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The End of East
A moving portrait of three generations of the Chan family living in Vancouver’s Chinatown
Sammy Chan was sure she’d escaped her family obligations when she fled Vancouver six years ago, but with her sister’s upcoming marriage, her turn has come to care for their aging mother. Abandoned by all four of her older sisters, jobless and stuck in a city she resents, Sammy finds h...more
Sammy Chan was sure she’d escaped her family obligations when she fled Vancouver six years ago, but with her sister’s upcoming marriage, her turn has come to care for their aging mother. Abandoned by all four of her older sisters, jobless and stuck in a city she resents, Sammy finds h...more
Hardcover, 245 pages
Published
March 13th 2007
by Knopf Canada
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Written in the present tense, the lyrical prose in The End of East weaves in and out of the past, covering three generations about the Chan family’s experience living in Canada. The story opens with Samantha Chan returning to Vancouver to care for her aging mother, a family obligation that she resents. But personal goals must be sacrificed when it comes to family. Lee examines the lives of early Chinese immigrants in Vancouver’s Chinatown, and the difficulties faced building a future for their f...more
Samantha and Penny are sisters and Penny lives at home with their mother in Vancouver, British Columbia. Samantha has just flown in from Montreal where she has been living for the past 6 years and is feeling a bit jet lagged as she enters the yard at the back of the house. There is a crackling fire ablaze in the backyard and her mother is burning her grandfather’s old, woolly clothing. She is just champing-at-the-bit and orders Samantha inside to help her sister. There are 3 other sisters: Wendy...more
It was quite interesting debut novel about three generations of Chinese immigrants in Vancouver, Canada. It shows nice picture of ones dreams and what they are ready to do/sacrifice to fulfill that dream (and in the end question is whether they succeeded). Apparently this novel is based on numerous true stories since Vancouver is the city with largest Chinese population away from mother land and I've found it very interesting how the villagers were collect money to send the best among them into...more
This is a Canadian Chinese story that spans continents and generations. The story is essentially a mishmash of stories and bits and pieces from the lives of three generations of Chinese immigrants to Canada. The story weaves through the years from Sammy Chan to her grandfather, and everyone in between.
Sammy Chan is the youngest granddaughter of Seid Quan, Chinese immigrant in 1913. The story examines his loneliness, separated from all he knows including the woman he marries and has three childre...more
You can check out my full review on my blog.
Written in the tradition of the Joy Luck Club, I found this novel to be better than I thought. I was impressed with its writing style and I thoroughly enjoyed the character development of each family member. Who you thought was a great person in the beginning emerges to be a horrible mother-in-law, and the relationship a father wishes to have with his son changes to mutual silence. Nobody in the family is perfect, and I thought the author did a great j...more
Written in the tradition of the Joy Luck Club, I found this novel to be better than I thought. I was impressed with its writing style and I thoroughly enjoyed the character development of each family member. Who you thought was a great person in the beginning emerges to be a horrible mother-in-law, and the relationship a father wishes to have with his son changes to mutual silence. Nobody in the family is perfect, and I thought the author did a great j...more
3.5/5.
compelling & believable depiction of quiet dysfunctions within families (especially between parent and child, across generation), how familial love is sometimes impossible to manifest, notwithstanding lifetimes of need for and attempts at that one thing.
cf: migration (how immigration head taxes can fuck things up for generations, in subtle, unremarkable, and inescapable ways), death (how it re/solves little), depression (including (i think) post-partum), loneliness, guilt, the gamut.
a...more
compelling & believable depiction of quiet dysfunctions within families (especially between parent and child, across generation), how familial love is sometimes impossible to manifest, notwithstanding lifetimes of need for and attempts at that one thing.
cf: migration (how immigration head taxes can fuck things up for generations, in subtle, unremarkable, and inescapable ways), death (how it re/solves little), depression (including (i think) post-partum), loneliness, guilt, the gamut.
