Women of the Silk

Women of the Silk #1

by Gail Tsukiyama

Sent by her family to work in a silk factory just prior to World War II, young Pei grows to womanhood, working fifteen-hour days and sending her pay to the family who abandoned her.

In "Women of the Silk" Gail Tsukiyama takes her readers back to rural China in 1926, where a group of women forge a sisterhood amidst the reeling machines that reverberate and clamor in a vast silk factory from dawn to dusk. Leading the first strike the village has ever seen, the young women use the strength of their ambition, dreams, and friendship to achieve the freedom they could never have hoped for on their own. Tsukiyama's graceful prose weaves the details of "the silk work" and Chinese village life into a story of courage and strength.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, China, Book Club, Asia, Historical, Asian Literature

278 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1991

About the author

Born to a Chinese mother and a Japanese father in San Francisco, Gail Tsukiyama now lives in El Cerrito, California. Her novels include Women of the Silk (1991), The Samurai's Garden (1995), Night of Many Dreams (1998), The Language of Threads (1999), Dreaming Water (2002), and The Street of a Thousand Blossoms (2007).

Reviews

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are just starting with Gail Tsukiyama then I recommend starting with this book. Gail Tsukiyama is Chinese/Japanese American and her books take place mostly in China/Hong Kong around the second World War. This book, "Women of the Silk", tells the story of a young girl who lives in a world where daughters are married off and those that aren't go to work in the newly thriving silk factories. Contrary to the silk work being along the lines of forced labor it is actually an opportunity for these women to form a sisterhood of sorts and gain much personal independence and freedom. Unfortunately their lives are tragically interrupted by the Japanese invasion of China which for me as a "westerner" was quite interesting to read as I am familar with the American war against Japan but not too familar with all the Japanese invasions in the East and the atrocities commited. This is a fantastic read and will have you laughing and smiling one minute and completely aghast and crying the next.

[Darcy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh. This feels like a novel with such potential--its a story about Chinese factory women in 1926. There's so much that could be explored here about conflicts between family responsibility and individual choice, or the development of modern life versus tradition. Or even of working conditions in China during WWII. The book definitely talks about those things . . . but that's about all this book does--talk at the reader. The narrator simply finds it easier to tell the reader all about Pei, rather than come up with situations, events, or other characters that will demonstrate genuine emotional responses. As an example:

"The first few months were miserable for Pei. She missed her family terribly. Sometimes, after everyone was asleep, she let her tears flow freely, her face pressed into her pillow. She often fell asleep exhausted by grief."

Meh. This novel is incredibly dependent on this type of narration, in which the narrator generalizes Pei's actions and simply tells the reader how to read and respond to each scene. So boring. I'd be much, much more interested in this novel if Tsukiyama could have come up with some other ways of expressing Pei's grief beyond telling me "she often fell asleep exhausted by grief."

There are all kinds of other problems--gender relations are horribly romanticized, for example, with Auntie Yee's establishment and the silk sisterhood being figured as oases of femininity and female empowerment. Auntie Yee is incredibly understanding and humane, as compared with the villainous Chung who runs the silk factory. Pei's father never says a word and gives her away, while Pei's mother wastes away in self-imposed but passively rebellious silence.

I dislike this type of narration because it seems disrespectful to the reader, although I don't think that's why Tsukiyama writes this way. This kind of narration--in which the narrator tells the reader everything, in which events are predictable, and in which characters are barely sketched out--seems as though it simply doesn't trust the reader to be able to read "correctly." It seems especially problematic that a novel about female empowerment deliberately dumbs itself down for a female reader.

I'm sure other people have really enjoyed this novel and perhaps with good reason. The bits about the silk factory are really interesting and I wish Tsukiyama had explored that further. But this novel really didn't work for me. I even liked the concept enough to give the sequel a try, but gave up after three pages. Too bad.

[Dorie - Cats&Books :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

(This was read previously but am adding reviews to some of my all time favorite reads!)

