A review by synastrii
On Gold Mountain: The One Hundred Year Odyssey of a Chinese American Family by Lisa See

adventurous emotional funny inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.75

Lisa See is my favorite author, so I knew I would enjoy On Gold Mountain. I didn’t know exactly what to expect given this story is a memoir of her family’s history from the 1800s through the 1990s. I was pleasantly surprised to find there was a healthy mixture of entrepreneurship, family drama, immigration/citizenship politics, and some lighthearted moments to tie it all together. I appreciate how every person (at least those integral to the main narrative) are well-rounded. No one is 100% good or bad; they all have flaws and they also do good. It’s a hard line to balance when writing about your own family.