Genealogy Books - The Concubine's Children

Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating:

Summary: A Captivating Read
Comment: I may be a white, teenaged, american male, but I still can appreciate the value and hard work that
went into this book.

This book was absolutely wonderful in that it covered the family history so
well, leaving out very few details, even though it was all put together by word of mouth, letters
and photographs!

This must have been an extremely difficult book to write for all parties
involved, and for that the author and her relatives have my deepest respect.

This book is
absolutely beautiful and represents Chinese culture very clearly and in an interesting manner. I
would recommend this book to ANYBODY

Customer Rating:

Summary: Page turner...
Comment: but I did find that I had a bit of a difficult time getting myself through this book, maybe because
this story with the exception of a concubine, hits close to home. My Grandfather had come to America
without his wife and three children looking for a better life. This occured in the 1930's around the
same time that Sam Chan sent for a concubine from China. May-Ying was a young girl sent alone on a
long journey to Vancouver, B.C. to become a concubine to Sam Chan, who would father two daughters.
As the girls got older it was decided that they would be schooled in China. The entire family
returned home where May-Ying, although the mother to the girls, became the second wife next to
Hungbo, who was to be known as the "big mother" to the girls. Hungbo had replaced Sam Chan's first
wife who had passed away some years earlier.

May-Ying had started out as a young innocent girl who
came to North America on falsified papers and was thrust into a life that she didn't desire. It was
in Vancouver and the numerous Chinatowns that dotted the area that her wild side let loose,
especially when Sam Chan returned for an extended stay in China to build a house. Now May-Ying was
forced to work in a tea house to support not only herself, but also her infant daughter (the
author's mother) as well as those in China. She was required to send back money to support the
building of the house.

The rest of the book goes on to describe the hardships that she faced as
well as the emotional and physical abuse suffered by the third daughter Hing. Sam Chan did indeed
have very good intentions to try to provide well for the families on two continents, but it would
all back fire during The Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution that would take place. This
is when Sam Chan would return to Vancouver and start living apart from May-Ying and Hing.

The last
few chapters deal with the author trying to reunite the two families and helping her mother come to
terms with the demons that were inside her. Her mother felt that the happiness that she should have
had was sacrificed for the other family in China. After meeting her siblings for the first time, she
was able to answer a lot of questions that for a long time she had suppressed.

An interesting look
into what life was like for those looking for the pot of gold in another country and the sadness
that was shared among the many who made the trip.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Great Book...
Comment: This book tell a tale of the harsh life of May Ying (concubine), and her daughter. It gives it's
reader a glimp into the life a young immigrant sent overseas, against her will, to be a concubine of
a man she doessn't even know. It tell of May Ying's relationship with men, addiction to alcohol,
and her daughter's stuggle to support financially and emotionally. Her life is a sad one, but the
author wrote the story so well. It touched me.

I read this book a few years ago in my 1st year
English class. I am really glad that the prof chose this book. I recommended this book to friends
and they told me they love it.

Customer Rating:

Summary: A part of Chinese immigration uncovered
Comment: Denise Chong reveals a world of immigration that this very Anglo Texan had no idea existed. With
each multicultural title I read I become more and more amazed by the sacrifices that immigrant
people make by seeking their fortunes in a New World. Learning about the U. S. closure to Chinese
immigration was news to me. And realizing that the only course for Chinese men was to immigrate
through Canada opened up at least two new vistas. The one in Canada of Chong's grandmother, the
child of the concubine, was so primitive and pain filled; I was intrigued to know that it could be
survived. To learn of the custom of the Chinese man having family in China that was honored and in
the New World that was less highly regarded surprised me even more. The child's struggle through
rejection, poverty, parental alcoholism and addictive gambling, and sexual promiscuity seemed nearly
impossible.

To enrich Chong's narrative, a biography no less, she includes family pictures. And
the links back to the family in China show the culture that is stuck in another century, another
time. It is a picture that reveals family that is revered though separated by distance and time.
Reading this book enriched my understanding of a people about which I knew very little. I highly
recommend this book. It is an extension past the very excellent fiction of Amy Tan and well worth
the read.

Customer Rating:

Summary: A rich tale of a family's struggle at the Golden Mountian
Comment: Being a 1st generation Chinese Canadian I feel very close to this story. Although my circumstances
are not as dark as that of the people in the story, I feel a certain kinship.

Denise Chong is
honest and her story is remarkable. I read that book in one night and had to miss school the next
day because I could not put the book down. The pictures in the book gives a dimension to the
characters.

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