The Language of Threads

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Description

In her acclaimed debut novel, "Women of the Silk", Gail Tsukiyama told the moving story of Pei, brought to work in the silk house as a girl, grown into a quiet but determined young woman whose life was subject to cruel twists of fate, including the loss of her closest friend, Lin. Now we finally learn what happened to Pei as she leaves the silk house for Hong Kong in the 1930s, arriving with a young orphan, Ji Shen, in her care. Her first job ends in disgrace, but soon Pei and Ji Shen find a new life in the home of Mrs Finch, a British expatriate who welcomes them as the daughters she never had. Their new family is torn apart, however, by war and the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong...In this dramatic story of hardship and survival in the face of historic upheaval, Gail Tsukiyama brings her trademark grace and storytelling flair to paint a moving, unforgettable portrait of women fighting the forces of war and time to make a life for themselves.

Reviews

"The Language of Threads is a delightful novel filled with adventure, surprise, and heart. The courageous women at its center are sure to captivate readers from all backgrounds." --Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, author of Mistress of Spices

"Tsukiyama's writing is richly descriptive and filled with historical detail . . . Recommended." --Shirley N. Quan, Orange County Public Library, Stanton, California, Library Journal

"In spare, evocative prose, Tsukiyama paints contrasting pictures of the bustling wealth of Hong Kong and its massive poverty . . . Women provide for each other in myriad ways in this world, and the relationships forged between them glow at the heart of Tsukiyama's story. Sisters are reunited, mothers and adopted daughters remain steadfastly loyal, childbirth breeds grief, but affirmation, too, and great friends even return from the dead to console their loved ones in this quiet but powerful effort from a writer who proves once again that she is an unusually gifted storyteller." --Publishers Weekly

"A saga of a Chinese woman in the WWII era and sequel to Women of the Silk . . . historically fascinating." --Kirkus Reviews

Author Bio

Gail Tsukiyama is the author of three previous novels, "Women of the Silk" "Samurais Garden", and "Night of Many Dreams". She lives in El Cerrito, California.