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金山
《灵魂是用来流浪的》内容简介：“灵魂是用来歌唱的，还是用来流浪的？……”我国唯一两度荣获茅盾文学奖的著名女作家张洁，以其新作继续进行着跨文化，且颇具哲学内涵的生命追问。其风格与《无字》迥异，展现了女作家孜孜不倦的艺术追求。
小说主人公墨非，原本对现实颇为不恭，被有钱的姐姐打发到地中海去“晒晒太阳”，不想偶得一根奇异的羽毛，这让对数字极为敏感的他由此开始了对古玛雅文明，尤其是对一个有关世界末日计算公式的苦苦追寻。其间牵涉到五百年前陌生的异域文化，触目惊心：又邂逅一神秘女子，不料这女子在满世界地追杀继父……最终二人各有所得，却令人慨叹不已。
小说视野闳阔，故事跌宕，文笔简约，人物独特；亦咏亦叹中表述着作家诚挚的人文情怀，传达出作家对传统史观的质疑探究和不同人生态度的理解包容。其张洁式的精彩描述，带给人们对生活，对生命，乃至对人类文明的新的思考视角。
《金山》讲述了：在大洋那头以芭蕉为背景的村落里，他们曾经有过什么样的日子？在决定背井离乡走向也许永远没有归程的旅途时，他们和年迈的母亲，年青的妻子，或许还有年幼的孩子，有过什么样刻骨铭心的诀别？当他们终于踏上被淘金客叫做“金山”的洛基山脉时，看到的是怎样一片陌生的蛮荒？
小说从清末华工方得法远赴加拿大淘金修铁路讲起，详细地描绘了方家四代人在金山的悲苦的奋斗历程，以及他们与故土广东亲人的悲欢离散。小说以个体和家庭的命运为切口，不仅是一部将赴加华工的命运首次引进当地文学视野的叙述实践，同时也是一次探讨国际大背景下国族身份与认同的重要的史诗式书写。
点击链接进入：
《余震》
《金山》
《睡吧,芙洛,睡吧》
小说主人公墨非，原本对现实颇为不恭，被有钱的姐姐打发到地中海去“晒晒太阳”，不想偶得一根奇异的羽毛，这让对数字极为敏感的他由此开始了对古玛雅文明，尤其是对一个有关世界末日计算公式的苦苦追寻。其间牵涉到五百年前陌生的异域文化，触目惊心：又邂逅一神秘女子，不料这女子在满世界地追杀继父……最终二人各有所得，却令人慨叹不已。
小说视野闳阔，故事跌宕，文笔简约，人物独特；亦咏亦叹中表述着作家诚挚的人文情怀，传达出作家对传统史观的质疑探究和不同人生态度的理解包容。其张洁式的精彩描述，带给人们对生活，对生命，乃至对人类文明的新的思考视角。
《金山》讲述了：在大洋那头以芭蕉为背景的村落里，他们曾经有过什么样的日子？在决定背井离乡走向也许永远没有归程的旅途时，他们和年迈的母亲，年青的妻子，或许还有年幼的孩子，有过什么样刻骨铭心的诀别？当他们终于踏上被淘金客叫做“金山”的洛基山脉时，看到的是怎样一片陌生的蛮荒？
小说从清末华工方得法远赴加拿大淘金修铁路讲起，详细地描绘了方家四代人在金山的悲苦的奋斗历程，以及他们与故土广东亲人的悲欢离散。小说以个体和家庭的命运为切口，不仅是一部将赴加华工的命运首次引进当地文学视野的叙述实践，同时也是一次探讨国际大背景下国族身份与认同的重要的史诗式书写。
点击链接进入：
《余震》
《金山》
《睡吧,芙洛,睡吧》
453 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
August 13, 2024
Wat een dikke pil, maar wat een leesgenot ook! Ondanks het feit dat ik geen haast had, vloog ik razendsnel door dit boek heen. Droom van Gouden Bergen van schrijfster Ling Zhang vertelt een epische familiesage en een ontroerend liefdesverhaal over een Chinese (immigranten-)familie die generaties lang door de oceaan tussen Canada en China gescheiden zijn en telkens weer hun weg terug proberen te vinden naar hun thuisland.
