The Language of Threads
This novel is a sequel to Women of the Silk and has the same protagonist, Pei. In 1938, Pei leaves China for Hong Kong, where she hopes to use her skills and contacts from the silk factory to find employment. With her is fourteen-year-old Ji Shen, whose family was killed by the Japanese. The story follows the lives of these women through World War Two and beyond.
It soon became clear that this book was written for those who have read Women of the Silk. There is constant reference to past events, and to Lin, the woman who was apparently central to Pei’s life in the silk factory. After a while, these flashbacks began to annoy me. The only point where this novel seemed to stand on its own was during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong. Then there was an immediacy which compelled me to read on.
Overall, this novel lacks dramatic tension. The author seems to delight in passive language, and in relaying events via the characters’ thoughts, instead of showing them taking place. I felt disappointed, as this was a story I could have enjoyed.
