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Susan F. (Rabun Gap, GA)
(04/12/10)
Good, Light Read
This is a good, light read as it fails to develop its characters enough to be a really great book. The family of traveling women just did not connect and I was unable to identify with any of them. Sadly, even the travel log portion failed to make me enthusiastic for any travel to modern day China.
Jean N. (New Richmond, OH)
(04/08/10)
A Thread of Sky
Three generations of women, reuniting to embark on a family tour of China, each bringing their own baggage containing individual secrets, hopes and dreams. Traveling together, yet apart, each women looking for something different. The story unfolds slowly, as secrets come to the surface, and the women discover their true selves and each other.
Dorothy T. (Victorville, CA)
(04/05/10)
This one's just OK
I had a difficult time connecting with the characters in this book. The poor choices these women make did nothing to invoke my sympathies, especially in view of the fact that they are supposed to be liberated and educated. Maybe that is the author's point. Her treatment of the themes of forgiveness and the complicated tangle of mothers, daughters and sisters might make this worthy of a reading.
Jill S. (Eagle, ID)
(04/05/10)
A Thread of Sky
I was looking forward to this debut novel, but I must admit I struggled with it from the beginning. Although the characters are strong, believable women, their emotional problems and unhappiness over shadowed this book, and I could not identify with any of them. The ending left me empty as well. There are a number of unanswered questions, and perhaps Ms. Fei intends to write a sequel. Overall, this wasn’t a great read, but it wasn’t a ‘poor read’ either. It was just ‘okay’.
Jane N. (Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey)
(04/02/10)
A Thread of Sky
Wow, what a great start for this author. There is so much to like about this book on many levels. The themes are universal, growing up, growing old and learning how to deal with all of life's seasons. I identified with the mother and the grandmother the most and I'm sure that anyone who reads this book will also have their favorite characters. The trip through modern China is fascinating ! A good read and a great choice for a book club !
Jane H. (Indianola, Iowa)
(03/31/10)
A Thread of Sky
I found it very hard to get interested in A Thread of the Sky. The characters all had emotional problems,carried secrets and could not seem to identify with each other. The one character I felt lived up to my expectations was the grandmother. This is not the China she left. Mao's time has passed, and China was becoming more western- copying the West. She had been a woman who left a legacy behind her. She wished her granddaughters to find legacies for themselves.
I enjoyed the families tour through modern China.
Patricia W. (Richmond, VA)
(03/31/10)
A Thread of Sky
This is a sweeping story of a complicated family on two simultaneous journeys. One journey is back to their roots in China and the other an emotional journey that has each woman in the novel looking at her life. It is a compelling book with universal themes--growing up and coming of age, aging and coming to grips with the past. While enjoying the book, some details were at times overwhelming and superfluous to the story. Tighter editing might have served the book well but all in all it is an enjoyable, multi-generational, multi-cultural read.
Sylvia G. (Scottsdale, AZ)
(03/30/10)
threads not cloth
This story of 3 generations of American-Chinese women taking a trip to China had great possibilities, but ultimately fell short. Every character is unhappy but I couldn't empathize with any of them, in fact finding some of it rather whiny. We have threads of each story but never a whole cloth and that makes it hard to care too much. It was like a depressing and boring literary version of " Joy Luck Club".
