See's book is based on stories about her own family; it is full of
characters who are as big as life because they are drawn from life. There is a grandfather who is,
well, a deadbeat. There is a Caucasion woman and Chinese man who fall in love at a time when
society was not as forgiving as it now is. There are successes and failures.

See succeeds
admirably because she does not dance on egg shells. She tells the story as she sees it. That
includes the part about how her family had entered the USA illegally, an aspect of that family's
history that is still uncomfortable for them.

Great stories are stories that are told
honestly. Lisa See succeeds admirably.

(Carolyn Howard-Johnson is the author of the award-winning
novel, "This is the Place." It is a coming-of-age story based on her own family's history. That
history was deeply rooted in tales of the pioneers and their own genealogy.

Carolyn
Howard-Johnson, author of "This is the Place"

Now that I've read and enjoyed the book, I am especially surprised, pleasantly, at how honest
and real her portrayal of the characters are. I know these are real people and the stories are real
but to me their stories read like fairy tales an so they become characters. Their stories are so
unusual that had See not done such a good job in writing it, they would have been unbelievable.

One of the reasons that it is a really good book is the way the author presented the facts --
with stories and photographs. It is a well documented, well researched, and well written book.

I
could also attest to the veracities of the historical events and personal dramas that were described
in the book because my own family's history had very many of the same events, trials and
tribulations are similar to hers. And since I do read and speak Chinese and I am knowledgable
about the customs of the Southern China district where her great-grandfather came from, I can also
say that her description of the cultures (including family practices, language, etc...) are
extremely accurate. And they are accurate not to the point of patronizing or insulting, but
straight forward in the way it happened. This style of writing I admired enormously.

I think Ms.
See did a great service not only to her own family, but to the Chinese-American experience as well.
This book really does serve as a documentary to all of the Chinese American immigrants who had come
to the country in the last 100 years or more. It is a record of history. It can probably be used
as text book for a history class.

The book is well written in many ways. One of the way is that is
very personal and yet readable, even for people not from her family. It is about people, culture,
history, family, love, triumph, politics, business, relations, and much more. I highly recommend
it.