Broken Wings by Jia Pingwa

Broken Wings tells the harrowing story of Butterfly, who is kidnapped and taken to a mountain village in which all the young women have left for the city. There, she is imprisoned and, later, raped in the cave home of the wifeless farmer who has bought her. These traumatic events and Butterfly's fading hopes of escape are described in her own voice, revealing a spirited young woman struggling to adjust to her new life.


Evening, I made my one hundred and seventy-eighth scratch on the cave wall.

Despite her humble rural beginnings, Butterfly regards herself as a sophisticated young woman. So, when offered a lucrative job in the city, she jumps at the chance.

But instead of being given work, she is trafficked and sold to Bright Black, a desperate man from a poor mountain village.

Trapped in Bright’s cave home with her new “husband”, she plans her escape… not so easily done in this isolated and remote village where she is watched day and night.

Will her tenacity and free spirit survive, or will she be broken?


I had really high hopes for Broken Wings by Jia Pingwa after reading the description. Unfortunately, my hopes were dashed. I should preface this by saying I did not complete the book. Which is something I try really hard to do. Let's face it how many books have we read the first couple of chapters and been like "Ugh I can't read this any more" and then all of the sudden you can't put it down. I really had that hope for this book but I just couldn't.

I feel like the author was overly descriptive. He gave so much information that it became confusing if what I was reading was a "flashback" or was currently happening. I also felt like I couldn't separate the "kidnapper" from "Butterfly" their flashbacks and what was currently happening was so entwined that sometimes you thought you were reading about Butterfly and then realized that you were reading about the kidnapper.

This book was a book translated from Chinese and Jia Pingwa is one of the biggest names in Chinese Literature. So I'm sure that some of my issues with the book had to do with some of it being lost in translation. The best translators in the world are unable to capture the thoughts and feelings behind another person's words weather they be spoken or written. That is nothing against the translator as you would literally have to be in that persons brain to be able to do that and no one can.

I give this book 1/5 stars  ⭐

Broken Wings is available May 3, 2019

Thank you to Jia Pingwa, Alain Charles Asia Publishing, and Netgalley for the advanced digital copy for my Kindle!