This is a wonderful book about the silk industry in the 1920's in China. Very strong characters and great descriptive narrative. I loved this story and particularly the main character, Pei. There is some very interesting history here and cultural details.

Strongly recommend for fans of historical fiction.

[Antigone · Rating 2 out of 5]

We come across them - rarely, it's true - these novels unentered. It's as if the work reared itself out of paper and ink. Or the artificial intelligentsia took a quick scan of the canon of the twenty-first century and determined, yeah, I can do that. Or even, because authors frequently claim their books as children, some are the sort of parents who stand back, waiting to supply whatever they discern the child might need. Because, apparently, the child is supposed to tell them. Which is not parenting, or authoring, or creating anything of note. You don't observe a novel into being. You actually have to inhabit the thing.

Women of the Silk is the story of Pei, a small girl in China circa 1919. She is given over to the silk factory by her farming family so that her salary may supplement their income. Many girls, it appears, were sent off in this way, and while the parents took the monthly money it was not uncommon to find a child who never saw her family again. That's harrowing. Or it could have been. You'd have to enter into Pei's experience to understand this and convey it.

While Women of the Silk gives a nod to inequality, to poor working conditions, to the power of protest and the need for consciousness-raising - it's simply screed dressed in a smock and performing a duty.

This could have been a pamphlet with a drawing of a girl named Pei.

Perhaps it was.

[Connie G · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fortune teller made the prediction that eight-year-old Pei would never marry, convincing her silent father that the young Chinese girl would only be a drain on the impoverished family's resources. She was sent to work in a silk factory with her wages returning to her family each month. Motherly Auntie Yee ran a home for the young girls working in the silk factory, and a sisterhood developed among the lonely girls. In the early 20th Century marriage often included long hours farming, beatings from husbands, and supervision by unfair mother-in-laws in the patriarchal society. So while the hours were long at the silk factory, many women chose to remain unmarried and employed there because they had some independence and money. The Japanese invasion of China caused an upheaval in the lives of Pei and the other silk workers, and forced them to run to safety.

The author has a Chinese mother and a Japanese-American father (from Hawaii), and she was raised culturally Chinese. She wrote a quiet book with Chinese culture, history, and the details of silk thread production woven into the plot. Pei and her friends are endearing characters, and I cared about their outcomes as I read the story. 3 1/2 stars.

[Gisela Hafezparast · Rating 5 out of 5]

China has always fascinated me, it's culture, history and the sheer tenacity of it's people, especially those which have started from nothing. There is so much to learn and this book is yet another part of China which I had no idea about. Obviously everyone knows that China produces the best silk in the world, to which I am quite partial too when possible. But I hadn't realised that before the Revolution this was a female industry (apart, alas as usual from the owners) and the reasons why and how girls came to work in these silk factories is beautifully and often realistically described in this beautiful book. It depicts the hard life especially poor women lived and the culture which gave so few choices to them that being sold to the silk industry, could be one of the best chances life could bring! It always astonishes me how far China has come over the past 100 years. It is absolutely amazing. We all know about the cruelties and horror of the cultural revolution, but China's people endured so much even before that and they are definitely a race of survivors, especially it's women who seem to have always taken on the major burdens. The book stops just before the war when the Japanese are already roaming through China and I have to try and get the follow up book as soon as possible.

Highly recommend this book.

[Linda Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book several years ago and remember it with fondness. It is a bittersweet story with well developed charcaters, and an engaging, not too predictable, plot. For centuries the women of China (along with females in many cultures other than ours) have lived with excruciating poverty compounded by a strong tradition of disregard by their men. How a young woman, copes with these hardships is told here in a compelling story of sisterhood, finding inner strength, and standing up for closely held beliefs. A sequel to this book, "The Language of Threads," was recently published but I've not read it.

