Sunday, February 18, 2007

The Language of Threads by Gail Tsukiyama

Another enjoyable read.

Set in Hong Kong before and during World War II, this book, like Snow Falling on Cedars, gave me a here-to-fore unseen (by me) glimpse of people dealing with the consequences of war.

The Language of Threads follows Pei and Jei Shin, whom we met in Women of the Silk, as they flee the Japanese in China for Hong Kong. We watch as the two women settle into their new life, only to have their lives disrupted again as the Japanese follow them to Hong Kong.

Pei reminds me of Celie in The Color Purple, a lowly woman surviving and then triumphing. The parallels include, but aren't limited to, the lost sister and the means to success.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This was a satisfying end to a good trilogy. I enjoyed seeing how Pei became successful and faced obstacles courageously. While the first book was my favorite, this is well worth reading.

IamMBB said...

You refer to a trilogy. What is the other book of the trilogy? I'm only aware of Women of the Silk and the Language of Threads.