352 pages
5 Stars
I first read this book shortly after it came out in 1981,
and I loved it. I've never forgotten it, have loaned my copy out, and replaced
it, at least 4 times. I recently bought the New Edition, which contains
additional information, and am so glad I did.
In rereading the book, I realized I had remembered certain
scenes accurately – and some that didn't exist at all ;-).
Lalu Nathoy/Polly Bemis was a real woman who was sold by her
father to bandits, smuggled into the US and, as the slave she was, found her
way from San Francisco to Portland to Warrens, Idaho where her owner used her
in his saloon as a 'bar girl' and where she became known as Polly.
Little is known of her life in China, and McCunn does a
marvelous job of conveying the 'what might have happened.' Girls had little to
no value in China, except to marry into a higher level of society if at all
possible, thereby bringing some monetary relief to her family. To this end,
many first born girls of even peasant families, had their feet bound. Lalu's
feet were bound, and then unbound when she was needed to work in the fields to
help her father. Although her feet never returned to 'normal' she was able to
walk long distances and do field work on them.
Bandits came to her village, and she was stolen. The leader
gave her father two bags of seed, thereby changing it from a theft to a sale.
Lalu began her journey to probably Shanghai where she was smuggled aboard a ship
bound to San Francisco. From there, she went north until eventually reaching
Warrens, Idaho, as the slave of Hong King. There is a myth about gaining her
freedom, the truth as we know it is that no one knows how she ended up free. We
do know she married her benefactor, Charlie Bemis, and lived many years in the
Salmon River area.
I think McCunn did a tremendous job showing the cultures of
China and pioneer Idaho in this book. Yes, there were areas I would have liked
to see expanded, and undoubtedly as you read it, there will be areas you wish
were in more depth, but over all, this is a fascinating, and accessible story.
I highly recommend it for anyone with an interest in our history, or the
history of the Chinese in our country. Although it is an adult book, it is
suitable for those in Junior High School.
It's a good read, and you're bound to learn something!
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