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elizgeise's review against another edition
4.0
You can’t learn about living unless you live. You can’t live unless you take a chance; and your living is limited by the chances you take.
turophile's review against another edition
A book I really wanted to enjoy. It’s the tale of a Chinese immigrant and his family. The patriarch comes over to work on the railroad but recognizes that is a dead-end and creates his own important business. He builds up an empire despite the xenophobia faced by the Chinese at that time. Interspersed with his rise to power are multiple marriages in the U.S. and China and siblings and chidren and more.
Yet it was dull. The story read like a recitation of events rather than a narrative built on a theme. I wanted to like it but finally gave up reading.
Yet it was dull. The story read like a recitation of events rather than a narrative built on a theme. I wanted to like it but finally gave up reading.
catrionabikes's review against another edition
3.0
3+ stars, closer to 3 than 4 - but I think that could be mostly because of somewhat antiquated language and attitudes around racism as this book was published in 1995. Example: I found the use of the un-edited N-word to be gratuitous, but this style was likely acceptable in 1995, very jarring now.
The arc of the family biography is fascinating, it's worth listening to/reading even with the overly long descriptions of clothing and (my) struggles with the "quaintness" of social attitudes within the See family that seem to be perpetuated by the author.
The arc of the family biography is fascinating, it's worth listening to/reading even with the overly long descriptions of clothing and (my) struggles with the "quaintness" of social attitudes within the See family that seem to be perpetuated by the author.
mugglemom's review against another edition
4.0
This was almost a fictional story of factual info. Honestly, if those 100yr old familial conversations could be verified as 100% accurate, what a whiz bang family!!!
Loved the history of her family and good research (one or two-family) American-Chinese experience POV.
Loved the history of her family and good research (one or two-family) American-Chinese experience POV.
dianais's review against another edition
4.0
After a rather difficult start, I ended up loving this book.It is truly a wonderful saga, a story to enjoy and remember.
yooperann's review against another edition
5.0
A winner from Lisa See, tracing her father's family back 150 years ago to the Chinese village her great-grandfather left to come to California where he began as an herbalist treating the Chinese workers on the transcontinental railroad, moved on to manufacturing special "fancy underwear" for women who worked in Sacramento's brothels, and finally settling in Los Angeles with his American-born wife (whom he could not legally marry) and establishing the family import business that supported the extended family for generations. I was amazed at how often family members went back and forth to China, even after the Japanese invasion in World War II. There's a lot here about the plight of women, both Chinese and American, in the early years of California; about the difficulties inherent in families that straddle two cultures; and about the depth and pervasiveness of discrimination against the Chinese until very recently. Highly recommended.
oregonreader's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
rlbasley's review against another edition
4.0
Lisa See does a very impressive job with this true story about the history of her family and an excellent job correlating what happened within her family with times they lived in. It is very sad to read about the trouble Chinese immigrants faced in this country and to realize these issues still remain. I'm a definite fan of Lisa See if you haven't read any of her fictional works you are doing yourself a disservice