[calla · Rating 5 out of 5]

sometimes you read a book and then you try to describe it but have no words. i finished women of the silk by gail tuskiyama a few days ago, and i'm still struggling to write this review. i'm still definitely not over that ending. women of the silk is an absolutely underrated masterpiece; it's currently now my favourite book of 2020 so far. well, i guess that makes sense, because most of my favourite books, are crying books and women of the silk was most definitely one. the best way i'm able to describe this book is that it is brutally honest. women of the silk doesn't shy away from the reality of "the silk work" and what life was like as a woman in rural china during the 1920s. while realism is often tragic, this book isn't devoid of hope either. it equally emphasizes the strength and courage of these female silk workers, and the strong bonds they have with each other that carries them through these experiences. this book manages the near impossible too: having a large cast of characters and making me care about each and every one of them. and there's also a sapphic romantic subplot!!

that was about as much composed writing i could do, so, onto incoherent thoughts with spoilers now. the writing style fit the book's tone and setting so well, i don't even know how to describe it but it's brilliant. gail tsukiyama is a brilliant writer. women of the silk was such a crying book. my heart broke multiple times throughout the book, and i kept on having to put the book down. i'm still not over the moment when pei's father abandoned her at auntie yee's house. or when mei-li drowned in the river. or pei finally seeing her family again. or the fact that there's never a firm resolution on what happened to her sister after the marriage, which is painfully realistic. or when auntie yee died and moi was coping with her death. or when lin died in the fire. that was so unbearable, and it was so painful when pei realized that her best friend and the person she loved was gone forever. again, this was such a crying book. the general lack of options for chinese women at the time is so heartbreaking.

the close relationship between pei and lin is such a core element of the book and, in my opinion, one of the best aspects of women of the silk. it's more than just a romance or just a friendship. i don't even know how to begin to describe the deep bond between them. it's never explicitly established nor is romance a focus in women of the silk, a book in which nearly every romantic relationship ends in tragedy or is an absolutely terrible marriage ordeal for the bride, but pei and lin obviously care about each other as more than friends. they both choose to go through with the haridressing ceremony to remain unmarried, opting to stay with each other than to get married to men. which, by the way, nearly all of men in women of the silk are absolute assholes. they never truly got into a romantic relationship and fully admitted their feelings for each other, which i'm still heartbroken over. only after lin's death does pei kiss her for the first and only time. pei and lin deserve the world and all the time togther. i wish they would have a happy ending, even if that's probably totally unrealistic.

[Cortney · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had such potential, yet failed to deliver. It was a good book, yet it could have been better. The characters did not progress. I would have loved to get to know them better, to understand their struggles and to feel what they felt. Maybe it’s the culture and they must remain guarded in fiction also. The synopsis of the book stated that it was about a strike at a silk factory in rural China in the 1920’s and 1930’s, but it was about so much more than that. This was the story of the young girls who were sold by their families into the life of working in the silk factories. Some of the girls were taken back by their families later to be sold in to marriage. Some of the girls chose to stay in the sisterhood, working in the silk factories for the rest of their lives, rather than enter marriage. And who could blame them? They were being given in marriage to men they didn’t know and didn’t love, possibly to be abused or mistreated for the rest of their lives. I was reading this at the same time that I watched part of a documentary on women in Afghanistan. I just wanted to scream, “Women are not commodities to be sold, bartered or traded!!!” The story of this book was so very interesting, but I think Tsukiyama could have taken it even further. The ending also left me deflated. I’ve heard that there is a sequel, but I will not be reading it.

[Sunnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rich tapestry of the lives of young girls who were mostly sold into a life of learning to harvest Silk from cocoon-stage to weaving bolts of the delicate fabric. There, lives could be lost from boiling water or horrible maiming by industrial machines, all the while forcing long hours onto the girls and providing the bare minimum of support in terms of food and housing. Yet, lifetime bonds would be formed by the new orphans. Even as nearly all the income derived from their labor was sent back to the families who sold them, they might still be sold by these same families (fathers ) to the highest bidder for their hand in marriage. The girls never achieved a sense of safety or belonging because their husbands would be cruel and abusive, resulting in their deaths. At the end of this era, most left in the silk factories who were unable to flee were killed by the crush of invading Japanese soldiers. History and love combined in a tragic yet beautiful story. A solid 4.65 rating. Highly recommended.

