Four Treasures of the Sky: The compelling debut about identity and belonging in the 1880s American West

Product Information

But by the time I decide, the fish woman has noticed me. She knows immediately who I am, sees the gnawing in my belly, an insistence that hollows all the things it touches. My body betrays me; it is as thin as a reed. She recognizes what she sees in all the urchins who dare slide into the fish market, and before I can look away, she is in front of me, body heaving. 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?"

Daiyu is a wonderful and beautiful character who throughout her journey never really loses her sense of hope and wonder or her ability to love and be kind even when faced with the worst of people. She represents the best of youth and character and you want the absolute best for her. The side characters involved are written richly and create a great sense of a real community which is facing such deep opposition to their very existence. He laughs. The sunlight reflects two yellow teeth. I think of tales where men have yellow teeth, how those teeth grew from pieces of gold. That I knew, he says, but being a boy worked out better for us both, in this case. RASCOE: That is a word about men and a certain form of manhood, right? Like, I felt like Daiyu really had - I feel like she got men's number with that. (Laughter). How did you come to that? Because there is this thing of your strength; you're strong; you feel no pain. None of that is true. Men feel pain and all these things.This unforgettable novel dazzles. An exhilarating rush of character, history and storytelling' - Kali Fajardo-Anstine, author of Sabrina & Corina Engrossing…Epic…Zhang’s descriptive prose is an arresting combination of earthy and lyric…The resonance and immediacy of these barbarous 19th-century events are testament to Zhang’s storytelling powers, and should stand as a warning to all of us.” —Jennifer Egan, The New York Times Book Review (cover review) A surreal and sprawling story…Historical fiction that lays bare the human tragedy behind the infamous Chinese Exclusion Act.” —Ayesha Rascoe, NPR Morning Edition

Daiyu was convinced that her namesake, a heroine who died an untimely death, was the cause of her troubles. Despite these misgivings, Daiyu's ghost becomes her sounding board and confidant. "In calligraphy, as in life, we do not retouch strokes, we must accept that what is done is done." "Lightning splits the sky into pieces and I think, this is what I look like inside, not a whole, but a many, separated by something I cannot control...could I ever be whole...ever call myself unified?" First Daiyu, then Feng, followed by Peony, and now Jacob Li working in the Old West in the mining town of Pierce, Idaho. His name was Master Wang. "Feng with the good hands" was hired to sweep the steps and the courtyard outside Wang's Calligraphy School. "[Daiyu/Feng] would become someone who did not bend to the will of fate and the stories she was named after...I began at once...I traced over the characters in the stone tiles [in the courtyard] I was ravenous for what calligraphy might bring me." It's a dark and tragic story but it is absolutely beautiful while telling it. I would recommend reading this with a few tissues handy. This is also a debut novel which is AMAZING. I will definitely be looking out for this author in the future. To survive at the brothel, Daiyu tries to become “whatever they want me to be . . . and perhaps that will be my greatest weapon.” What does she mean? How does that bear out in her relationship with Samuel? When she finds out from William that Jasper has died, Daiyu asks, “What do I have to fear, now that the threat of Jasper is gone? Who is Daiyu without her villain? Who will I be now that I can be anything?” Do you agree that we often define ourselves against a villain? What role does Jasper play in Daiyu’s story?Something tells me that this invitation is not one to be taken lightly. I nod and offer him a shy smile. This is answer enough. He steers me farther away from the fish market and we stroll down the street together, passing the post office, three more foreign consulates, and a church. Passersby stare at us before returning to themselves, momentarily stunned by this odd father-and-son duo, one dressed like a character from the theater, the other wan and skittish. Behind us, the ocean froths. Daiyu is a Chinese girl who's kidnapped from her homeland and taken to late 1800s America, when anti-Asian sentiment is surging throughout the Western frontier. We learn about her and the ghosts she carries with her in "Four Treasures Of The Sky," a surreal and sprawling story spanning two continents. It's historical fiction that lays bare the human tragedy behind the infamous Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. It's also Jenny Tinghui Zhang's debut novel. She joins us now. Welcome.

It was easy to appreciate certain nuances about the tales and symbolism from calligraphy….and horrific to reflect on the tragedies of the realities. The artist must master the art of releasing the brush, giving it the space and freedom to find itself again.’ 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)

BookBrowse Review

The publisher wrote: “Daiyu assumes different identities, escaping the brothel of Madam Lee to work in the mines in Idaho, where she masquerades as a boy. As anti-Chinese sentiment sweeps across the country, Daiyu must draw on each of the selves she has been – including the ones she most wants to leave behind – to finally claim her own name and story.” This book is obviously filled with tons of deeper and darker subjects. I knew very little about the Chinese Exclusion Acts. I remember learning that people from China immigrated to build railroads and then…that’s it. That’s as far as it went for schooling. This story focuses on the exploitation, racism, and segregation that the Chinese community faced after traveling all this way to a supposed land of hope. Daiyu is also dragged into the sex trade and this form of abuse is focused on in the beginning half of the book. When I am kidnapped, I am thirteen and standing in the middle of the Zhifu fish market on Beach Road, watching a fleshy woman assemble white fish the shape of spades into a pile. The woman squats, her knees in her armpits, rearranging the fish so the best ones rise to the top. In Dream of the Red Chamber, Lin Daiyu dies from a broken heart after her cousin and true love is to marry another woman. Zhang’s protagonist is named Daiyu after this character, yet she rejects her namesake because she doesn’t want the same tragic destiny.

I am so sorry, Brother Eng, she says, bowing. So dark in here, and the fish are making me light-headed. I will send Master Eng my best fish to make up for this terrible mistake.FOUR TREASURES OF THE SKY, Jenny Tinghui Zhang’s debut novel, is a propulsive, luscious work of historical fiction and mythology, told in the unforgettable voice of Lin Daiyu, a young Chinese girl who assumes various identities to escape, survive and thrive. Madame Lee informs her that she has been gifted to her first client by the tong. When Samuel arrives, she realizes he is only a boy. Instead of having sex with her, Samuel only wants to talk and share their most vulnerable experiences. Together, they hatch a plan to escape San Francisco for Idaho. Samuel believes they will be able to find employment in the mines. Engrossing…Epic…The resonance and immediacy of these barbarous 19th-century events are testament to Zhang’s storytelling powers, and should stand as a warning to all of us.” ―Jennifer Egan, The New York Times Book Review