Deze roman behandelt het klasseverschil tussen Chinezen onderling, het rassenverschil tussen de Chinese immigranten en de yeung fan (de blanke Canadezen), grote historische gebeurtenissen die de levens van de personages beïnvloeden, liefde en dood en hoe te overleven in een vreemd land.
Wat ook erg aanspreekt zijn de wisselende narratieven die de lezer een simultane blik geeft op het heden en het verleden. Daarnaast wisselt het vertelperspectief tussen de personages onderling, die zowel in Canada als in China verblijven. De grote historische gebeurtenissen in het China van de vorige eeuw worden op deze manier van meerdere kanten belicht en de kracht van dit epos wordt hierdoor enorm door versterkt. Kortom, eigenlijk bezit Droom van Gouden Bergen alle ingrediënten om met recht een meesterwerk genoemd te worden!
Deze roman behandelt het klasseverschil tussen Chinezen onderling, het rassenverschil tussen de Chinese immigranten en de yeung fan (de blanke Canadezen), grote historische gebeurtenissen die de levens van de personages beïnvloeden, liefde en dood en hoe te overleven in een vreemd land.
Wat ook erg aanspreekt zijn de wisselende narratieven die de lezer een simultane blik geeft op het heden en het verleden. Daarnaast wisselt het vertelperspectief tussen de personages onderling, die zowel in Canada als in China verblijven. De grote historische gebeurtenissen in het China van de vorige eeuw worden op deze manier van meerdere kanten belicht en de kracht van dit epos wordt hierdoor enorm door versterkt. Kortom, eigenlijk bezit Droom van Gouden Bergen alle ingrediënten om met recht een meesterwerk genoemd te worden!
March 19, 2012
At more then 400 pages, this was an epic. I enjoy epics, but I began to lose patience for this convoluted story which attempted to set a record for the greatest number of tragedies and indignities for one family. Any character you might slightly care for gets beaten, starved, raped, or dies, usually a senseless and or gruesome death. Highly unbelievable and melodramatic, as if the author wanted every single historical calamity in China or Canada to apply to this one very unfortunate family. I stopped caring for any of the characters and started skimming the last 50 pages as I was completely worn out by the final bodice ripping and bloody incident.
Better to read the excellent originals in Denise Chong or Paul Yee's works than this trashy ripoff of their personal stories. Half way through reading this, I read about the current lawsuits for copyright infringement launched by several prominent Chinese Canadian authors against this overstuffed novel.
Please let this not be your introduction to the history of early Chinese Canadians. I enjoyed the first half of the novel but had a strange feeling of familiarity with many of the characters situations.
Better to read the excellent originals in Denise Chong or Paul Yee's works than this trashy ripoff of their personal stories. Half way through reading this, I read about the current lawsuits for copyright infringement launched by several prominent Chinese Canadian authors against this overstuffed novel.
Please let this not be your introduction to the history of early Chinese Canadians. I enjoyed the first half of the novel but had a strange feeling of familiarity with many of the characters situations.
February 10, 2016
I normally don't list books unless I have something good to say about them, but I just HAD to comment on the ludicrously poor historical research in this book that purports to follow several generations of a Chinese family in British Columbia.
Let's see, in chapter 5 our character was mugged in Vancouver's Chinatown and thrown into the Fraser River (interesting trick, that), where he drifts among the towering Redwood forests, and is taken in by Indians who are dressed in deerskin and take him to a powwow in their big teepee. They smoke salmon in the spring, incidentally, and they are wise in the way of the native brown (!) bears, knowing that the way to avoid a hungry bear is to run behind him because he can't turn around due to his big belly.
Where on Earth did the author come up with that utter claptrap?! It's just breathtakingly, insultingly bad.