[Annette · Rating 3 out of 5]

1926, rural China

Description of giving birth is not an interesting start. Unless there is a custom of birth unknown to the Western world, then that might have been an interesting hook.

Descriptions of daily meals, parents meeting at young age and promised to one another by their families – all this sounds as many other stories.

When Yu-sung (mother) was brought to her husband’s house, she encountered the most unbearable filth. “Pao lived like an animal, the stench almost unbearable when she walked in through the door. (…) Yu-Sung could hardly keep down her vomit when she saw the rotting food, thick with growth, scattered on the table.” I was rather discouraged by this continuous disastrous description.

I was hoping the story would pick up with Pei’s story, daughter. But the descriptions continue to be very average; there is nothing unique or engrossing about it. While visiting a village, “She loved the crowds and the noise. She watched the men and women behind their makeshift stalls, selling whatever they could.”

Pei is taken by her father to Young Kee Silk Factory. At Auntie Yee’s girls house she meets other girls with whom she creates a close bond.

The girls work in the heat at the factory from dawn until dusk with not much break. Life is hard. Pei is a hard worker. She continues to advance to more responsible positions, but there is still something missing to the story to make it interesting.

The story attracted me because of the silk factory. I was hoping that the hardship and the customs of small villages and faraway places would come alive, but it doesn’t.

The story progresses very slowly. When it should evoke human emotion, it fails to do so.

@FB/BestHistoricalFiction

[Book Concierge · Rating 3 out of 5]

This work of historical fiction takes us to early 20th century China and the unique position of the women who worked in the silk factories in lieu of marriage, in order to help their families survive hard times.

Pei is but a child, about 9 years old, when her father, a struggling farmer, takes her to Auntie Yee’s house in the “large” village that has several silk factories. Unaware that this is more than just a visit, an adventure with her father, Pei goes with the kind Auntie Yee to “see the house” only to realize too late that her father has left her there. While she is heartbroken at first, she does eventually accept the kindness and friendship of other girls in the house and begins to learn the work of the silk factory. More importantly, she forms a close bond with the girls and women she comes to view as her new family.

I loved the unexpected strength and determination of these young women as they made their own way in a culture that restricted opportunities for women. The independence they gained, though initially forced on them, became their most prized attribute. They forged strong bonds and were successful in going against the male owners of the plant to demand better working conditions and shorter work hours.

The novel ends just as the Japanese invasion in 1938 ends their way of life, and Pei, along with a younger “sister” heads out for the next phase of their life’s journey.

This is one of Tsukiyama’s earlier works. It was interesting and engaging, and I’m glad I read it, but it isn’t up to the excellence so evident in her later novels.

[Joy D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Women of the Silk is set in rural China from 1919 to 1938. The novel follows the life of Pei, a young girl sent by her impoverished family to work in the silk factories. It covers Pei’s experiences within the sisterhood of silk workers. It is a story of personal growth, as Pei suffers the initial trauma of parental abandonment, acquires increased confidence through skilled work, and cultivates her ability to make independent choices. She bonds with Lin, who serves as both mentor and surrogate mother. The silk sisterhood provides a refuge for the women where they develop friendships and a mutual support system. Themes include empowerment, chosen family, and resilience.

The silk industry represented one of the few opportunities for women to achieve economic independence in a society that offered them limited options. Themes include empowerment, chosen family, and resilience. This novel beautifully portrays female friendships. It provides a welcome change from more conventional novels centered on marriage and motherhood. Through Pei's journey, we see how economic conditions shape lives, how community can constitute family, and how women in a patriarchal society can, under the right conditions, forge their own paths. It is a quiet, reflective novel that I very much enjoyed.

