The Language of Threads

My only complaint is that this book wasn't published in one volume with 'Women of the Silk', because both books didn't really feel like separate tales. Rather, they felt more like two halves of one tale, especially because of the way 'Women of the Silk' ended and this one begun. Still, it was a lovely and poignant tale as Pei has to deal with the tumult of the Japanese invading China (this book starts in the late 1930's) and shows that even no matter how tenacious and determined some people are (like Caroline Finch) they still can't overcome certain difficulties. Surviving hard times is not just a matter of tenacity or resourcefulness, it's also luck - good or bad, so while this story is bittersweet and realistic, it's also an enjoyable show more tale. I only wish that we had seen something bad happen to Fong, since she was such a nasty little thing. show less

The Language of Threads by Gail Tsukiyama is the sequel to her Women of the Silk and is a story about Chinese women before, during and after World War II. In this book we follow Pei as she and her young friend Ji Shen arrive in Hong Kong and set out to establish a life for themselves in that busy city. She has some connections with other “silk sisters” and is able to find a job and get Ji Shen enrolled in school, but she gets blamed or something she didn’t do and gets fired. Luckily she meets and begins to work for a British woman, Caroline Finch. Of course life changes again when the Japanese invade and conquer Hong Kong. Mrs. Finch is removed to a concentration camp and Pei and Ji Shen must survive as best they can.

There are show more plenty of struggles for these women and the author inserts plenty of history as well. Pei is rather a stoic person and keeps her thoughts to herself, she is one who puts her head down and works through stress and drama. Pei does eventually prosper as she establishes a business and is able to begin a search for her sister who is living in Communist China.

The Language of Threads is definitely a sequel and there are many references to places, people, and events from that first book so I would recommend that people start with Women of the Silk. And while I didn’t feel an emotional connection to the story, I was engrossed by the story of women helping other women and in particular, the struggles on one woman to find a place of safety for herself and those she loves. show less

The Language of Threads – Tsukiyama
4 stars

This sequel to Women of the Silk continues the story of Pei and the orphaned Ji Shen as they flee to Hong Kong in the wake of the Japanese invasion. The story progresses through the Japanese occupation, the Communist take-over and the post war recovery of Hong Kong. As the central character, Pei struggles to support herself and Ji Shen while continuing to grieve for her partner, Lin. One or two other characters from the first story continue in this one. The book ends with the aging Pei returning, full circle, to her origins, in memory, and with a visit to Communist China.

As in the first book, Language of Threads explores the lives of women who are without the protection of traditional family show more relationships. The “sisterhood” of the silk industry continues to provide support for the refugees in Hong Kong even though the industry itself is gone. In this way Pei and Ji Shen are not without the means to find shelter and employment. Pei is even able to provide the young Ji Shen with the advantage of an education; until the Japanese invasion. Employment includes a brief but fulfilling relationship with the English widow, Mrs. Finch. Mrs. Finch provides Tsukiyama with another outlet to explore the creation of a non-traditional family. Themes of friendship, love and loyalty permeate this book.

Tsukiyama writes in a rather understated manner. I sometimes find myself wanting more detail to support the apparent depth of the relationships between her characters. On the other hand, her characters tend to be people who allow their actions to speak for the depth of their feeling.

I would recommend reading these two books rather closely together. Pei’s growth as a character is tied by many threads to the events of the first book. show less

Absolutely loved it. It's a sequel to [The Women of Silk]. The story continues with Pei and Ji Shen fleeing China to Hong Kong because of the Japanese occupation. There they start to build a new life for themselves. Pei's strength and resilience is put to the test many times over as she learns how to fend for herself and then look after Ji Shen in this new world, taking on new work as a laundress, a domestic helper and later on a seamstress. As the Japanese bomb Hong Kong, round up the British into POW camps in Stanley, life becomes even more difficult, with food shortages and avoiding the Japanese soldiers and Triads. But the silver lining is the silk sisters have managed to gather together once more, this time, to live together once show more more and pool their resources for their survival.

It's the 2nd book in a month where I've read about the cruel atrocities inflicted on their victims and it's difficult to think that those individuals are ancestors to current day Japanese, who are fun, reserved, and mostly kind and considerate.

Narratives told from the perspective of Pei, Ji Shen, Li (Pei's sister), Mrs Finch (a British employer), Song Lee (a silk sister), and a few other characters, this is a book that's hard to put down once you get started on it. show less

good — felt like it was the sequel to something — finishing up loose ends — what happens to other characters

Readers of Women of the Silk never forgot the moving, powerful story of Pei, brought to work in the silk house as a girl, grown into a quiet but determined young woman whose life is 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, in the home of a wealthy family, ends in disgrace, but soon Pei and Ji Shen find a new life in the home of Mrs. Finch, a British ex-patriate who welcomes them as the daughters she never had. Their show more idyllic life is interrupted, however, by war, and the Japanese occupation. Pei is once again forced to make her own way, struggling to survive and to keep her extended family alive as well. show less

This was a sequel to an earlier book that I haven't read. I think I would have enjoyed it more had I read the first book. I have read a lot of historical fiction about WWII but not about the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong so that was an interesting perspective.

The Language of Threads is the sequel to Tsukiyama's successful first novel 'Women of the Silk'. It tells the story of Pei, who travels with the orphan Ji Shen to Hong Kong. She has to start her life anew, whilst living through the Japanese occupation. This is a story set in a fascinating time and place, with some interesting characters.

I think that this book is an improvement over its predecessor. The writing is much less laboured, and the dialogue flows a little better. The characters are fleshed out a little more, and we understand their motivations better. The book refers often to events and actions in the preceding book - I think you would really have to have read 'Women of the Silk' to know what is being talked about some of the show more time.

This is not the best novel i have read set in this time or place, but stacked up against her previous effort, it looks okay. Tsukiyama is obviously finding herself as a writer the more she does it, and if i come across another of her novels in the future i will probably read it. show less