An hour on Google would turn up better material. I have no idea if the research on the Chinese end of the story is as poor.
I understand the author was sued for plagiarism, but I'm pretty sure that she must have written that section. Canadian authors Wayson Choy, Paul Yee and Sky Lee are far better writers than that.
Let's see, in chapter 5 our character was mugged in Vancouver's Chinatown and thrown into the Fraser River (interesting trick, that), where he drifts among the towering Redwood forests, and is taken in by Indians who are dressed in deerskin and take him to a powwow in their big teepee. They smoke salmon in the spring, incidentally, and they are wise in the way of the native brown (!) bears, knowing that the way to avoid a hungry bear is to run behind him because he can't turn around due to his big belly.
Where on Earth did the author come up with that utter claptrap?! It's just breathtakingly, insultingly bad.
An hour on Google would turn up better material. I have no idea if the research on the Chinese end of the story is as poor.
I understand the author was sued for plagiarism, but I'm pretty sure that she must have written that section. Canadian authors Wayson Choy, Paul Yee and Sky Lee are far better writers than that.
January 22, 2014
Prachtig verhaal over een Chinese familiegeschiedenis. Je volgt 5 generaties van een familie waarvan er enkele een beter leven zoeken in de gouden bergen (hun benaming voor de westkust van Canada).
Mooi geschreven, mooi verhaal. Ik ga zeker nog iets lezen van haar.
Mooi geschreven, mooi verhaal. Ik ga zeker nog iets lezen van haar.
October 7, 2019
Gold Mountain Blues by Ling Zhang is a fine read. The novel is a fictional family saga set in China and Canada, spanning 125 years from 1879 to 2004, with vivid stories about life and death, love and hate of the Fong Family.
The multi-generational epic starts with Amy Smith, the fourth generation of a Chinese immigrant, who visits her family mansion in China. Among the different artefacts found in the house, an opium pipe helps trace back to the early years of the Fong family and their eldest son Ah fat.
Reading the letters discovered in the house, Amy learns about Ah-Fat's life in Vancouver and his wife with two children in Hoi Ping.
The photo Amy has brought with her links to the story of her mother, Yin Ling, the third generation of The Fong family, and Amy herself as the third generation of the unmarried women in the Fong Family. The reason for being unmarried is either being rejected by Chinese traditions or objecting the traditions. The novel ends with Amy making a surprising decision.
The epic portrays a historically true picture of the Fong family that gradually becomes affluent in the village as the financial support provided by their family members through hard work in Gold Mountain at the cost of the family dispersion. After the Chinese communists' takeover, the lives of the three generations of the Fong family come to a violent end in a rink, leaving the five-story mansion haunted for decades.
Through Amy Smith's eyes, the storyline goes back and forth between the present and past and between China and Canada. This story isn't only about the Chinese Canadian family, but also about this family's relationships with Caucasians and Native Indians.
The multi-generational epic starts with Amy Smith, the fourth generation of a Chinese immigrant, who visits her family mansion in China. Among the different artefacts found in the house, an opium pipe helps trace back to the early years of the Fong family and their eldest son Ah fat.
Reading the letters discovered in the house, Amy learns about Ah-Fat's life in Vancouver and his wife with two children in Hoi Ping.
The photo Amy has brought with her links to the story of her mother, Yin Ling, the third generation of The Fong family, and Amy herself as the third generation of the unmarried women in the Fong Family. The reason for being unmarried is either being rejected by Chinese traditions or objecting the traditions. The novel ends with Amy making a surprising decision.
The epic portrays a historically true picture of the Fong family that gradually becomes affluent in the village as the financial support provided by their family members through hard work in Gold Mountain at the cost of the family dispersion. After the Chinese communists' takeover, the lives of the three generations of the Fong family come to a violent end in a rink, leaving the five-story mansion haunted for decades.
