Four Treasures of the Sky Free online reading

2022 Library Journal Best Books of the Year, Long-listed

2022 Shelf Awareness Best Books of the Year, Long-listed

2022 New York Times Book Review Notable Books of the Year, Long-listed

“Narrator Katharine Chin’s outstanding performance will have listeners weeping as they hear Zhang’s debut novel, based on actual events.” – Library Journal (Starred Review)

"Reader Katharine Chin has a young, clear voice that captures Daiyu’s determination and spirit. Chinese names and phrases flow easily, and Chin voices the cast of characters with sensitivity. Absolutely first rate." - Booklist (starred review)

This program includes a bonus conversation between the author and editor.

A propulsive and dazzling debut novel set against the backdrop of the Chinese Exclusion Act, about a Chinese girl fighting to claim her place in the 1880s American West

Daiyu never wanted to be like the tragic heroine for whom she was named, revered for her beauty and cursed with heartbreak. But when she is kidnapped and forced across an ocean from China to America, Daiyu must relinquish the home and future she imagined for herself. Over the years that follow, she is forced to keep reinventing herself to survive. From a calligraphy school, to a San Francisco brothel, to a shop tucked into the Idaho mountains, we follow Daiyu on a desperate quest to outrun the tragedy that chases her. As anti-Chinese sentiment sweeps across the country in a wave of unimaginable violence, Daiyu must draw on each of the selves she has been—including the ones she most wants to leave behind—in order to finally claim her own name and story.

At once a literary tour de force and a groundbreaking work of historical fiction, Four Treasures of the Sky announces Jenny Tinghui Zhang as an indelible new voice. Steeped in untold history and Chinese folklore, this novel is a spellbinding feat.

A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books