Summary

The short story “Where the Gods Fly” by Jean Kwok, follows the first person narrator, a Chinese woman living in the US while she is in a Buddhist temple. The narrator reflects on her plans for withdrawing her teenage daughter Pearl from ballet classes.

She recalls how, when she came to the US with her husband, they worked in a Chinatown factory and had no one to leave Pearl with. At first, they left her alone at home or took her to the factory. When Pearl started making friends, the narrator did not allow her to visit them. She was also ashamed of her family’s poor living conditions.

Eventually, Pearl received a ballet scholarship, and the narrator was relieved that her daughter had a place to go on some afternoons. The narrator remembers how her daughter became popular at school because of her scholarship and how other mothers changed their attitude towards her.

The narrator adv...