[Lex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite obviously a first novel- not a great work of literature but entertaining. Everyone seems to go on about how empowering this book is to women, but I found that element of the novel limited in scope, since the only women who are successful completely reject men and those who don't are destroyed by their heterosexual realtionships. I like boys, damnit!

[Clara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gail Tsukiyama's "Women of the Silk" is an interesting look into the lives of women who worked in the silk factories in China, in the early 20th century. Come to find out, this grueling labor actually gave these women a kind of freedom from traditional marriage roles, as they lived independently, off their own earnings. Tsukiyama follows a young girl, Pei, through to her years as a young adult, having been left without explanation at the silk factory by her father when she was little. Tsukiyama's writing style kept me rather emotionally aloof from the events in the book until towards the end when Pei decides to finally return home to see her estranged family whom she hadn't communicated with since she was left at the factory. Her return home, the descriptions of her homeland, and of her parents moved me a great deal. I appreciated Tsukiyama's delicate yet purposeful feminist lens on women's experiences in China at this time. She also subtly shows how gender roles damage both women and men, as Pei's father is often described as not having the ability or tools with which to express his feelings for his daughter or wife, because he has never been taught. This is a good read, quite fast, and make me want to pick up the sequel, "The Language of Threads."

[Dawn (& Ron) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Approaching this review has been difficult for me due to my confusion over this book. There was so much I enjoyed and learned from this book that this easily could have been a top read if only certain incidents didn't take me away from the book. This was my first buddy read and it brought a wonderful level of enjoyment to the read, thanks Jeannette! I loved the moving, poignant and empowering story of Pei and her sister silk workers, their simplicity and strength can't help but move you. Overall the compelling story of the silk workers, their triumphs and sorrows, their independence and freedom, is strong enough to entrance and transport the reader. And set during a time and place, early 20th century China (1919 - 1938), when equality for women was as strange a concept as man going to the moon, only adds to its spell. It is the yo-yo effect, of being yanked out of their lives that kept this from being a five star read.



Let me get the down side of the yo-yo out of the way so I can get back to the up side. Let's start with the most bothersome, the foretelling or predictability of events, such as deaths or occurrences, in a character's life. I'm not sure if this was intentional on the author's part or not but they certainly did not come as a surprise and were clearly foreshadowed. Despite this Tsukiyama's writing infused these passages with emotion, making you still care what happened, thus the yo-yo affect. I also found it tiresome to be repeatedly told a character's name and/or relation. On one page, for example, we have Sui Ying's husband, Lau Chen, then in the following paragraph, only four sentences later her husband, Lau Chen. I understand the difficulties for authors to make foreign names accessible to Western readers but this just seemed like overkill. Both Jeannette and I were confused about what the actual relationship was between two important characters and wondered if the vagueness was intentional or not. The last thing, which may have been an editorial issue, were that some of the cultural and foreign concepts unknown to most Western readers weren't described or elaborated upon; like grass widows, vegetarian hall and that giving birth condemned a woman to suffer in purgatory, while most others were detailed. A glossary of Chinese terms like jook, jong, cheong sam, the god Kuan-Yin and such would have been very helpful.

The author excels at showing a woman's worth, she clearly illustrates the confining, limited options of being born female along with the hard choices faced by parents.

"How often Yu-sung (Pei's mother) had wished one of them were a boy, something Pao (Pei's father) could be proud of, something of value."
"Too much knowledge will only lead to heartaches for a female."

Tsukiyama has a graceful hand in expressing and making understandable the feelings and motives of her characters, from Pei's parents, Pei finding herself, to the sister silk workers standing up to their boss. The events of the strike, based upon real events, are so visual and potent as they face their omnipotent boss, Chung, who looks down on them as less than human.

