A few months ago I had read one of Tsukiyama’s books, and thought it was pretty good. I then immediately put the rest of her works on my Goodreads list. The other day the library informed me that this was available for me to pick up. 

I made it to page 103 before deciding to throw it back. 

Don’t get me wrong, it’s written well and I’m sure it’s a lovely book. However, it just didn’t move fast enough for me. To me, it was like Muzak, soothing, pleasant, but nothing ever really happens. 

The story is about young girls as silk workers in China in 1926, and according to the blurb, they eventually strike due to poor working conditions. The book, at least up to page 103, describes the girls and their former life, interspersed with their life at the factory. I grew weary of the constant pages of nothing happening, except eating, and wishing they were back home, and jumping back and forth between characters. It also seemed to me that their names were all alike and I could not remember who was who, and so I began to not care about which character was talking. 

That was the beginning of the end. I have too many other books in the bullpen to waste any more time. There are more Tsukiyama books planned; I just hope the subject matter is more exciting.