I have really enjoyed all of Tsukiyama's books and find her characters well-developed and interesting. This is a novel about women in the silk industry in China and their relationships with each other. In a country and time when girl children were a burden, the silk factories provided a way for girls to earn money and possibly avoid a forced marriage. It is a quiet book, full of details, full of strong women. While the prose is not as poetic as her later novels, it is fluid and graceful.

On its way to Mojosmom in Chicago.

I just got this today. What a great package it was in! Bayouposte has great stamps, kids. And sent me a few along with decorating the envelope. Such fun!

Promised to txcajun (just as soon as I'm done)!

When txcajun asked for this, I moved it to the top of my TBR pile. That was two days ago, and I've finished it already! It's that kind of book - you just want to keep going.

I knew very little about this particular period of Chinese history (the book covers the years 1919 - 1938), other than from a political standpoint, so I was interested in the social history aspects. This was a period of great change for the Chinese, and Tsukiyama does an excellent job of subtly weaving that into the daily lives of the characters.

When I closed the book, I wanted very much to know what happened next in Pei's life.

I just found out that I can indeed find out what happened to Pei in Hong Kong! Tsukiyama wrote such a book, The Language of Threads, which is now on my Wish List!

Released on Friday, April 25, 2003 at Controlled Release in Chicago, Illinois USA.

Sent to Txcajun. Enjoy!

Received in the mail. I had read Dreaming Water by Tsukiyama and was extremely impressed with her writing. I wanted more! mojosmom released this book to help me quench my thirst for more Tsukiyama.