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Title: On Gold Mountain : The One-Hundred-Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family by Lisa See ISBN: 0-679-76852-1 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 27 August, 1996 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.33 (15 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Surprisingly honest and well presented, unusually good read
Comment: I must admit that I was a little (all right, very) skeptical when I first saw this book several years ago. I resisted buying or reading it only because I didn't believe that a part-Chinese (1/8 to be precise)American could do a good job in telling the story of "the" Chinese-American experience. In many ways, I was stereotyping the idea of what Chinese-American is. I was thinking of a Chinese-American as one who is ethnically 100% Chinese but is culturally American and that would preclude someone like See. Well, I was wrong. This author, Lisa See, convinced me that her family story is truly a Chinese-American one. No, let me rephrase, her story is an "American" one.
Now that I've read and enjoyed the book, I am especially surprised, pleasantly, at how honest and real her portrayal of the characters are. I know these are real people and the stories are real but to me their stories read like fairy tales an so they become characters. Their stories are so unusual that had See not done such a good job in writing it, they would have been unbelievable.
One of the reasons that it is a really good book is the way the author presented the facts -- with stories and photographs. It is a well documented, well researched, and well written book.
I could also attest to the veracities of the historical events and personal dramas that were described in the book because my own family's history had very many of the same events, trials and tribulations are similar to hers. And since I do read and speak Chinese and I am knowledgable about the customs of the Southern China district where her great-grandfather came from, I can also say that her description of the cultures (including family practices, language, etc...) are extremely accurate. And they are accurate not to the point of patronizing or insulting, but straight forward in the way it happened. This style of writing I admired enormously.
I think Ms. See did a great service not only to her own family, but to the Chinese-American experience as well. This book really does serve as a documentary to all of the Chinese American immigrants who had come to the country in the last 100 years or more. It is a record of history. It can probably be used as text book for a history class.
The book is well written in many ways. One of the way is that is very personal and yet readable, even for people not from her family. It is about people, culture, history, family, love, triumph, politics, business, relations, and much more. I highly recommend it.
Rating: 5
Summary: Well written biography, complex story, well researched
Comment: This biography of the author's family history back to China is enjoyable and complex. She traces her large family from one of her ancestors who came to America during the 1860's. She handles the numerous story lines well and the pedigree chart at the beginning is very valuable in helping the reader keep track of her family. The author also does a good job of incorporating her family into the times they lived in. We see her family not in isolation from the world, but as part of world and local events. This adds humaness and closeness to the people in her story. She is non-judgemental and attempts to handle "family skeletons" with tact, although you get the feeling that her version of some events isn't what some family members believe, And she seems to have the "I'm grandpa's favorite grandchild" attitude which doesn't neccesarily hurt the book, but you wonder how her relatives felt about the book. Although the book is long, the story keeps you interested. Defintley a must read.
Rating: 4
Summary: A beautiful epic love story set in historical background..
Comment: As a Chinese American myself, I've read "China Boy" (Gus Lee) and Joy Luck Club (Amy Tan) before picking up this book without too much expectation, what happened next was two days of non-stop reading, after the first few pages, I simply couldn't put it down, the pages turned themselves.
As a Chinese American myself, I've read "China Boy" (Gus Lee) and Joy Luck Club (Amy Tan) before picking up this book without too much expectation, what happened next was two days of non-stop reading, after the first few pages, I simply couldn't put it down, the pages turned themselves.
At the center of it, there was the meandering main plot of Fong See and Ticie See's beautiful and complex interracial love story
spanning three quarter of a century with cultural, traditions, prejudices (on both sides) racism, entrepreneurship, minority immigrant experience weaving together to form a compelling and surprisingly optimistic epic and quintessential "American" story.
All through the book, author's family pride, heartwarming optimism comes through like a ray of sunshine lighting up the struggles, the failures and failings, the successes as well as heart wrenching losses of three generations illuminating the See family's incredibly enduring love and support for each other.
The only thing that could've made this book even better is some of the extraneous details could've been left out, they were a little long winded (especially the last scene of Lisa's visit to China) and at times distracting from the main plot. But I understand what Ms. See was trying to accomplish with this book are two fold, first and foremost it is an autobiographic family history book and there is the temptation to include all the researched details to preserve as family history, on the other hand she probably wanted to write it in a novel style to make it an easy and enjoyable read. Short of split the writing into two books, there is no easy way to accomplish both objectives without two styles interfering, but I have to say Ms See has done an admirable if not remarkable job considering the epic nature of the story itself.
Ms. See deserves major accolades for this fascinating and moving historical book.
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Title: Dragon Bones : A Novel by Lisa See ISBN: 0679463208 Publisher: Random House Pub. Date: 20 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Flower Net by Lisa See ISBN: 0061095435 Publisher: HarperTorch Pub. Date: 01 August, 1998 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: The Interior by Lisa See ISBN: 0061097543 Publisher: HarperTorch Pub. Date: 05 September, 2000 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Paper Daughter : A Memoir by M. Elaine Mar ISBN: 0060930527 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 25 July, 2000 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: Fifth Chinese Daughter by Jade Snow Wong, Kathryn Uhl ISBN: 0295968265 Publisher: University of Washington Press Pub. Date: June, 1989 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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