Through Amy Smith's eyes, the storyline goes back and forth between the present and past and between China and Canada. This story isn't only about the Chinese Canadian family, but also about this family's relationships with Caucasians and Native Indians.
June 19, 2025
The book follows 5 generations of a Chinese family, starting from a man travelling to the mountainous region of Westerrn Canada to help build the cross continental railway. He eventually ends up with two of his sons joining him. The book describes historic events that took place in China during the Japanese occupation and the Cultural Revolution. The descriptions of those times in China caused me to feel traumatized, it was so terrible for this family. There is thankfully a happy ending.
Having seen the exhibition about the Chinese involvement in the building of the railway in Canada, sponsored by the Canadian Government, I was impressed by the accuracy of portrayals in this book.
Having seen the exhibition about the Chinese involvement in the building of the railway in Canada, sponsored by the Canadian Government, I was impressed by the accuracy of portrayals in this book.
December 15, 2017
A 3.5 star read for me. It was a very interesting insight into the lives of migrant Chinese workers who came to Canada to build the Pacific Railroad. Although badly paid for very dangerous work it enabled them to keep their families in China in luxury - hence Canada was called Gold Mountain in China. However I felt that the earlier generations (it covers a century) were dealt with in great detail but the later generations were treated rather more sketchily.
January 29, 2018
I picked this up in Hong Kong airport on my way to the UK (then Gran Canaria) for my summer holiday. This book grabbed me as I'd always wanted to know more about the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway (I'm from Canada). It was hard to get into at first and I think that the problems that the book has are really down to the translation. Sometimes things really do get lost. It was a really good read (if you like historical fiction). My only issue, was the poor translation.
May 30, 2017
While I love family sagas, I did not love this one. I don't know how many tragedies can affect one family. It seems that the author was determined to include everything that happened to the Chinese in North America as a group.
March 5, 2023
The plot story is very interesting for every character in the story. Telling how the root and the love of the 5 generation family.
April 1, 2023
Geschiedenis van een Chinese familie, waarvan een deel gaat werken in Canada. Deze geschiedenis wordt aan de hand van deze familie beschreven. Onderhoudend verteld
April 22, 2013
Gold Mountain Blues is a hefty 522 pages long fictional novel based on the experiences of Chinese immigrants who came to Canada to work on the Canadian Pacific Railway project. It is a multi-generational saga which spans 125 years from 1879 to 2004 and the story oscillates between southern China and western Canada as it follows the lives of the many characters. It also jumps from one time period to another and despite the back and forth episodes, I truly enjoyed the book.
Some of its critics pointed out that the author attempts to heap every atrocity and despicable experience she gleaned from her research, onto the characters in her book. I did not mind because life does not always provide a happy ending and the sufferings of the cast of characters were indeed the reality of the times.
This book brings to the fore, wide ranging and gut wrenching emotions relating to family separation, deep familial love, death, shame, loyalty, racial inequities, hope, and sacrifice. It incorporates historical facts and events of the time period. Therefore, the plot and characters are developed and linked around the immigrant or “coolie” experiences building the Canadian Pacific Railway, the Chinese head tax and the Chinese Exclusion Act, the Sun Yat-sen's Revolution, the Chinese-Japanese War, the Land Reform Movement, and the emergence of communism in China.
The book highlights much of Chinese culture and mythology. There are arranged marriages, wedding rituals, concubines, status of women, the role and rights of a son versus a daughter, the role expectations of a daughter-in-law, the dominant role of the matriarchs, the importance of blessings from the ancestors, myths about the crow, the lucky spider and magpie, the flowering of buds before Spring, and the fear of ghosts, the water-spirits and so on.
Without creating a spoiler or giving away the story for a new reader, I would just add that my favourite character is “Six Fingers”. She is a stoic character who held the family together in China; she was astute in managing the “dollar letters” coming from Canada and was instrumental for making the Fongs, an affluent and well-respected family. Her sacrifices are deep and numerous and she kept hoping that she will be reunited with her family. Despite the decades unfolding and the losses she suffered, her end was unhappy and tragic and her dreams never materialized.
