On Gold Mountain by Lisa See
June Book Club read
Fascinating account of a Chinese Immigrant family dynasty that begins with the patriarch coming over to work on the railroad and then segues into his son who opens a business in San Francisco selling crotchless underwear to the local brothels. The tale continues as the son marries a red-haired Pennsylvania Dutch pioneer girl who had been tragically orphaned and had tenaciously approached him for work.
The story is written by one of the family members, descendent Lisa See so the story is incredibly personal and yet full of historical context.
It's been a minute since I read this and I don't have the book to reference as it was a library book. "Gold Mountain" refers to what the Chinese called the United States. Fong See and his wife eventually settle in Chinatown of Los Angeles and navigate away from underwear and into antiques.
Fong See ultimately has multiple wives, official and un... The book traces many of their struggles and successes in integrated their blended cultural backgrounds. Our book club discussion was so interesting as members discussed personal experiences with marriages of mixed cultures. One of our group members majored in Asian studies and had traveled in China.
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