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Thousand Pieces of GoldBy Ruthanne Lum McCunn1981, 308 pages, Paperback. |
ORDER -- Item #150, Price $14.00
"A valuable book that gives Chinese Americans another true heroine."
"Ruthanne Lum McCunn has woven an enthralling work of fiction from the true-life story of Lalu Nathoy."
"Lalu is a living, vital person from page one until her death.... [She] emerges as a person of dignity,
intelligence, devotion, even humor. Author McCunn has given me a friend I'll never forget."
"From Shanghai to San Francisco, Lalu Nathoy's courageous journey is
an important contribution to the hisotry of pioneer women."
Ruthanne began writing seriously when she was thirty. Three years later, she published her first novel Thousand Pieces of Gold. She has published seven books on the experiences of Chinese people in America.
A former grade school librarian and teacher, she's also taught at Cornell University, the University of California at Santa Cruz, and the University of San Francisco. She lives in San Francisco with her husband, Don, and their two cats.
Book Description From the Back Cover
Lalu's father calls his thirteen-year-old daughter his treasure, his "thousand pieces of gold," yet when famine strikes northern China in 1871 he is forced to sell her. Polly Bemis, as Lalu is later called, is sold to a brothel and then to a slave merchant bound for America, auctioned to a saloonkeeper, and offered as a prize in a poker game. This masterfully told biographical novel, which was adapted into the acclaimed American Playhouse motion picture starring Rosalind Chao, is the story of an extraordinary woman's struggle for independence and respect in the early American West.
Additional Content With the New Edition
The latest edition of the book contains a new reader's guide which includes an essay "Reclaiming Polly Bemis: China's Daughter, Idaho's Legendary Pioneer" in which McCunn details her research for the novel and her discoveries in the years since.
Comments From the Cover
"[A] story of struggle and survival as a woman - and slave - in China
and the American West....Fast-paced and entertaining - packed with
adventure, drama, and inspiration."
-Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston,
San Francisco Chronicle
-Maxine Hong Kingston
-Elena Brunet, Los Angeles Times
-Anne Alexander, Peninsula Times Tribune
-Ms. magazine
About the Author
Ruthanne Lum McCunn was born in San Francisco's Chinatown and grew up in Hong Kong. In 1962 she returned to the U.S. to attend college.
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Copyright © 2004 by AACP, Inc.
Most recent revision October 20, 2004