Thousand Pieces of Gold: A Biographical Novel

A strange book that is well worth a read. McCunn based this novel on research of a real woman who emigrated from China. Because the documentation (citizenship papers, land deeds, etc) is spotty, her book is episodic, each section focusing around the few events we know happened. The first section, which takes place in China, is enthralling, as is the second, which takes place in a Gold Rush town. After that, though, the episodes hang together less firmly and I had a hard time seeing how the character became who she did.

Nevertheless, even the parts of the book that were least successful for me were vividly interesting. I ordered another of her books as soon as I finished this one.

I won this book from Librarything in exchange for an honest review.

This is the story of Polly Bemis aka Lalu Nathoy who was sold into slavery by her father in 1871 China. The biography is written in a fictional style making it an easy and quick read.

Perhaps due to the author's writing style, the story of Polly does come off as rushed and incomplete almost as it the author was trying to cram so many instances of Polly's life into 216 pages. I would have liked more detail of her life prior to coming to America and was underwhelmed by her life once married to Charlie Bemis. She appeared to live a life no different that any other married couple. She and Charlie loved each other, they fought, they made a home together and they were a pillar show more of their community. As such, I didn't find her story that interesting.

It was overall a decent book to read, just could have had more depth. show less

This is a fascinating story - a novelization of a real-life Chinese immigrant in the late 1800s in the American West. Broken by famine in Northern China, Lalu's family sells her to a brothel, who then passes her to a slave merchant bound for America. There she is transported to the mostly male West Coast where gold is being panned and trains are being built. Auctioned off to a saloonkeeper, she learns English and interacts with the kind of rough people who make their lives in a saloon. Later offered as a prize in a poker game and finally becoming a wife, she manages to earn back some of the dignity taken from her after being property for most of her life. In fact, all women were property of one sort or another in those days. Much of the show more quality of their life was highly dependent on whose care they were in and how much they were valued.

Not the strongest historical fiction, but still interesting. show less

I loved this book. It was not as in-depth, historically, as I often like books to be, but the shortness and ease of it seemed just right to me in this instance. Lalu Nathoy/ Polly Bemis was an amazing woman and I believe the author did her justice. She brought her strength and character to life but with such a simplistic style. For some reason the simplicity of the story – or maybe it was the strong heroine – reminded me a little of Their Eyes Were Watching God. It has been a while since I read that story, but something about this book just gave me the same sense. This book is incredibly sad and horrifying at times, yet I felt it was more a story of hope and inspiration than it was depressing.

Though it leans on the Young Adult side show more of fiction (aside from some quite graphic themes), this book will appeal to readers young and old, to anyone who enjoys reading books with strong female leads struggling to overcome adversity, Chinese in the early American west – or to anyone just looking for a good story. show less

This novel is based on a real person, Polly Bemis. Polly was sold by her desparate father in China, and brought to America where she was auctioned off to a saloon-keeper in the then-pioneer stat of Idado. The novel tells of her life, and her determination to win her freedom.

The novel portrays life in the gold rush times in Western America, especially the treatment of Chinese immigrants. One especially poignant moment was when Polly learned from a black man that slavery had been abolished, but that emancipation did not apply to her.

Polly is a strong woman and I found myself instanly drawn to her. I did find the writing a bit lacking in depth, but am told the author did this deliberately to make the book accessible to a wider audience.

It's great to find a book about pioneer women in America that captures a whole new experience. Books about Asian-American pioneers are few and far between, and books about women are even scarcer. Just for the subject matter this book wins a lot of points. Yes, it's based on a true story, but it is a novel. Our heroine Polly overcomes countless obstacles and has a gamut of fascinating experiences. I do wish each segment of her life was more thoroughly developed, as well as the characters. I thought that this fell a little flat as a novel, and was scarce on information for a biography. However, for a quick read this was very enjoyable and I loved a glimpse into American history that isn't often represented in popular media!

This is a biography that reads like an action novel. I loved learning about an Asian pioneer woman's experiences because they are so different than the ones my European pioneer ancestors went through.