
I generally wait until we've finished reading a book before I give it a place in the Library Monday annals, but we are enjoying the new novel by Grace Lin so very much that I thought I should share it sooner rather than later, in case anyone finds themselves in need of a great read with some urgency. Starry River of the Sky is the title of Lin's newest work, and I think I almost injured my clicking finger when it popped up in my Amazon recommendations a couple of weeks back, I added it to my cart with such lightning speed. As you all know, I am generally a big fan of library borrowing, especially for books that are new to us. But I knew from our experience with the last book of Lin's that we read, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, that ownership was probably the more realistic route here.
Starry River of the Sky, like Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, is the story of a child who has travelled away from home, in hopes of finding a fate better than the one left behind. In this case, our hero is a boy named Rendi, who has run away from home to escape the rage of his father, widely known as Magistrate Tiger. Those who read Where the Mountain Meets the Moon will recognize that name, and although it isn't clear that Lin is revisiting the same character in this newer book, the mythology of the two books clearly intersects in interesting ways throughout. Fans of the earlier book with likely pick up on this and enjoy it.
The main action of this book takes place when Rendi finds himself stranded in a small, drought-stricken village named the Village of Clear Sky. There Rendi meets an unusual cast of characters ranging from an inn keeper and his young daughter to a confused but possibly clairvoyant old man and his friend, a kind, mysterious woman who seems to be the only other town resident who can hear the strange sound that keeps Rendi awake at night: the crying out of the dark sky for the moon, which seems to have gone completely missing. The missing moon is perhaps the central mystery of the book, but there are a number of other questions outstanding as well, and as the story moves along, it becomes increasingly clear that all of these questions are intimately tied to one another, turning the story into an intriguing narrative full of "ah-ha" moments for the reader.
Although I cannot yet say how this engaging and well-crafted tale will end, at three-quarters of the way through, a number of things are already clear to me. The first is that yet again, Lin has done a masterful job of tossing out a number of story threads that at first appear to be unwinding in different directions, but as the story develops, the strands begin to weave into one another in a way that feels like literary magic. It is the hallmark of an author who is not only a good writer, but an accomplished storyteller, intertwining the Chinese folktales of her youth with the more modern tale of her own imagining. It is also clear that as in Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, the story within the story here is one that underscores the importance of growth, redemption, kindness and friendship. It is a story about community and the restorative power of our relationships with other people. It is, in short, completely enchanting.
I know that at least a few of you out there had a similar response when you saw that there was a new Grace Lin book available and snapped it up like that. I'd love to hear what you thought of it as well if you've had a chance to read it already!
p.s. Oh a whim, I just posted a discount code on Twitter for 20% off issues of Alphabet Glue and thought it was probably nice to post it here too... So, the first 50 people to enter "tweet" at checkout will get 20% their entire purchase.