*Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore for providing me with an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.*
On the eve of the release day of Fishbone Cinderella by Elizabeth Lim, here are my thoughts to push you to pick this title up. This book really draws eyes, what with the gorgeous cover and the fascinating story mixing history, folklore, and fantasy.
About Fishbone Cinderella
1940s Hong Kong
When Japanese soldiers invade her hometown, Ha Yut Ying makes an unlikely escape—by turning invisible. But her miraculous survival is only the beginning. After the war is over, she’s sent to Hong Kong to live with her distant father and glamorous stepmother, who end her dreams of becoming a singer and turn her into the family’s servant. As the years pass, Yut Ying learns the hard truths of betrayal and ambition, of forbidden love and devastating loss, and discovers that sometimes the only way to endure is to disappear.
1960s San Francisco
Marigold has always had a knack for uncovering secrets, but nothing prepares her for the day she accidentally witnesses her mother vanish before her eyes. The moment fractures their bond, leaving questions that shadow her entire childhood. But when her mother’s condition suddenly deteriorates, Marigold is convinced she’s the only person who can save her. To do so, she must journey into the secrets her mother never shared and uncover the tragic, fairytale-tinged history their family has fought to forget.
A story of mother and daughters, the scars they inherit and the magic that binds them, Fishbone Cinderella is a tender and enchanting exploration of what it means, at last, to be seen. – from the author’s website
Tragic Fairytale
Fishbone Cinderella is Elizabeth Lim’s adult debut, and it brings together the historical framework of the Japanese occupation in China and Chinese immigration to the US with Chinese folklore, the story of Yeh Shen and the golden fish, and the magical power that the women in Yut Ying/Helen’s family possess. The Chinese version of Cinderella is one of the oldest in the world, and I love how it was told (in this book, it was presented through characters narrating it at one point and as an overall storyline).
I think the way this folk tale was framed within the story was brilliant and tied together in such an intriguing and original way. I thoroughly enjoyed that part. I also appreciate the actual historical frame, and I always like when authors show these big historical events through the everyday life of ordinary people. It shows the actual effects and significance they hold.
I loved the dynamic between the characters and how their personalities shine through individually, but also were complex and changing throughout the story, especially given that we have a dual POV with the time jumps. It really shows the depth and the complexity of the characters and gives a full picture of how different events, but also time and age, affect them.
I was afraid of the truth.
Fishbone cinderella by Elizabeth Lim
The mother-daughter dynamic was shown through several examples that highlighted how and why certain character traits move these characters, and what (they feel) is their purpose in life. It questions the choices and how and why they were made. I also want to highlight the siblings’ relationship. In times of greatest hardship, it was the strongest bond and anchor. I wish we could’ve spent even more time with some of the characters in the book, like Helen’s Yi Gor (Cantonese for second brother), or given the time to tie the storylines with characters like Tommy or Kenji.
The symbolism of the names was clever. There’s this seemingly sporadic description at the beginning of the book about the pond that also ties brilliantly into the overall story. It completely changes meaning once you’ve read the book.
There’s this sentence that Marigold says towards the end. She says: “I was afraid of the truth.” A bit earlier in the story, Marigold’s name is related to that word. Now, the women in her family inherited this mysterious power, but they all called it a curse. They were afraid of it, hiding it, running from it, and denying it. They were afraid of themselves. It is actually a story about identity. These women were (forced to) hide their national and racial identity, and their true selves, with the power they hold. All their lives, and throughout the story, they are trying to silence themselves, make themselves smaller, and hide/forget what they’ve endured and survived.
Final Thoughts
This is Lim’s adult debut. It was heavy and heartbreaking, dealing with many difficult topics. What I would say is that, regarding the tone, I read the book as if it were still a YA. The story itself is captivating; never once did it lose my attention, and the themes had depth and were dark, but I think it needed to adjust the tone just a bit more. That did not in any way disrupt my reading experience, but it is something I noticed when I was done reading and pondered on it a bit.
Having said that, Fisbone Cinderella is for sure a book I would recommend you read, and it does seem like one of the big hits this year.
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