some thoughts on the light of eternal spring by angel di zhang

fiction

i love this book. Di Zhang has another book in the works, but no ending for it yet, which may be the most writerly thing anyone has ever confessed to.

there are so many wonderful sentences in this piece, i wonder if Di Zhang writes poetry on the side.

Slanting morning light from our single kitchen window highlighted the lines around her eyes. I saw in her a glimmer of age. One day, she would be old. There had been a day when she was as young as I was then. There would be a day when I was older than my mother at that moment…p. 106

the description of a family in mourning and the challenges of having a heart that lives in two places are well constructed. Relationships and dialogue between characters is real and believable.

i love that she has Americanized herself, going by Amy, but her family refuses to address her unless she identifies herself as who she was before she left, Aimee. The juggle is real and beautiful, while also being nuanced and sad.

there was some magical realism and my criticism here is that it could have been leaned into even harder. i can’t describe it specifically, because i want this to remain spoiler free, but she could have run with it even harder.

There is never enough time - there is only time….p. 176

the whole book had a certain magic to it, led by the writing, rather than by the magical element.

i am keeping this version. i have so many tabs in it. there was so much beauty to highlight.

n xx