Women of the Silk: A Novel

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 288 pages
• Published by: St. Martin's Griffin October 15, 1993
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0312099436
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0312099435
• Book Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Weighs: 12.3 ounces

From Publishers Weekly
An auspicious debut, this sensitively written, impressively researched novel covers twenty years in the life of Pei, a Chinese girl sent to work in a silk factory during the first decades of the 20th century. Quick-witted, inquisitive, spirited Pei spends her early childhood on a poverty-stricken fish farm; her uncommunicative parents consign her to the factory for the wages she will send home. Initially terrified, Pei soon settles into the communal routine, and finds the 12-hour factory day made bearable by the kindness of supervisors and fellow workers. Along with her best friend, Lin, she decides at 16 to go through the hairdressing ceremony, in which girls pledge to dedicate their lives to silk work instead of marrying, and move into the peaceful milieu of the "sisters' house." Details of the process of spinning silk, the close bonds among the sisterhood, and contrasts between the tradition-steeped existence the young women enjoy and the upheaval attending the new communist regime create a compelling narrative. Tsukiyama's simple, elegant and fluid prose weaves a vivid picture of rural China. In delicately evoking the silk workers' world, she has opened a window onto an aspect of China few outsiders ever see.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal
YA-- When Pei Chung is eight years old, her father leaves her at the house of Auntie Yee so that she can work in the silk factory. Her grief at the unexplained abandonment is softened by the kindness of Yee and the other girls, and slowly she begins to thrive in her new independence. The friendship between Pei and Lin, who is the support of her once wealthy and powerful family, is forged with the lives of the silk workers who begin to demand better conditions. The China of 1919-1938, when the Japanese threat became a reality, is woven into the threads of factory life and that of families faced with ruin. The characters are drawn with fine detail. Small village life contrasts vividly with an exciting visit to Canton, and ceremonies are exquisitely described. This fascinating story is gorgeously written and slightly reminiscent of Pearl Buck's The Good Earth . YAs will find it a riveting story and an absorbing look at a country trying to deal with economic and political change. --Judy Sokoll, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Reader Reviews
I have long maintained that one of the primary reasons to read a book is to learn something new. And nowhere is learning achieved more than in Gail Tsukiyama's novel Women of the Silk, her first published title. Not only does the author provide her readers with memorable characters but introduces us to the world of women silk workers and their sisterhood. Pei Ling is the first-born daughter of Chinese peasant farmers. Although her mother has been pregnant several times only Pei and her younger sister Li survive past infancy. When she turns 8, Pei is brought to an area of China known for their silk factories. Although she is unaware of what will happen to her once her father leaves, it is evident to the reader that she has been sold and her parents will receive a stipend for providing her as a silk worker. Pei is at first shy and lonely but slowly learns her job and makes friends with an older silk worker, Ling. After several years when Li become comfortable with her surroundings, Pei chooses to be bound to the sisterhood by partaking in the hair ceremony. Once this ceremony is over, Li will not be free to marry or work elsewhere but pledges her life to the Sisterhood of silk workers. Then as conditions worsen for the workers, it is obvious that change within the silk factories is necessary. And then when Japan begins to occupy China, the world Li and her sisters have known for so many years begins to crumble. For me as reader this was a wonderful title and one filled with many learning experiences. In the deft hands of Tsukiyama, I felt as though I was the silk worker learning my trade and making friendships with the other girls and women. This book is not to be missed and when you finish it, I hope you will consider reading The Language of Threads which continues the story of Pei as China is occupied during WWII.