Women of the Silk by Gail Tsukiyama

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis:

Set prior to World War II, Pei is sent to work at the women's silk factory by her parents, where she grows to womanhood, working fifteen-hours days and sending part of her pay to the family who abandoned her. But at the factory, Pei is welcomed into a group of women who forge a sisterhood amidst the reeling machines. The women use strength of their ambition, dreams, and friendship to achieve the freedom they could never have hoped for on their own. 

What I Think

I enjoyed this one, but a few alterations would have easily made it a five star book for me. 

Likes:

     The look into rural China from several perspectives and aspects provided so much knowledge and insight. It made it so easy to connect with the storyline and sympathize with the characters. Everything was here. 

    The plight of Chinese women, the invasion of the Japanese, the hint of spirituality, the rich, the poor, the background stories of each character. 

Dislikes:

 Some loose ends were left untied that cannot be addressed in the second installment due to some vital characters dying off. The truth behind Mei-li's death , Hong left without confrontation, Pei's silence and refusal to share what she knew; these were all left unresolved. 

    

Throughout the book I felt as if Pei could have displayed more of a desire to see her family. She rarely thought of them or contemplated visiting them until I got towards the end of the book. I thought that rather strange. 

I also felt like the ghostly relationship between Aunt Yee and Moi could have been expounded on slightly more. Maybe a few more scenes with them together or one more discussion between the two  of them; or some clue to hint whether it was all real or not. 

Conclusion:

When you find a great book, you instantly want more. And that's what I felt with this one. Despite the minor lack of details, it didn't effect how much I enjoyed this book.