"Your nothing but failures, female dogs who have just thrown away any luck you could have had in this life!"

The author was also able to make the small experiences of life memorable and touching, like receiving the gift of a phonograph player and trying the "white devil" dances or when Pei learns the power and strength of staring back.



All of this is deftly interwoven against the backdrop of China's political struggles and Japanese aggression and atrocities. The book finishes with hopefulness and yearning amidst the uncertainty and questions of Japan's ongoing invasion of China .

"The Japanese moved like locusts, devouring cities in rapid succession."

I think the best way to sum up my experience reading this book is to say it is like sitting down to enjoy some nien kao, a sticky sweet cake for New Years celebration. It is delightful, filling and yummy even though it can get a bit messy and gooey at times.

[Kate♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5stars

This book was FINE. I gave it a 50% (2.5/5) rating because I liked about half of this book.

This story tells the tale of a young girl named Pei who lived in a time in China when young women were either married off or sent to work in factories. As a child Pei was predicted to be 'loved by many' and it couldn't be said for certain whether or not she'd settle down and actually marry. So, she was sent away to work in a factory just before WWII began.

One of the things I liked so much about this book was the history lesson about girls in China during WWII. Before 2016 when I began reading Asian literature taking place in China/Japan/Korea during WWII I'd never heard of things like comfort women, the Massacre of Nanking, and the many MANY attacks and raids in China. In American schools we learn solely about Pearl Harbor, and the attacks Japan took against us and how they helped Germany - we never got to learn what happened over in the East, so this book was a wonderful history lesson.

I also liked the sisterhood and importance of friendships in this story.

But, overall, this book was just quite BORING in my opinion. I have read another of Tsukiyama's books and this is the exact reason I didn't quite love it as much as I could have. Although her books are short and her writing is very easy to fly through, I also feel almost no emotion while reading her stories. I don't ever really care when something big or emotional happens, because I feel very detached from the characters and story due to the writing.

So while there were good elements, this book just didn't pack the emotional punch I feel like it probably should have due to the writing.

[Barbara (The Bibliophage) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally published on my book blog, TheBibliophage.com.

In Women of the Silk, a 1991 book from Gail Tsukiyama, times are hard. It’s China in the late 1920s and especially in the small villages nature and politics affect everyone. Our main character is a young girl named Pei. As the story opens, she’s about six, and her parents struggle to raise enough mulberries and fish to sell and feed the family. Her mother helps as much as she can, but pregnancy and child-rearing get in the way. And Pei is known for asking a million questions.

Very soon, Pei’s parents decide they have no choice but to sell Pei to the silk factories in the small city of Yung Kee. It’s far from their village, so they don’t expect to see their daughter again. But in that day and age, extreme poverty caused parents to do things we consider abhorrent today. So, Pei must learn to work hard and fit in at the “girls’ house” in Yung Kee.

She’s lucky to immediately make friends with an older girl named Lin, who teaches her the ropes.
Throughout the story, the two become inseparable both in work and their life among the other girls. Pei probably had a better life in the silk factories because of the women surrounding her, but it takes her time to find her way.

Tsukiyama also introduces us to Auntie Yee, who runs the house and her ‘daughter’ Chun Ling. Understanding Auntie’s back story helps flesh out the history, culture and traditions of the silk workers in that time. In addition, other characters highlight the other issues Chinese women faced in that time.

By the time the story ends, we’ve reached the 1930’s and Japan begins to encroach on China. The harrowing truths of war start to reach Yung Kee, including diminished demand for silk thread and factory workers to create it.

My conclusions
Women of the Silk is achingly beautiful and quite sad, even though Pei’s inquisitive personality makes for some laughs. I want historical fiction to teach me about a time and place I don’t already know. And Tsukiyama does this in spades here. She explores small town China when the clash between ancient and modern times is at its strongest.