Another strong female character is "Cat Eyes". Stolen as a child from China, she was brought to Vancouver and sold into prostitution. Her story is one of survival. Recognizing an opportunity, she hid in a cart and begged for an "out to her life of abuse". Cat Eyes eventually became the main bread-winner toiling away in a restaurant. Her wages were divvied with the bulk being sent to China as "dollar letters" to a family she did not know and a family that never accepted her because of the prostitution stigma which haunted her throughout her short life. She kept her diagnosis of cervical cancer to herself and departed the world not knowing that her common law husband had planned to sell her unborn son. And, her only child and daughter, ashamed of her Chinese existence and the constant bickering of her parents, left home and never reconciled with her.
This is a great book and certainly a page turner. It is also interesting to follow the characters and the later generations through their journey towards assimilation in Canada, the discovery of their ancestry and their Chinese-Canadian identity.
Some of its critics pointed out that the author attempts to heap every atrocity and despicable experience she gleaned from her research, onto the characters in her book. I did not mind because life does not always provide a happy ending and the sufferings of the cast of characters were indeed the reality of the times.
This book brings to the fore, wide ranging and gut wrenching emotions relating to family separation, deep familial love, death, shame, loyalty, racial inequities, hope, and sacrifice. It incorporates historical facts and events of the time period. Therefore, the plot and characters are developed and linked around the immigrant or “coolie” experiences building the Canadian Pacific Railway, the Chinese head tax and the Chinese Exclusion Act, the Sun Yat-sen's Revolution, the Chinese-Japanese War, the Land Reform Movement, and the emergence of communism in China.
The book highlights much of Chinese culture and mythology. There are arranged marriages, wedding rituals, concubines, status of women, the role and rights of a son versus a daughter, the role expectations of a daughter-in-law, the dominant role of the matriarchs, the importance of blessings from the ancestors, myths about the crow, the lucky spider and magpie, the flowering of buds before Spring, and the fear of ghosts, the water-spirits and so on.
Without creating a spoiler or giving away the story for a new reader, I would just add that my favourite character is “Six Fingers”. She is a stoic character who held the family together in China; she was astute in managing the “dollar letters” coming from Canada and was instrumental for making the Fongs, an affluent and well-respected family. Her sacrifices are deep and numerous and she kept hoping that she will be reunited with her family. Despite the decades unfolding and the losses she suffered, her end was unhappy and tragic and her dreams never materialized.
Another strong female character is "Cat Eyes". Stolen as a child from China, she was brought to Vancouver and sold into prostitution. Her story is one of survival. Recognizing an opportunity, she hid in a cart and begged for an "out to her life of abuse". Cat Eyes eventually became the main bread-winner toiling away in a restaurant. Her wages were divvied with the bulk being sent to China as "dollar letters" to a family she did not know and a family that never accepted her because of the prostitution stigma which haunted her throughout her short life. She kept her diagnosis of cervical cancer to herself and departed the world not knowing that her common law husband had planned to sell her unborn son. And, her only child and daughter, ashamed of her Chinese existence and the constant bickering of her parents, left home and never reconciled with her.
This is a great book and certainly a page turner. It is also interesting to follow the characters and the later generations through their journey towards assimilation in Canada, the discovery of their ancestry and their Chinese-Canadian identity.
September 8, 2013
Gold Mountain Blues by Ling Zhang is an extraordinary read and page turner. The novel is a fictional family saga set in China and Canada, spanning 125 years from 1879 to 2004, with vivid stories about life and death, love and hate of the Fong Family.
The multi-generational epic starts with Amy Smith, the fourth generation of a Chinese immigrant, who visits her family mansion in China. Among the different artefacts found in the house, an opium pipe helps trace back to the early years of the Fong family and their eldest son, Ah-Fat's youth as a farm boy in Hoi Ping County of Guangdong Province. To help his family out of poverty, Ah-Fat leaves for Gold Mountain. His pigtail cut is a sign of cultural conflict, but not because of the Xinhai Revolution. Then a woman's old jacket and pair of silk stockings tell the story of Ah-Fat who returns to his hometown for an arranged marriage several years later.
