Description

A propulsive and dazzling debut novel set against the backdrop of the Chinese Exclusion Act, and one Chinese girl fighting to claim her place

‘An engulfing, bighearted and heartbreaking novel’ ANN PATCHETT, author of Women’s Prize longlisted The Dutch House

‘A sweeping adventure of identity, love and belonging’ C PAM ZHANG, Man Booker longlisted author of How Much of These Hills are Gold

‘An impressive and original debut’ THE SUNDAY TIMES
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Daiyu was named after a ghost . . .

Little Daiyu is twelve when her parents disappear. So she runs, disguising herself as a boy, to sweep the steps of Master Wang’s calligraphy school in Zhifu.

But this is just the beginning of a journey that sends her across an ocean to San Francisco and the lawless American west.

Kidnapped. Trafficked. Betrayed.
Prize virgin in a brothel.
Passion. Revenge. Freedom.
A woman in a man’s world.

Daiyu fears her name is a curse on her life.
But what if it might yet set her free?
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‘Brilliant and devastating . . . Weaving together myth and history, Zhang’s work is both timeless and utterly necessary right now’ ANNA NORTH, New York Times bestselling author of Outlawed

‘An instant and necessary classic, easily among the best novels of this past decade. The story lingers long after its final pages’ T Kira Madden, author of Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls

‘An astonishing novel propelled by private and public histories, rich with reflections on self-making, moral calling, great love, and profound injustice’ Megha Majumdar, author of A Burning

Publisher Review

An engulfing, bighearted and heartbreaking novel. Illuminates shocking injustices, making us stop and consider how many survive to this day -- Ann Patchett, author of Women's Prize longlisted The Dutch House An impressive and original debut * THE SUNDAY TIMES * A sweeping adventure of identity, love and belonging -- C Pam Zhang, Man Booker longlisted author of How Much of These Hills are Gold Brilliant and devastating. Four Treasures of the Sky tells the story of Daiyu, who is brought to America against her will and forced to hide who she is even as she grows into her true self. Weaving together myth and history, Zhang's work is both timeless and utterly necessary right now. -- Anna North, author of the New York Times bestseller Outlawed An instant and necessary classic, easily among the best novels of this past decade. The story lingers long after its final pages -- T Kira Madden, author of Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls An astonishing novel propelled by private and public histories, rich with reflections on self-making, moral calling, great love, and profound injustice -- Megha Majumdar, author of A Burning This unforgettable novel dazzles. An exhilarating rush of character, history and storytelling -- Kali Fajardo-Anstine, US National Book Award finalist author of Sabrina & Corina Brings alive a heroine for the ages, an indomitable teenage girl whose relentless spirit and self-reinvention carries this story. Daiyu is sure to take her place in the canon of great Western heroines next to True Grit's Mattie Ross -- Juliet Grames, author of The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna This book is haunting, luscious and precise - it's historical fiction as we most want and need it to be. Four Treasures of the Sky paints a neglected chapter in history with sharp and devastating brushstrokes -- Julia Fine, author of The Upstairs House A lyrical and sweeping Bildungsroman, fierce and moving * Publishers Weekly, starred review * A book to sit alongside Yaa Gyasi's Homecoming and Anna North's Outlawed, this is a powerful tale of reclamation, spun with soul by a remarkable new talent * Lauren Puckett, Shelf Awareness *