A Place For Mei Lin

by Harlan Hague

Unable to come to terms with a family tragedy in Virginia, Caleb drifts westward, seeking anonymity or death. He fears nothing since he has already lost everything he held dear. He learns to fight and kill and is untouched by the result. For Caleb, there is no retribution, no penalty, no tomorrow, only today. He avoids any binding human contact, owing nothing to others, expecting nothing from others except to be left alone.
He begins gold dredging in the Stanley Basin in central Idaho. He has no interest in success, only occupation. Then his life takes a dramatic change. He rescues Mei Lin, a young Chinese prostitute, from a brothel and promises to find a place for her. He knows he is an emotional wreck and cannot care for her. She has other ideas. She has found her place with Caleb.


Each scarred by personal tragedy, Caleb and Mei Lin live and work together, but they are not intimate. They fight forest fire and flood and attacks by a local dredge operator who will not tolerate competition. Caleb protects Mei Lin from locals and the federal government that want to remove Chinese from Idaho by violence and law.


Caleb finds new purpose in his life. He begins to hope and to care, and Mei Lin is at the center of the change. But does he dare tell her of his love and invite her into his uncertain life?

213 pages, Hardcover

Published November 16, 2016

About the author

Harlan Hague, Ph.D., a retired history professor, has published history, prize-winning biography, award-winning fiction, travel and a bit of fantasy. He also writes screenplays. Travel and writing are complementary obsessions that are also most rewarding. For more on who he is and what he does, see his web site at http://harlanhague.us. He will respond to comments and questions.

Reviews

[Mary E Trimble · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harlan Hague has written an intriguing historical fiction, A Place for Mei Lin, set in America’s Northwest in the early 20th century.

At one time Caleb Willis was blissfully happy with his wife and two children, but when his family all tragically died, he was without purpose, not caring what happened to him. He drifts from Virginia and settles in Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains area and sets up a gold dredging operation near Stanley. On a trip to town, he encounters a young Chinese woman, Mei Lin, who had been sold and pressed into service in a brothel. He witnesses abuse to the woman and comes to her rescue.

Not knowing what else to do, he takes her to his cabin. Their relationship grows, but all the while Caleb, still mourning his family, resists acknowledging his feelings toward his young house guest. Mei Lin, on the other hand, feels a gratitude that turns into love toward Caleb. She’s a strong, capable woman who strives to prove her worth.

A Place for Mei Lin is an interesting book on many levels. I have spent quite a bit of time in the Stanley, Idaho area and have seen the old gold-mining dredges and technology described in the book. The author vividly describes the rugged Sawtooth area, giving the novel a strong sense of place. The tragic plight of Chinese during this time is a reminder of our country’s bigotry toward a race of people once their services are no longer needed. And lastly, the novel is a tender love story that at first is one-sided, but soon develops, only to be threatened by forces beyond their control.

This is a novel worth your time, written by a skilled story-teller. A Place for Mei Lin is available in print, ebook and audio formats. To learn more about Harlan Hague, visit http://harlanhague.us/

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set at a gold dredging site in the Stanley Basin in Idaho Harlan Hague's newest novel," A Place for Mei Lin" combines romance and adventure in a poignant story of prejudice, danger and healing that begins when Caleb Willis running from the pain of a tragic loss rescues a young Chinese prostitute from the Rat Trap, a notorious bar in the town of Stanley. To thwart his confusion and dismay at giving her the protection of his cabin far from the "chaos, clutter and terror of her life," Caleb throws himself into building a dredge and hiring men to help him prospect for gold.

But working and living together, fighting to succeed against nature's madness, a competitor's attack and a growing intolerance for the Chinese, it is no surprise when love begins to blossom between these two broken people giving Caleb's life a new purpose while Mei Lin finds peace and happiness for the first time. Yet life is fearfully uncertain especially when Mei Lin is found missing. In Caleb's search to find her he makes a pact with himself to send her to safety; the only problem is whether or not his heart will allow it.

This well-researched plot vividly brings to life the trials and tribulations of Chinese women, Native Americans and a struggling prospector in the Old West. Compelling in its intensity and filled with action their adventure heats up not only with Caleb and Mei Lin's struggle against nature's fury, the state's intolerance and a local dredge operator's ambition, but when he finds her missing and is forced to use his deadly skill with a weapon to bring her back. Fast-paced as events unfold that keep you riveted to every page, emotions run high when Caleb faces a decision to give Mei Lin her independence.

Yet at the heart of the story is Caleb's insecurity, frustration and fear not only as the growing prejudice against the Chinese could rip the woman he loves from his arms, but as he begins to leave the pain of his past behind and accept the possibility of a life with Mei Lin. Similarly young Mei Lin abused and despised for much of her life, finds hope, happiness and the promise of love with Caleb. Meshed within its historical landscape is a strong sense of realism as Caleb knowing his problems endanger her security and sense of self-worth which has already been undermined by neglect struggles to send her to freedom.

Caleb Willis is a drifter who heads west after he loses his family, looking for death in his melancholy and finding new life in the young Chinese girl he falls in love with. Once a shrewd businessman in Virginia he's become tough and harsh, picking up the skills of a fighter . Yet he still maintains a moral conscience, and work ethic dealing fairly with those who work for him. Mein Lin is the other fascinating main character who was sold into sexual slavery but never lost her strength-of-will or feistiness. With a bright mind, ability to learn quickly, and hardworking she quickly builds a home with Caleb finding happiness for the first time in her life. Even nasty Roderick Bennett adds a sinister aspect with his miserly ways, power-hunger, ambition, and ruthless need to get what he wants. It is these wonderfully crafted personalities as well as a mix of others that infuse the story with spirit, energy and tense drama.

I thoroughly enjoyed " A Place for Mei Lin" with its historical landscape, stirring plot and complex characters; a story I couldn't put down until finished. Weaving together possibilities, redemption and love as well as healing as two broken hearts begin to change, this novel is a must-read.

[Laura]

I loved this award-winning book. This historical fiction which takes place around 1910 in the Stanley Basin of Idaho, tells of the struggles of a lonely gold miner who rescues a young Chinese woman from indentured servitude as a barmaid and prostitute. In exquisite detail, Harlan Hague paints a picture of the life these two characters lead -- the dangers of this era in the west, the prejudices which the Chinese encountered during this time in their history, and the fortitude which enables two people to love each other and make a life together.