Reading the letters discovered in the house, Amy learns about Ah-Fat's life in Vancouver and his wife with two children in Hoi Ping. Years later, Kam Shan, their eldest son joins his father farming in Canada. Kam Shan is, by inadvertence, involved in Dr. Sun Yat-sen's revolution, and the loss of his pigtail leads to his temporary disappearance. The second son, Kam Ho, also joins his father in Canada. During the Second World War Kam Ho enlists in Canadian Army and dies in France.
The photo Amy has brought with her links to the story of her mother, Yin Ling, the third generation of The Fong family, and Amy herself as the third generation of the unmarried women in the Fong Family. The reason for being unmarried is either being rejected by Chinese traditions or objecting the traditions. The novel ends with Amy making a surprising decision.
The epic portrays a historically true picture of the Fong family that gradually becomes affluent in the village as the financial support provided by their family members through hard work in Gold Mountain at the cost of the family dispersion. After the Chinese communists' takeover, the lives of the three generations of the Fong family come to a violent end in a rink, leaving the five-story mansion haunted for decades.
The novel is developed with historical facts and events, such as building the Canadian Pacific Railway, early years of Chinatowns in Victoria and Vancouver, the Chinese head tax, Sun Yat-sen's Revolution, Sino-Japanese War and the Land Reform Movement in China.
The setting is sophisticated. Through Amy Smith's eyes, the storyline goes back and forth between the present and past and between China and Canada. This story isn't only about the Chinese Canadian family, but also about this family's relationships with Caucasians and Native Indians.
Gold Mountain Blues is one of the best novels I've ever read, emotionally touching and compelling, with an intriguing plot, dramatic scenes and intricate characters. Suspense and O. Henry-style surprise are built throughout the novel.
The multi-generational epic starts with Amy Smith, the fourth generation of a Chinese immigrant, who visits her family mansion in China. Among the different artefacts found in the house, an opium pipe helps trace back to the early years of the Fong family and their eldest son, Ah-Fat's youth as a farm boy in Hoi Ping County of Guangdong Province. To help his family out of poverty, Ah-Fat leaves for Gold Mountain. His pigtail cut is a sign of cultural conflict, but not because of the Xinhai Revolution. Then a woman's old jacket and pair of silk stockings tell the story of Ah-Fat who returns to his hometown for an arranged marriage several years later.
Reading the letters discovered in the house, Amy learns about Ah-Fat's life in Vancouver and his wife with two children in Hoi Ping. Years later, Kam Shan, their eldest son joins his father farming in Canada. Kam Shan is, by inadvertence, involved in Dr. Sun Yat-sen's revolution, and the loss of his pigtail leads to his temporary disappearance. The second son, Kam Ho, also joins his father in Canada. During the Second World War Kam Ho enlists in Canadian Army and dies in France.
The photo Amy has brought with her links to the story of her mother, Yin Ling, the third generation of The Fong family, and Amy herself as the third generation of the unmarried women in the Fong Family. The reason for being unmarried is either being rejected by Chinese traditions or objecting the traditions. The novel ends with Amy making a surprising decision.
The epic portrays a historically true picture of the Fong family that gradually becomes affluent in the village as the financial support provided by their family members through hard work in Gold Mountain at the cost of the family dispersion. After the Chinese communists' takeover, the lives of the three generations of the Fong family come to a violent end in a rink, leaving the five-story mansion haunted for decades.
The novel is developed with historical facts and events, such as building the Canadian Pacific Railway, early years of Chinatowns in Victoria and Vancouver, the Chinese head tax, Sun Yat-sen's Revolution, Sino-Japanese War and the Land Reform Movement in China.
