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The tone of Xinran Xue’s latest novel, Miss Chopsticks, about the journey of three migrant peasant sisters, is nothing if not tender: in the opening pages the young women walk wide-eyed through the industrial city of Nanjing, a place rendered as welcoming as a country village.

Yet Miss Chopsticks is not as cutesy as its title suggests; it’s an unkind nickname assigned to the main protagonists by their father, who laments not having sons to support the family.

As a result, the sisters bear numbers instead of names. ‘Three’ is the eldest; industrious and protective of her sisters. ‘Five’ is slow-witted but proud, and ‘Six’, the youngest, and only one to have attended primary school, is a curious, book-loving girl.

Commendably, Xinran draws attention to two timely themes – rural-raised girls who establish new lives in the city, and duty-bound daughters who battle against their parents’ low expectations.

In Miss Chopsticks, Xinran returns to a milieu she knows well. Before relocating to England in 1997, she hosted a Nanjing radio programme in which she invited women to talk about their lives. In 2002, the amassed stories led to The Good Women of China, an international bestseller. In 2004, Xinran followed up with Sky Burial, which was also well-received.

Unfortunately, her latest novel, poignant as it can be, overflows with clichés. In one vivid example, Xinran, describing Six’s reflections, writes:

“…having seen for herself how peasants behaved in the city, Six wasn’t sure they really learned anything: their city skills were like flowers cut for decoration – destined to wither without their roots. She, however, was determined to get a proper education – to cross the river, even if it meant taking things one stepping-stone at a time. As her mother always said in times of great difficulty and stress: ‘There is no road under heaven that cannot be walked; even stones carry the footprints of insects!’”

The trouble is, the sisters’ language never sounds believable. When they speak, they sound outdated and at odds with the contemporary story setting. Also, the sisters immediately find good work upon their move to Nanjing, a remarkable stroke of good fortune considering most migrant workers are forced to take poorly paid, demeaning, soulless jobs. While it warms the heart to know each of their employers treats them like family, the never-ending turns of serendipity strain credulity.

Xinran’s next book, China Witness: Voices from Last Generations, is scheduled for release later this year. Here’s hoping that story rings truer. Bong Miquiabas