compelling. 

Daiyu grew up in China, but was kidnapped and shipped overseas to America by human traffickers looking for brothel workers. Forced to give up her name, her heritage, and her family, Daiyu nevertheless tries to fight a system under which she's already doomed to fail. Even as she slowly pieces together a life for herself, she is haunted by the (literal) ghost of her own past who desperately wants to return to the family and home she knew in China. 

The true bits of the story revolve around the Page Act of 1875, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, and (plot spoilers here) (view spoiler)[an unsolved murder of five Chinese immigrants in Idaho (hide spoiler)], which all made for interesting (and dark) reading afterward. The author includes an afterword summarizing why she was inspired to write this book, and the audiobook at least included an interview with the author that was similarly interesting.

Lots of tough topics are tackled here, and if you're looking for a happy story, this isn't the book for you. TW for (view spoiler)[rape/sexual assault, human trafficking, racism, torture (hide spoiler)] at the very least, but the story is told so beautifully that it offset the horrible things going on a bit.

A propulsive and 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.

this was a lot heavier than i anticipated, but the narrative style of the author was steady that it felt like being carried by a stream to see the events unfold. it was difficult to predict where the stream can take the story, but there is a gradual build up of anticipation, one that can be tough to acknowledge as the tone of the main character, daiyu, has always been one of tragedy. for the most part, i found it difficult to get through the latter half of the novel because it deals with heavy racism and discrimination against the chinse in the united states in the late 1800's. but the story carried this weight well through the lens of its chinese characters, who all feel differently towards the chinese exclusion act and work with varying ways to resist and find courage. another thing i liked is how elements of chinese mythology and magical realism (i think?) were incorporated into the narrative. daiyu is named after lin daiyu, the principal character in a classic 18th-century chinese tale. not only does this give insight into the power of names (as daiyu, the main character of four treasures of the sky, has lin daiyu be part of her consciousness because she believes she was cursed with this name), but also in the individual choices and actions we take to rewrite our fate. i liked that although daiyu was presented with a lot of personal inner conflict, she steps up to be proactive and at least try. and try. and try again. even when freedom and happiness is not guaranteed.

overall, it was an informative story with surprising character and i liked that through daiyu, you could really see how someone carries all the lives they have lived through their experiences. i would have liked to see a bit more exploration on themes on gender expression though, since daiyu had to present as a man to protect herself for most of her life, but i understand how that could throw off the balance of the narrative already there. good, compelling read, though. and with lovely prose (that reminds me of how poets write. i do wonder if the author is a poet or if she's immersed in chinese poetry. the influence is clearly there)

gabi

this was a lot heavier than i anticipated, but the narrative style of the author was steady that it felt like being carried by a stream to see the events unfold. it was difficult to predict where the stream can take the story, but there is a gradual build up of anticipation, one that can be tough to acknowledge as the tone of the main character, daiyu, has always been one of tragedy. for the most part, i found it difficult to get through the latter half of the novel because it deals with heavy racism and discrimination against the chinse in the united states in the late 1800's. but the story carried this weight well through the lens of its chinese characters, who all feel differently towards the chinese exclusion act and work with varying ways to resist and find courage. another thing i liked is how elements of chinese mythology and magical realism (i think?) were incorporated into the narrative. daiyu is named after lin daiyu, the principal character in a classic 18th-century chinese tale. not only does this give insight into the power of names (as daiyu, the main character of four treasures of the sky, has lin daiyu be part of her consciousness because she believes she was cursed with this name), but also in the individual choices and actions we take to rewrite our fate. i liked that although daiyu was presented with a lot of personal inner conflict, she steps up to be proactive and at least try. and try. and try again. even when freedom and happiness is not guaranteed.

overall, it was an informative story with surprising character and i liked that through daiyu, you could really see how someone carries all the lives they have lived through their experiences. i would have liked to see a bit more exploration on themes on gender expression though, since daiyu had to present as a man to protect herself for most of her life, but i understand how that could throw off the balance of the narrative already there. good, compelling read, though. and with lovely prose (that reminds me of how poets write. i do wonder if the author is a poet or if she's immersed in chinese poetry. the influence is clearly there)

Vivian

Set in the backdrops of the Chinese Exclusion Act (1882), Four Treasures of the Sky is a well-researched historical fiction that traces the fate of a Chinese girl kidnapped to California. It is full of atrocities with no redemption, yet you know these events are what once happened to so many people. Turning away from tragedies does not mean tragedies did not occur. The least the readers today could do is to be aware of this period in history so the suffering was not in vain, and history won't repeat itself.

I'm not particularly fond of the writing style and story structure. Four stars for the importance of this topic.

Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &
Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang

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Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang

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Join the club

Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &
Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang