Paper Wife

PAPER WIFE by Laila Ibrahim
Mei Ling is the younger daughter in a newly impoverished family. When her sister is betrothed to a complete stranger, Mei is happy it is not her and unhappy to see her sister leving China for the United States. Very quickly, everything changes when Mei Ling’s sister becomes ill and Mei Ling is forced to impersonate her sister and marry the stranger.
Well written and researched, this novel tells of “wives,” “daughters,” “sons and cousins” paid for and brought to the US as “paper relatives” in the early 1920’s. It has become impossible to emigrate to the US and China is suffering greatly. This subterfuge to bring impoverished Chinese to the US often results in prostitution and servitude. Mei show more Lings fears are not unfounded.
Ibrahim has written an engrossing tale of one such “paper wife.” Her characters are clearly drawn, the sights, smells and inhabitants of San Francisco’s Chinatown are related in intimate detail. A mesmerizing tale that book groups will love.
5 of 5 stars show less

Ancestral village
Guangdong Province, China
March 1923
Before opening the door, Mei Ling turned back for one last look at her family. Swallowing hard, she studied them, burning the tableau of faces into the folds of her memory. Soon they would be separated, perhaps forever. As with countless other families in Guangdong Province, the triple devastation of war, famine, and disease had chipped away their family's fortune until all they were left with was this, surrendering their beloved Jah Jeh to a stranger.

The story of a young Chinese woman married to an unseen man by a matchmaker in 1923. They are married by proxy and then meet and immediately begin their voyage to Angel Island, where Mei Ling must obtain entry through Immigration as her husband's first wife. The Chinese Exclusion Act was in effect and unless you had a university degree you could not enter. Her husband already had entry. She becomes pregnant on her wedding night. The book is about the voyage, the almost one year wait on Angel Island and their subsequent life both in San Francisco and then Oakland. I have read other books by this author that I have enjoyed more. I just found a some of the situations not plausible for the date and culture. 293 pages

The title was the first reason I was curious about this book. And now that I'm done with it, I don't regret this impulse read at all.

Paper Wife tells about young Mei Ling, a poor Chinese girl whose marriage is arranged by a quirk of fate to a widower settled in America. The story is set around the early 1920s, so the first half of the book unveils the troubles she has with the American immigration procedures and the tricks the Chinese used to circumvent the rules. The latter part narrates her struggles to settle in America with that stranger who is her husband. There is also an orphan girl she met on the ship who plays an important role in the story.

Paper Wife is a soothing book in spite of the troubles mentioned in it. If you're show more looking for a genuine historical fiction from a female point of view, pick up this book. There is nothing extraordinary about the writing, and that is what makes the book beautiful. It's a wonderful story, written in simple language so that the focus remains on the content rather than on narrative flamboyance. The title also has an interesting origin, which is detailed out in the book but I don't want to reveal in my review.

My rating: 4.25/5

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Paper Wife by Laila Ibrahim was an interesting story filled with conflict and family ties. Mei Ling is the second daughter of a poor family in China. The matchmaker has pledged her older sister to a merchant from the United States, but when her sister falls ill, Mei Ling is substituted as the bride. She must now travel to the United States with this man who she doesn’t know or fully trust. First off, she learns that he has been married before and that she is now the mother of a two year old boy. Due to the tight immigration laws, she must travel as the first wife and pass this little boy off as her own child.

On her voyage to San Francisco, she meets and becomes life-long friends with June, a Chinese woman who is travelling back to the show more States after visiting her family. She also meets a little six year old girl who she takes under her wing and cares for. Once in the States she must conquer many things, the language and customs are so different and confusing. As she learns more about the man she married, she learns to trust and, indeed, to love him. Together they vow to rescue the little girl from the ship who is facing a life of enforced slavery and prostitution.

I thought the book was well written, well researched and I enjoyed the story and the characters. I have read this author before and will certainly do so again. The immigration laws and the exploitation of new immigrants made for an intriguing story and, sadly, this topic is still current in today’s world. A sign of a good book is that the reader wishes that it had been longer, and I certainly felt that with Paper Wife. show less

Having read Laila Ibrahim's four-novel Freedman/Johnson series (a multi-generational story of Black and White relationships and family in the Old South), I was eager to jump into PAPER WIFE. Unfortunately, while I am particularly interested in the consequences of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, the story felt flat.

PAPER WIFE is a story of Chinese immigration in the 1920s. Beginning in Guangdong Province, we meet a family fallen on hard times trying to arrange a good marriage for their older daughter, through a matchmaker. A prosperous Chinese-American merchant (a widower with a young son) is chosen but circumstances don't go quite as planned. And it's the second daughter Mei Ling who winds up marrying him and traveling to San show more Francisco.

In less than ideal circumstances, Mei Ling forms a strong on-board attachment with another married woman and an orphaned girl who immediately bonds with both Mei Ling and her new stepson. And its the connections among this small group of characters who guide the rest of the novel.

I did learn how paper relatives purchased documentation to illegally enter the United States. Though the documentation stated they were blood relatives of U.S. citizens or residents, they weren't. Instead, they had to memorize the circumstances of someone else's life and convince authorities they were that person. Many of these illegal immigrants (including children) were actually brought from China to be servants or prostitutes. All were first taken to Angel Island in San Francisco Bay and remained there until they either convinced local officials they were legitimate or, alternately, were shipped back to China.

Mei Ling's marriage, travel, and settling in to new life does not lack drama. Important questions arise: Can she trust her new husband? How will she ever learn English? What if she gives birth to daughters in a culture that prefers sons? Does she need to convert to Christianity? How far will she need to go to protect those she loves?

Unfortunately, I never found myself emotionally involved with either Mei Ling or the other characters. Throughout the book, I felt more like an outsider watching a series of plot developments unfold. And I was eager for the end. You may have a different experience. show less

Having read Laila Ibrahim's four-novel Freedman/Johnson series (a multi-generational story of Black and White relationships and family in the Old South), I was eager to jump into PAPER WIFE. Unfortunately, while I am particularly interested in the consequences of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, the story felt flat.

PAPER WIFE is a story of Chinese immigration in the 1920s. Beginning in Guangdong Province, we meet a family fallen on hard times trying to arrange a good marriage for their older daughter, through a matchmaker. A prosperous Chinese-American merchant (a widower with a young son) is chosen but circumstances don't go quite as planned. And it's the second daughter Mei Ling who winds up marrying him and traveling to San show more Francisco.

In less than ideal circumstances, Mei Ling forms a strong on-board attachment with another married woman and an orphaned girl who immediately bonds with both Mei Ling and her new stepson. And its the connections among this small group of characters who guide the rest of the novel.

I did learn how paper relatives purchased documentation to illegally enter the United States. Though the documentation stated they were blood relatives of U.S. citizens or residents, they weren't. Instead, they had to memorize the circumstances of someone else's life and convince authorities they were that person. Many of these illegal immigrants (including children) were actually brought from China to be servants or prostitutes. All were first taken to Angel Island in San Francisco Bay and remained there until they either convinced local officials they were legitimate or, alternately, were shipped back to China.

Mei Ling's marriage, travel, and settling in to new life does not lack drama. Important questions arise: Can she trust her new husband? How will she ever learn English? What if she gives birth to daughters in a culture that prefers sons? Does she need to convert to Christianity? How far will she need to go to protect those she loves?

Unfortunately, I never found myself emotionally involved with either Mei Ling or the other characters. Throughout the book, I felt more like an outsider watching a series of plot developments unfold. And I was eager for the end. You may have a different experience. show less