The Palest Ink by Kay Bratt is a prequel story to the
Tales of the Scavenger's Daughters series. Based on the Chinese proverb, “The
palest ink is better than the best memory,” the book opens in January 1966 in
Shanghai as 16-year-old Benfu meets his intended bride for the first time. As
the son of intellectuals, he had certain obligations he must follow. He dreams
of attending the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and mastering the violin. All
those dreams soon become pushed aside as Chairman Mao beings his Great
Proletarian Cultural Revolution as purge all imperialist and capitalist notions
from China. Soon everything about his life, his existence is deemed wrong and
he must change, follow the Mao rules, or else. But Benfu is going down without
a fight. Along with his best friend, Pony Boy and Pony Boy’s girlfriend, Zu
Wren, they start a newsletter to reveal the truth behind Mao’s tactics. They
are putting their very lives in danger; will it be worth it? What will be the costs
for them all?
This review has been one of the hardest to write, not
because the book was bad, it was an amazing. It was hard to write because there
is so much going on, it took a couple days to disgust this story. I even took
longer to read it than I normally would read. I devoured every word, my heart
broke as good, simple people were destroyed because they would not conform. Some
of the events were also scarily eerie and relevant to today’s world upheavals.
There is so much I wish I could discuss about this book; but it would give a
lot of the emotional impact of the events away. I will say it is an immensely
powerful, emotional book. I suggest you take it in slowly as imagine Benfu,
Pony Boy and the other characters living through these very real events. I
highly recommend The Palest Ink. I am looking forward now to read the
Tales of the Scavenger’s Daughters.
The Palest Ink
is available in
paperback, eBook, and audiobook
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