A master accomplishment by this writer. Anyone who lives or has lived in Vancouver or Nanaimo must read it. No, everybody must read it.
Chong tells the story of her mother and grandmother's lives. The grandmother was the second wife, the Canada wife, or concubine. She made her living as a tea house lady. I had never heard about these tea houses in the early China towns. Chong's mother told her the story of growing up in this environment, with a heartless gambling, drinking mother. Included are several trips back to China by various member's of the family to build a mansion, visit the first wife and children, and find the ruins and descendants.
An overwhelming story and not a hard read.
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