Women lived with intense restriction because of culture, times, and finances. But the female silk workers have both physical and financial freedoms that other women don’t. Yet as they get older their parents often still force them to marry, putting them squarely under the thumb of a man once again.

I was particularly touched by the relationship between Pei and Lin. They begin as mentor and mentee, then developing into closer friends and maybe even falling in love. Tsukiyama treats the female love relationships in this book with delicacy, never quite stating them outright. Clearly though, Pei and Lin are intensely close, despite their differences. They make rebellious choices to stay together and have many tender moments.

Another thing Tsukiyama reminds us of is the brutality of the Japanese in the war between the two countries. It is mostly just hinted at here and doesn’t reach the story until the end. But it’s there under the surface. I suspect the second book from this duology, The Language of Threads, explores it further.

All in all, I quite enjoyed this book. It doesn’t shy away from the real-life difficulties of the time and place. And Tsukiyama develops her characters with care and attention. I’ve already started book two.

Pair with Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore or Women Talking by Miriam Toews for other explorations of women’s roles in a very different time and place.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book should have been a nonfiction book presenting the silk factories. The plot and characters seemed to exist only to illustrate an aspect of Chinese history or factory conditions or options in 1920-30s China for women.

I am intrigued by the hair dressing ceremony wherein women could choose to become a member of the sisterhood of silk workers, an alternative to arranged marriages. A parallel ceremony to marriage; the choice as permanent. Like secular nuns.

Even if the factories allowed women to escape family and marriage, even if it allowed them to send some support home, it is not a good excuse for running a sweatshop, and this factory did become/was always that--hence the strike. However, the strike was unconvincing; the results too easy. I have read about the labor movement's beginning in the US of A, and I must confess that I am now interested to learn to what extent there was a parallel movement in China, and if indeed it was that much easier than in the US.

There seemed an abrupt shift from isolated rural to involvement with the Japanese invasion. While it was abrupt, it may have reflected the awareness of the rural people as the fighting moved closer to them. So I have mixed feelings about the ending. There were slight hints earlier of trouble up north. The entrance of difficulties still felt sudden and intrusive. Maybe war is like that.

[SheReaders Book Club · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love this woman's writing! Everything she says is like a poem and the beauty is so evident in the small parts like when she describes the preparation of food or the city sights and smells as the character goes on a walk through town. Her stories capture emotions and you feel like you have a co-pilot seat in experiencing the character's transformation. The character development is such that you actually miss these people you're reading about once the book is over. I would love to read more by this author and highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a great hero's journey tale. Warning: This book does lead to cravings for dumplings and sweets!

[Jason Prodoehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book really had me inside the world of rural China in the 1920s and 30s. It follows the life of a girl in a tiny village, and her life going to a small town to become a silk worker. I don't want to ruin any of it for you, so that's all I'll say. I found it very intimate and compelling. It was a real page turner. I was surprised to read that this was Gail Tsukiyama's first novel. Excellent work.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

After recently hearing Tsukiyama speak in person, I decided to go back and read her novels in order. This is an excellent first novel, about the lives of women in China working in the silk trade. I loved it! Excellent story of women's friendship.

[Cassidy | fictionalcass · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is no doubt that Gail Tsukiyama is a talented writer. This novel covers quite a lot of ground over many years, and it is clear she is very knowledgeable about this time period and lifestyle.

That being said, I did not personally enjoy this book. The biggest hang up for me was the way that it felt emotionally detached. There were very emotional things being described, but it felt so surface level, and a lot of that was due to the way things were described. Pei’s emotions were told to me, but things were not conveyed in a way that evoked those feelings and made me feel any real connection to what was happening.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

Women of the Silk, Gail Tsukiyama's first novel, is well worth its strong reputation. We had the great pleasure of hosting the author at the Hayward Public Library in February 2009. As a member of the audience commented, readers can count on learning a lot from Tsukiyama's novels. In Women of the Silk, we follow the principal character, Pei, who is essentially abandoned by her family when she is a young girl, sent off to the nearest silk-making factory to earn a living that will help her family survive. Living and working with other young Chinese girls, Pei's life is chronicled over a period of almost 20 years, beginning in 1919 and ending 1938, when Japanese soldiers are sweeping across China and Pei is forced to leave the city of Yung Kee to seek safety in Hong Kong.