The setting is sophisticated. Through Amy Smith's eyes, the storyline goes back and forth between the present and past and between China and Canada. This story isn't only about the Chinese Canadian family, but also about this family's relationships with Caucasians and Native Indians.
Gold Mountain Blues is one of the best novels I've ever read, emotionally touching and compelling, with an intriguing plot, dramatic scenes and intricate characters. Suspense and O. Henry-style surprise are built throughout the novel.
August 26, 2012
More of a 3.5 star read.
I really enjoyed the story of the Fong family through the four generations depicted in this book. The strength of this book lies in the history of the Chinese experience of emigrating to North America (in this book, the Vancouver area of British Columbia). It tells of the trials, pains, loneliness and adaptations that the entire family (on both sides of the ocean) encounter. I must say that I'm both at awe and confused at some of the brave decisions made by the original Chinese immigrants to this area. They sacrificed family for the sake of family. Once their family was split there didn't seem to be a way to reunite them. This story brings home the pain of that and the unique problems of the future generations trying to assimilate into Canadian society while honoring family at "home" that they've never met.
This author brings this history to life. Ling Zhang adds some details and Chinese history that I wasn't aware of. I love that in a book.
However, this book has its flaws. Some of these are issues of translation, I think. The characters can seem distant, their personalities sometimes change, the language comes across as somewhat "rough" at times, I'm not sure why there were so many mentions of people "pissing". If one can ignore these issues, the story flows very well and is very enjoyable.
So, it has rough edges, which may be due to translation issues, but the story is interesting and well worth reading. I enjoyed the historical aspect. It's a light and entertaining read. It's certainly an interesting look at the Chinese experience of immigrating to North America. This is an author who can tell a good story.
Parts of this book are 4*, the cruder or more distant parts are 2*, so 3* is where my rating settles. It may deserve more than that but it isn't a solid 4* and GR doesn't give the option of partial stars.
I really enjoyed the story of the Fong family through the four generations depicted in this book. The strength of this book lies in the history of the Chinese experience of emigrating to North America (in this book, the Vancouver area of British Columbia). It tells of the trials, pains, loneliness and adaptations that the entire family (on both sides of the ocean) encounter. I must say that I'm both at awe and confused at some of the brave decisions made by the original Chinese immigrants to this area. They sacrificed family for the sake of family. Once their family was split there didn't seem to be a way to reunite them. This story brings home the pain of that and the unique problems of the future generations trying to assimilate into Canadian society while honoring family at "home" that they've never met.
This author brings this history to life. Ling Zhang adds some details and Chinese history that I wasn't aware of. I love that in a book.
However, this book has its flaws. Some of these are issues of translation, I think. The characters can seem distant, their personalities sometimes change, the language comes across as somewhat "rough" at times, I'm not sure why there were so many mentions of people "pissing". If one can ignore these issues, the story flows very well and is very enjoyable.
So, it has rough edges, which may be due to translation issues, but the story is interesting and well worth reading. I enjoyed the historical aspect. It's a light and entertaining read. It's certainly an interesting look at the Chinese experience of immigrating to North America. This is an author who can tell a good story.
Parts of this book are 4*, the cruder or more distant parts are 2*, so 3* is where my rating settles. It may deserve more than that but it isn't a solid 4* and GR doesn't give the option of partial stars.
September 14, 2014
De Canadese sociologe Amy Smith is de laatste nazaat uit het geslacht Fong. Omdat het vervallen familiehuis (diaolou) door de autoriteiten is bestempeld tot werelderfgoed, reist ze naar het geboortedorp van haar voorouders in China. Na de vondst van een bundeltje brieven en wat achtergelaten spullen van haar overgrootouders raakt Amy geïntrigeerd door de geschiedenis, die begint aan het eind van de 19e eeuw.
Gedreven door armoede en gelokt door mooie verhalen reist de jonge Ah Fat naar Canada. Terwijl hij iedere cent opzij legt voor zijn familie in het verre vaderland, wacht hem in het ‘land van Gouden Bergen’ een bikkelhard bestaan. Maar ook voor de achtergebleven familieleden is het leven niet gemakkelijk. Ondertussen zijn zij overgeleverd aan de grillen van de politieke machthebbers.
