Fishbone Cinderella

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 stars A generational curse and a story carried across continents like a quiet, relentless tide. This novel unfolds in two timelines, stretching from rural China during the Japanese occupation to post-war Hong Kong and eventually the United States. At its heart is Ha Yut Ying, a young woman who discovers she can turn invisible in a moment of mortal danger and whose life becomes shaped by a family curse. The writing flows like a tranquil river restrained, elegant, and quietly devastating. It is, undeniably, a love story. But even more so, it is about mothers and daughters: about inherited fears, sacrifices, expectations, and the invisible threads that bind generations together. This is usually not my kind of read, but it captivated me nonetheless. It leans heavily into the bittersweet, at times bordering on outright depressing. Some threads are left loose, but strangely, that did not feel like a flaw. The emotional arc matters more than neat resolutions. A beautifully written, multigenerational story that lingers!