a...more
Lee evokes fully the lives of three generations of a Chinese immigrant family. I find her portrait of Seid Quan (the grandfather) perhaps the most compelling and heartbreaking. Lee reminds us of the immense and unimaginable (to me and to, I imagine, other third generation Chinese Americans) sacrifices made by our immigrant ancestors. Seid Quan works for decades without complaint and without thanks (certainly not thanks from his own son or his daughter-in-law) and nourishes hopes that are at the...more
This was interesting but not that great. I thought the granddaughter's story was unnecessary except to show the changing relationship with the mother. The daughter's relationships with men were brought up but not dealt with and served merely as a distraction and a reason to wonder about the daughter's life. If they were so important there should have been more description and focus on the daughter's recent past. I preferred the mother and grandfather's stories and would have liked to have seen m...more
Jen Sookfong Lee's first novel, The End of East, is a complicated story about immigrants, work ethic, family relationships, arranged marriages, the mythology of the North American Pacific Coast and a blending (and clash) of cultures.
The author is quite skilled at developing a very rich sense of place for her readers. I could feel the chill of British Columbia's relentlessly overcast weather just as I came to appreciate the red clay of the Chinese Village back home. I could easily imagine walking...more
The author is quite skilled at developing a very rich sense of place for her readers. I could feel the chill of British Columbia's relentlessly overcast weather just as I came to appreciate the red clay of the Chinese Village back home. I could easily imagine walking...more
This book started out strong for me and then petered out. We meet Seid Quan as he is sailing to Vancouver, Canada at age 19, in 1913. The book alternates between his story and the story of his Granddaughter, Sammy. His story is a story of, loneliness, strength, and sacrifice. I am not quite sure what her story is...maybe resentment? The story which had potential just got depressing and boring for me. Skimmed a lot at the end.
Apr 25, 2011
Scott Neigh
added it
A multi-generational family saga ranging from China to Vancouver. The story bounces around across time and viewpoint character quite smoothly, though some of the longer-ago segments feel a bit flatter than the more contemporary ones. Worth reading both on its own merits and as a fictional lens into important aspects of the history of what gets called "Canada" and the peoples who constitute it.
The story of three generations of Chinese Canadians gets a little boring and predictable in Jen Sookfong Lee's first novel. The tensions between mothers, daughters, fathers, and sons are still moving and realistic though. I love the Vancouver Chinatown backdrop to the story. Lee's poetry works well to evoke some beautiful imagery.
Not to impress about this book,confusing at time .These people made lots of sacrifice for their honor and working hard to have a better life in a foreign country that were not ready to accept them with open arm.Was it worth the sacrifice to come to Canada to find a better life and leave their country and customs and family behind?
I really liked this book and her way of writing that elicits the senses and tension of the unspoken. She illustrates the mix of East and West cultures and generation gaps well that I felt connected to it based on my own history. I also love the reference to Vancouver and it's history.
An interesting look at the Chinese immigrant culture in the early days, then it goes forward to the family in more present times. Bitter-sweet because they never really connect with each other. Remniscent of Wayson Choy's books but with a different feel to it.
Seid Quan immigrates to Vancouver in the early 1900s. After many years alone in Canada, he is able to bring his son and his wife over. Eventually, his son marries and has five daughters. The End of East is narrated by the youngest, Samantha.
Sammy's parents and grandparents are nuanced characters, and her telling of their stories is unsentimental yet moving. I really liked the non-linear structure of the story. Instead of moving steadily forward in time we jump forward and back, learning differe...more
Sammy's parents and grandparents are nuanced characters, and her telling of their stories is unsentimental yet moving. I really liked the non-linear structure of the story. Instead of moving steadily forward in time we jump forward and back, learning differe...more
Aug 11, 2011
Rachael
added it
I liked it better as I read on, but overall, it was adequately enjoyable. Some things, I can see in my own family, though much to a lesser extent. The struggles of this family made me feel proud ofmy own family's history in Canada
Okay, I sure did learn a lot about the lives of Chinese immigrants in Vancouver! I got this out at the same time as "A Map of Home", and I think I kind of thought they would be like peas in a pod - but that book was so, so much better. Don't get me wrong - I did enjoy reading the parts of "The End of East" that were about the protagonist's grandfather and parents - they were well-written and fascinating. But the portions about her life in the present? "Oh, hello, bartender who I've only met once...more
Wonderful characterization. The alienation of the daughter from her family is palpable, as is the descriptions of early Vancouver's Chinatown.
A decent read, good for an airplane ride (which is when I read this). It wasn't quite 4 stars, I would have rated it a 3.5 if I could.