Gedreven door armoede en gelokt door mooie verhalen reist de jonge Ah Fat naar Canada. Terwijl hij iedere cent opzij legt voor zijn familie in het verre vaderland, wacht hem in het ‘land van Gouden Bergen’ een bikkelhard bestaan. Maar ook voor de achtergebleven familieleden is het leven niet gemakkelijk. Ondertussen zijn zij overgeleverd aan de grillen van de politieke machthebbers.
October 3, 2015
Monumental libro sobre la emigración china a Canadá a principios del siglo pasado. La historia dura y sacrificada de la familia Fong a través de cuatro generaciones. Es un libro que, como dice su autora en una nota final, hace justicia a los miles de emigrantes chinos que se partieron el alma trabajando para construir un país como Canadá que ni siquiera los reconocía como ciudadanos. Marginados y en la miseria, enviaban lo poco que ganaban a sus familias en China. Unas familias a las que muchos de ellos no podían ver porque no podían costearse el viaje de regreso o no alcanzaban para pagar el impuesto que Canadá impuso a los inmigrantes. Son casi 700 páginas que se leen muy fácilmente con un interés que no decae en ningún momento. Gran libro en todos los aspectos.
July 21, 2016
An amazing novel about the lives of a Chinese family on both sides of the Pacific--the little-told story of the Chinese railway workers in British Columbia in the late 1800s-early 1900s, but also of the wives and children they left behind, and the hardships they faced in the years after the railway was finished, through to the Cultural Revolution. It is all the more remarkable because it was originally written in Chinese and published in Beijing. I gave it 4 and not 5 stars only because there were so many characters, many with similar names, that it was sometimes hard to keep track of them; the constant stream of tragedies was hard to read about but unfortunately probably all too true to reality for many families during those long decades.
January 27, 2012
This is a very interesting book. It is well written about the Chinese in Canada and their families that remained in China when the men came to Gold Mountain Canada. Although I knew some of our horrible history regarding our treatment of them this book was very revealing. It is especially good as it is written by a Chinese woman and told from a Chinese perspective. I highly recommend reading this book
November 1, 2013
I've tried starting this book three times...It just did not hold my interest and didn't give me that, " I can't wait to get back to it" feeling...usually I will plow through a book even though I am not enjoying it ...but I just couldn't do it. I started out with an ebook but I ended up reading the hard copy which was given to me as a gift....ordinarily I enjoy books of this genre...no go! :(
August 21, 2013
Wat een prachtig en indrukwekkend verhaal van een ( voor mij ) onbekend deel van de Chinese geschiedenis. Als lezer leef je mee met de familie die wordt beschreven en raak je onder de indruk van de belevenissen van de verschillende generaties. Het is een treurige, maar mooie geschiedenis die eindigt met een sprankje hoop. Dit boek maakt blijvend indruk.
June 13, 2012
I didn't enjoy this and so didn't finish. I couldn't connect with the characters as written. Too bad, this is a subject that ordinarily would appeal to me.
April 17, 2013
Ik vond dit een ontzettend goed boek tot ongeveer 70 blz voor het einde. Zo van pats boem einde, zonde.
July 13, 2014
Loved it. It was an eye opening account of early CHinese immigrants and their life.
Cant believe it ahappended in Canada.
Cant believe it ahappended in Canada.
November 29, 2015
2.5 op 5 eigenlijk, maar geen drie sterren... interessant qua verhaal ; de schrijfstijl kon me niet bekoren.
August 19, 2016
Een mooi familieverhaal met een thema waarover we in Europa volgens mij (te) weinig weten: de ontwikkeling van de grote Noord-Amerikaanse spoorwegen en de rol van de Chinese arbeiders daarin.
December 21, 2021
Entirely too long and depressing with no reprieve.
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