by William Poy Lee
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
A Thoughtful Insight into Our Culture, 2008-08-10
This was one of the most thoughtful personal readings that I have read in a long time. It gives insight into our culture as we know it. Many of us, myself included, have had one or both parents come to the U.S. from Hong Kong area. As children we may have not fully understood what they were trying to impart regarding their experiences growing up. Yet we held on to these oral histories. It is refreshing to see that someone has chosen to reduce the oral histories to written stories and share with others. I found that there is re-affirmation,common experiences and comfort in this book. It was well worth the read and is worth re-reading. Thank you.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
real history, 2008-04-21
a wonderful and moving memory of mother and son, of Toisan and San Francisco, looking into the future from the past.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
An Amazing Story of Culture, History, and Grace, 2007-09-10
I was drawn to The Eighth Promise, as I automatically veer towards any books related to China. Then I realized that this wasn't just about China, but about America as well. The author grew up in San Franscisco's Chinatown during quite volatile times--the Vietnam war, Civil Rights protests, Chinatown wars. I was fascinated by this history which he so vividly brought to life. Then, a terrible thing happened to his family, a terribly unjust, unfair thing that you would hope doesn't happen in America. I was moved to tears by the grace with which they dealt with this horrible injustice.
The Eighth Promise is an insightful book about Chinese Culture, American history during the 60's, 70's, and most importantly, grace in the face of injustice.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
The Real Chinatown, 2007-08-29
What a great book. I just finished reading it. There were so many layers to his story that I found so interesting: the American immigrant story of being uprooted into a strange land and customs, the attention to detail about Toisan food , the history of Chinese immigration to America and the racism they faced, and the racism faced by Asian Americans in contemporary America, the unveiling of the facade of Chinatown as a tourist postcard , the author's coming of age during the chaotic turmoil of the 60's and 70's, his relationship with his brother , and of course hearing his mother's story and the "Eighth Promise".
It's just a great story overall and he ties everything together well.
On a personal note, being a Korean American man , it's wonderful seeing more Asian American male voices that are being heard in literature today.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Resonating with another Chinatown Boy, 2007-08-18
William Poy Lee wrote a book that deeply moved me. My parents are Toisanese. My mother's roots are from Hoisin, the city that William visited on his explorations of family roots. My father's roots are deep in the Chung-lau village nearby. My father told me stories of tending the water buffalo, getting firewood, laying down manure, etc. A lot of tough farm chores. He left home at 14 and became a paper-son to come to New York in 1952. He was detained on Ellis Island for six months before entering the world of Chinatown, Seward Park High School, waiting tables, serving as a printer's apprentice, and other odd jobs, in the lower east side.
I grew up in Hong Kong and New York City's Chinatown. Because my mother was educated in Hong Kong, I was raised speaking Cantonese but I understand fully Toisanese as she spoke both. My mother's world for many years revolved around the garment factories -- the sweat shops. William Lee's stories of Chinatown San Francisco spoke to me. They are so much like how I saw things growing up in New York City, with its own variations. William's stories of Wah Ching youths, the associations, and political changes recalled for me events and people of New York's Chinatown. My friends and I lived through the times of some of the worst effects of these changes as well. But like others of that time, we also found much simple pleasures, even if we did not know it then, of playing basketball underneath the rising span of the Manhattan bridge, or just hanging out at the park on Forythe Street, or in the heart of Chinatown --Columbus Park.
Poy Jen's stories, her voice, her accents and how she phrased things, and of course her soups, are just remarkable as they are so vivid to me as I recall my own grandmother when she was alive, and as I talk to my grandfather now, who is 94. My father still speaks Toisanese and his mix of Cantonese to me. My mother and father continue to make those soups today, especially the precious ginseng soups when my wife and I visit.
The twin threads of the book intertwined beautifully -- the voices true, laced with everyday life's humor, and charged with the strong emotions of times of tragedy. The resolution of the stories is deeply personal and, at the same time, universally human. I look forward to seeing more stories from this fine writer.
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