Tsukiyama's meticulous research on the historical period and customs of the women silk workers is well integrated in a moving account of this subculture of Chinese girls, and the deep bonds they form with each other. Separated from their families and from the promise of marriage, we learn that many of these girls chose, as young women, to make a lifelong commitment to the silk factory work. A respected alternative to marriage, the hairdressing ceremony became a milestone for Chinese women who chose to lead a life independent from men. A fascinating, touching novel, which I highly recommend.

[Ms bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved every word of this book! Historical fiction at its best, the last book that touched me in the way Women of The Silk did while reading was A Thousand Splendid Suns. This is the first book I've read by the author and must say her writing style and ability to transport you back in time/in to the characters is good.

The message in this book is sisterhood, girl power, fighting for rights and survival of the fitest in times of austerity. All set in a time and culture when women were married off with little choice. The women of the silk did not marry by choice, or were deemed as not marriage material by their families so forged an alliance together.
All the characters are likeable and come across well, I loved Chen Ling so feisty and strong when gearing the women up to fight for better working conditions.

There are sad moments, highs and lows in this book but nothing is predictable.

Would I recommend? Yes to historical fiction lovers. Would I read this author's work again ? 100% yes I'm a fan.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of Pei, a woman of the silk, who was taken to work in the silk factories as a child of eight. This simple fact is the basis for the novel and a way of life for many girls and women in China in the 1920's and 1930s. They initially helped to support their poor families and ultimately gained a degree of freedom for themselves.

I enjoyed this novel as an introduction to a way of life completely foreign to me. I really don't know anything much of China during that time prior to WWII. It's interesting to see the first glimpses of women living their own life.

I enjoyed the effortless reading also and will definitely read more of Tsukiyama's books. This was her first.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my students recommended this to me as one of her favorites, and I enjoyed it as well. It reminded me a little of one of my summer reads "The Blood of Flowers" which I liked even more than this. Reading about the silk factories of China in the 1920s-30s was very interesting, and I like novels that take me to new places. An easy and entertaining read.

[Melody Schwarting · Rating 3 out of 5]

A slow, meditative novel about the industrial revolution in China giving women new opportunities. While the blurb purports Women of the Silk to be about a factory strike, that only takes up a portion of the novel. The Japanese invasion provides the denouement (there is a sequel), but it's not about the war, either. Women of the Silk largely concerns the lives of women who work in and around the silk factory, by choice or by force. Occasional vignettes give us glimpses into the minds and hearts of characters besides our heroine, Pei. I enjoy slow novels, pretty much preferring them to action-packed books. Yet, I felt like there was something missing from Pei. Tsukiyama often relies on Pei's relationships with others to define her character, and there's something lacking in the narrative construction of Pei's relationship with herself.

This is Tsukiyama's first novel, and I'm eager to read more by her. As a Chinese-Japanese-American writer, she brings a unique perspective to Asian-American historical fiction.

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

A moving portrait of survival, sisterhood, and the pieces of joy the young women forge amidst it all. Women of the Silk is written simply and without much adornment, and yet, I am left feeling deeply touched and invested in the lives of these silk workers. A remarkable work of Chinese proletarian fiction.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tsukiyama has a lovely voice in her writing.
I enjoyed learning about the women of the silk and about rural China before the Japanese invasion. The story was heartwarming. This is the third of her books I've.read and does not measure up to The Samurai's Garden. (I realized as I wrote this that this book and the other I've read were told in the third person and The Samurai's Garden was in the first person. Maybe that's the key to the depth and richness of TSG)