Most Helpful Customer Reviews
34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Language of Life and Love, August 21, 2002
This review is from: The Language of Threads: A Novel (Paperback)
This year I was introduced to the author Gail Tsukiyama when a book group I belong to chose to read The Samurai's Garden. Gulping this book down in a matter of hours and loving every page, I then read her newest book Dreaming Water and Tsukiyama's first book Women of the Silk. Both books were wonderful and now that I have finished the sequel to Women of the Silk, The Language of Threads, I wish I could be reading all of these books for the first time. The Language of Threads picks continues the story of Pei wh we first met in the previous book Women of the Silk. The Language of Threads begins in 1938 Pei at 28 is bound for Hong Kong and the Japanese have begun occupying China. At the age of 8, Pei who was given by her parents to the Sisterhood to become a silk worker. But now the silk factories are all but gone and the other silk workers are scattered around China trying to steer clear of the Japanese. Accompanying Pei on this voyage is Ji Shen, a 14 year-old girl, who after watching her parents and sister killed by the Japanese made her way to the girl's house of the Sisterhood where the silk workers vowed to care for her. When the time comes for Pei to leave the area, she cannot forget the promises made to Ji Shen and makes plans to travel and care for her. Once in Hong Kong, Pei is reunited with other sisters of the silk factory who now work as domestics in grand homes. Pei is immediately employed but learns the hard way that she won't be treated as fairly as before in Hong Kong. When she is accused of stealing from her employer, she is forced to leave her job. But fate steps in and Pei finds herself working for a kindly English woman, Mrs. Finch who also allows Ji Shen to live with them. As the months pass and the Japanese become more and more of a presence, these three women become very important to one another and act towards each other as if they are family members. But once again life turns and when Mrs., Finch is sent to an internment camp for British citizens, Pei must not only find a way to care for herself and Ji Shen but to survive the Japanese takeover of Hong Kong. And when tragedy strikes, once again Pei must make a life for herself and all those she holds dear. The Language of Threads is a wonderful book although at times it is equally heart breaking. We first meet Pei at 28 and when the book finishes she is 62. Her story is well told and like the strands of silk she once handled comes together quite poignantly at the end. And we, as readers rejoice in her life filled with dark days overshadowed by triumph and ultimately joy. Like the characters from Tsukiyama's other books Pei is a well-crafted character who you will think of as a real person and won't soon forget. I really loved both Women of the Silk and The Language of Threads and cannot recommend them enough. Besides offering solid characterizations of the people, I learned about the lives of those young women sent by their families to work in the silk factories and life in Hong Kong during the Japanese takeover of China before and during WWII. Most of all what I will always remember about these two books is the courageous woman who made a worthwhile life for herself and others against all odds.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Simple, but hearwarming., May 8, 2003
This review is from: The Language of Threads: A Novel (Paperback)
This is a sequel to Women of the Silk, and is consistent in writing style and interest. In this novel, Pei flees to Hong Kong ahead of the Japanese, and with the support of her sisterhood of ex silk workers establishes herself. Tsukiyama has a modest style, with simple prose, and clear cut characters. She plots well, and affirms such virtues as loyalty and kindness and strength of character without being cloying. Thus, she is able to expose the reader to terrible historical times, yet leave the reader with a very positive experience.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyable historical fiction, September 17, 1999
By A Customer
For the past two decades, Pei has worked in the Canton silk factories. However, when the Japanese invade her home in 1938, Pei flees for the relative safety of Hong Kong. She takes with her Ji Shen, whose parents died during the occupation of Nanking. Her connections with the silk industry land Pei a job in the home of a wealthy Chinese family. She loses her job as a domestic when she is accused of stealing pearls. Surprisingly, Pei obtains work as a companion to a white devil, Mrs. Finch. The British expatriate treats Pei and Ji as her children rather than her servants. Again, Pei's happy home is disrupted by the Japanese who take Mrs. Finch to a prison camp. Pei turns to sewing to scrape together a living even as Ji turns to the black market. With the help of the sisterhood, Pei and Ji continue to survive hardship after hardship. As a historical novel, THE LANGUAGE OF THE THREADS is an intriguing look at thirty-five years (1938-1973) of life in China and Hong Kong. However, the ordeals confronted by Pei never seem earth shattering as the stoic woman floats through whatever adversity life conjures up at her. This leaves readers fascinated by the heroine's philosophy yet never fully engaged. As with WOMEN OF THE SILK, Gail Tsukiyama shows her talent to make the mid-twentieth century Orient seem vividly alive as few tales have done. Harriet Klausner
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
