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Jana McBurney-Lin’s debut novel, My Half of the Sky, is a masterpiece and well worth the ten years it took her to write it. From the first word to the last of its 533 pages, the reader will be captivated by the way the author uses words and nuance and simplicity to create rich characters and settings so vivid it feels like you are watching a classic film. It is the story of Li Hui, a young village girl who manages to go to College with the dream of escaping the ordinary, only to find herself bound again to poverty, hopelessness, and the increasing debts of her gambling-addicted father. You’ll weep with her at the unfairness of life, and you’ll root for her when happiness, in the form of a young man in a blue shirt, fleetingly touches her life. China’s late leader, Mao Ze Dong once said, “Women hold up half the sky,” but to Li Hui, it just wasn’t so. Never could she see herself holding up even a sliver of sky. But as we follow her journey in these pages, we begin to see strengths she is blind to. And when her friend, Madam Paper Cutter, hands her an intricate cutting of a phoenix, we know in our hearts that Li Hui will one day fly. My Half of the Sky is a hard book to put down, but you will force yourself to do so, just to make the reading experience last longer. It’s a story you’ll want to savor one piece at a time, like eating fine chocolate, and it’s one that you’ll want to return to over and over. |
Jackie Houchin is a freelance reporter for The Foothills Paper in San Fernando Valley, California. She belongs to Sisters In Crime and Mystery Writers of America and the California Writers Club. Jackie reviews for Mystery Scene Magazine, Crime Spree Magazine and The Strand magazine. She is a regular contributor to Valleynews.com as a book, theater and film reviewer. Jackie contributes to The Valley Scribe and have a few things in the CWC 2005-2006 anthology. She is a photographer, and have "shot" countless plays and musicals in community theaters for 18 years. |
My Half of the Sky