Tilted Sky

Emei, Yao and Zhang, Emily (trans.) Tilted Sky 

May 7, 2024 by Levine Querido

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Bai Jian is eleven, and is being raised in China by his father, Hei Jian. His mother abandoned hiim when he was very young, and he was raised for a while by his grandmother, until she passed away. Hei Jian was in college when Bai Jian's mother, Jie, got pregnant, and has had trouble keeping jobs. There is rarely enough money, and the two often eat nothing but noodles or rice, even though there seems to be enough money for alcohol. The father also has trouble staying in relationships, although his last girlfriend, Jing, was very kind to Bai Jian. When the father doesn't have the school fees, Bai Jian is sad that he can't go to school, but when he finally starts, he is worried that his father is leaving him at a boarding school. When students are supposed to leave for the weekend, he's told to go to Jing's. This works for a while, since Jing is truly fond of him, but she is looking to move on, and is dating men who don't necessarily want to deal with an eleven year old boy. He makes contact with his mother, who isn't quite sure what to do with him. Over Christmas, his father goes on holiday with his new girlfriend, Wei, Jie is not home, and Bai Jian catches Jing and her new boyfriend just as they are also heading out. He manages to stay in Jing's apartment by himself for an entire week, eating ramen and spending most of his days playing games in an internet cafe. When Jing comes back, she is so upset that she says she will see if she can adopt Bai Jian. When school fees are due again, Bai Jian is forced to get money from the aunt who is living in his grandmother's old house, as well as from Jie. Jing is engaged to marry a blind man who is working at a massage clinic. Bai Jian is enthralled, and asks to have an apprenticeship there. His unsettled life continues as his father gets a job traveling and working on films. Will he ever have the warm bed, full stomach, and stability afforded to the other children are his school?
Strengths: I'm a huge fan of books that are translated from other languages and show what daily life is like in other countries; what better way to find out how children in other countries live? There are good details about the various dwellings and food, and Bai Jian's school. Bai Jian's predicament of not having anyone care for him, and of being severely neglected, might resonate with readers who want to feel better about their own life situations. 
Weaknesses: This had several f-bombs, and the language definitely felt more adult, which perhaps just shows a cultural difference. Several phrases strike me as ones that wouldn't appear in a US publication: Bai Jian talks about how people at his school call him a "girly wimp" and at one point opines that he wouldn't have chosen to give birth to a baby under the circumstances his parents had him but "would have strangled him to death" first! There is also not a lot that happens, except for the horrible back and forth as the adults in Bai Jian's life try to pawn him off on someone else. 

What I really think: This reminded me strongly of Tanaka's 2012 Nobody Knows in the horrible circumstances that Bai Jian has to struggle through. I wish there had been another plot in addition to Bai Jian's struggles to find a home, and more details about ordinary, every day life. This did make me wonder that perhaps some Chinese child rearing methods are even more concerning than British ones!