Feb 05, 2009
K.M.
added it
I know Jen from the UBC Booming Ground program. The End of East was beautifully written and I look forward to Jen's next book.
I could take or leave this book, but there's no questioning that the author is talented.
Picked this book as an impulse 'buy' from the library. Had an attractive cover and was well sized for travel.
Picked this book as an impulse 'buy' from the library. Had an attractive cover and was well sized for travel.
Today is the day after Asian Heritage Month. Which is fitting, since Jen Sookfong Lee wants to talk about living outside the definitions of "Chinese Canadian" and "Chinese Canadian writer." And she chuckles at the predictable, yet fitting, choice of interviewing her in Chinatown at Boss Bakery and Restaurant on Main Street in Vancouver.
Lee spent seven years working on her first novel, The End of East. Her story of three generations of a Chinese family with roots in Vancouver's Chinatown is espec...more
Lee spent seven years working on her first novel, The End of East. Her story of three generations of a Chinese family with roots in Vancouver's Chinatown is espec...more
I was so happy to see some Can Lit on my NJ library bookshelf! They could have chosen better!
This book was an interesting look into a Chinese-Canadian family's life and history, but I found it a little dry, and some of the characters very infuriating! Although the Grandfather's life story broke my heart, his wife, children and grandchildren broke his and each others'!
Wayson Choy did the story of Chinese immigration and assimilation, and he did it so much better! Grab his novel, The Jade Peony, a...more
This book was an interesting look into a Chinese-Canadian family's life and history, but I found it a little dry, and some of the characters very infuriating! Although the Grandfather's life story broke my heart, his wife, children and grandchildren broke his and each others'!
Wayson Choy did the story of Chinese immigration and assimilation, and he did it so much better! Grab his novel, The Jade Peony, a...more
Interesting protrayal of Chinese emigrants to Vancouver in the 20th century.
Had to take a break from vampire romance. I love Vancouver and part of my family history is there so this book about Chinese immigration to Vancouver is great. Written in present tense, it kind of reminds me of Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes. So far, so good.
This novel covers generations and a lot of breadth, but not depth. So sometimes I wanted to know more about a character or specific event in that character's life. But beautifully written and I envisioned my great-grandfather and great-grand...more
This novel covers generations and a lot of breadth, but not depth. So sometimes I wanted to know more about a character or specific event in that character's life. But beautifully written and I envisioned my great-grandfather and great-grand...more
Aug 11, 2008
Scott
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Young professionals
Recommended to Scott by:
A bookstore in Seattle
Lee does a nice job of changing perspectives in this book. It was good that every other chapter focused on Sammy and the rest of the characters only had a chapter dedicated each (well, the father had two). I found Sammy easily relatable. She, like many other people in their 20's is just lost andconfused, wondering how much we owe our families now that the economy of the US and Canada don't need the family unit to survive.
It was was worth my time, but it was hard not to compare it to Amy Tan, al...more
It was was worth my time, but it was hard not to compare it to Amy Tan, al...more
I hesitate to give this book such a low rating, because the writing was good and the storyline was unique and interesting. However, this was one of the most depressing books I have ever read; I kept expecting one of the characters to experience some form of happiness, but they all had tragic lives and almost more tragic deaths. The main character, too, was rather enigmatic, used more to tie the generational stories together than to tell her own. I also found the time progression to be sometimes...more
Interesting, but kind of a downrt
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Jen Sookfong Lee writes, talks on the radio and loves her slow cooker.
In 2007, Knopf Canada published Jen’s first novel, The End of East, as part of its New Face of Fiction program. Hailed as “an emotional powerhouse of a novel,” The End of East shines a light on the Chinese Canadian story, the repercussions of immigration and the city of Vancouver.
Shelter, Jen’s first fiction for young adults, wa...more
More about Jen Sookfong Lee...
In 2007, Knopf Canada published Jen’s first novel, The End of East, as part of its New Face of Fiction program. Hailed as “an emotional powerhouse of a novel,” The End of East shines a light on the Chinese Canadian story, the repercussions of immigration and the city of Vancouver.
Shelter, Jen’s first fiction for young adults, wa...more
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Jul 13, 2009 11:55am