Patrick Ma / Edge columnist
‘Throwaway Daughter,’ is a historical fiction novel written by Ting-xing Ye in 2003 that takes place in Canada and China in the 1980’s.
This story is told from the perspective of multiple characters.
At the beginning of the story, Grace, a Chinese girl is abandoned by her birth parents due to the one child rule and the negative stigma surrounding female babies back in 1980’s China and later adopted by a Canadian family
In the first few chapters of the book, Grace expresses the immense hatred she harbors towards her birth parents and her roots, due to her abandonment. Additionally, she feels insecure about her family life as she is constantly wondering why her parents abandoned her and whether they loved her or not.
Throughout the story, Grace struggles to accept herself and makes attempts to hide her past because she is ashamed of it.
However, as Grace gets older, the prospect of meeting her biological parents becomes more appealing. When an opportunity to go study abroad in Shanghai arises, Grace makes the decision to head back to China to find her biological parents. In a long and tedious journey through the small remote villages of the Jiangsu province, she meets new people who change her perception of the Chinese people and her culture.
In addition to this, Grace also meets old family members who help her piece together her past and where her biological parents reside. After weeks of searching and interacting with new people, her views on the past change and she slowly comes to accept who she is.
‘Throwaway Daughter’ addresses an unaddressed issue as the abandonment of female babies is still an issue in China to this day. Additionally, this story shows that, no matter how daunting a task may be, if you put your mind to it, you will complete/find a solution to that problem.
After reading this book, the message the reader takes away is, if you have any questions in life, don’t be afraid to probe deeper and to learn more about yourself and the world around you, strive to answer whatever questions you may have, and if you ever feel alone and hopeless, realize that there is always someone who cares about you and is there to support you in whatever goals you wish to achieve in this life.
Finally, I believe ‘Throwaway Daughter’ also sends a message of acceptance, as the main character, Grace, slowly starts to accept herself for who she is as the story progresses.
This book is worth reading if you take an interest in books which contain a mix of fiction, history, and culture. Furthermore, this book is a good read for those who are trying to discover more about themselves and their past.
