Four Treasures of the Sky

“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) an unsolved murder of five Chinese immigrants in Idaho, 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 rape/sexual assault, human trafficking, racism, torture at the very least, but the story is told so beautifully that it offset the horrible things going on a bit.