Book Reviews/A Writing Journey
Tag: racial prejudice
This is a fascinating tale of Chan Sam who left his wife in China to find gold in British Columbia. In Vancouver, he bought a concubine who worked in Chinatown to support both families.
The memoir gives a deep insight into the early lives of Chinese immigrants to Canada—the hard work they endured, the loneliness they faced, and the deep prejudice they suffered from both the government and the European community.
In the 1930s Grace escapes from her abusive father to follow her dream of becoming a star in San Francisco. She meets Helen, and drags her to an audition where they encounter Ruby. The three become fast friends, but all are hiding secrets from their past and are jealous when one becomes more successful than the other. Truths cannot be hidden forever, especially once U.S.A. becomes involved in WW11. Will they remain friends through their triumphs and tragedies?
When Theo returns to Sri Lanka from London to write his novel he is distracted by Nulani who draws him out of his beach side home. After Mrs Mendis reminds him of earlier racial riots when her husband was drenched in petrol and set alight, Theo cannot shut out the rising racial tension outside his door, nor his love for Nulani.
Can their love survive when Theo’s Sinhalese ethnic group is rioting against Nulani’s Tamil minority?
When the Fong’s estate near Shanghai is sold and the Yangs arrive, Jialing’s mother disappears and Jialing becomes a bond servant to the new family. Through her friendship with the spirit fox and Anjuin, the Yangs oldest daughter, she survives. A group of teachers rent a section of the estate and Jialing is given an opportunity to go to school. But even with her education and perfect English no one will employ her because she is zazhong— half Chinese, half Eurasian. How will she survive once the Yangs move to Shanghai leaving her behind?
Read and Write 