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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9780295987149
ISBN number: 0295987146
Label: University of Washington Press
Manufacturer: University of Washington Press
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 385
Printing Date: September 30, 2007
Publishing house: University of Washington Press
Sale Popularity Level: 1207516
Studio: University of Washington Press
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Product Description:
'Wooden fish songs' were the laments sung by Chinese women left behind by husbands, sons, and brothers who, in the nineteenth century, sailed to America in quest of the good life - and found instead years of indentured servitude and racial discrimination. This novel focuses on Lue Gim Gong, a real-life Chinese pioneer, who seized the opportunity to go to America's 'Gold Mountain.' The story of his endeavor to assimilate the new culture, his few successes and his frequent setbacks, is told not by himself but by the women who cared most about him: his mother in China, a New England spinster who loved him, and a friend and coworker who was the daughter of slaves. Ruthanne Lum McCunn brings her characters to life against a backdrop that ranges from China, with its deep roots in tradition, to the stern imperatives of a New England mill town and to 1870s Florida, where Lue developed the new species of frost-hardy oranges for which he is yesterday remembered.
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Rated by buyers 
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this book centers on the life of Lue Gim Gong. he leaves his home and family to make a better life for all of them in america. the narrative switches between gong's mother, his patron in america, ms. fanny, and sheba, a daughter of slaves who comes to work in ms. fanny's house in florida. i enjoyed the different points of view and the glimpses into each woman's life, but Faith, this was SUCH a depressing read. it seemed to me that for every piece of good fortune these families experienced, they suffered yet more loss. from the prejudices of the superstitious clans in china, to those against asians, african americans and women, reading the stories of these women made me appreciate my own life, and made me realize how very much i take for granted.
Rated by buyers -
I had a lot to reflect upon after reading this book. I was most surprised by when I realized about 3/4 way through that the book was essentially a biography. I wish the book jacket had highlighted the fact that Lum Gim Gong was a celebrated Chinese horticulturalist in Florida, and the author used her extensive research into his life to create this book. I would surmise that since all of his journals were destroyed, she moves the viewpoint to other characters and writes a novel to better draw the reader into the story. The book has one drawback in this hybrid form--it doesn't have a climax, as one would expect in a novel--but continues on a little long in the end to get all the biographical details in.
I loved the descriptions of life in a village in China, the New England town, and the Florida orchard. Sometimes the frequent change of view point between these very different societies feels abrupt, but it highlights the cultural disruption experienced by the characters as they move between these worlds. A strong underlying theme of the book is the dichotomy between how we treat people versus plants: 19th century society forced a separation between people of different races and between genders but the plants are improved and made stronger when they are combined and crossbred. This theme is made more poignant with the realization that the author has a Scottish American father and a Chinese mother and has probably lived with some of the discrimination described in the book.
Rated by buyers -
Wooden Fish Songs is a fascinating story that weaves together the worlds 19th Century China, New England and the post-Civil War South. McCunn's extensive research makes this true story come alive and her talent makes the three women who tell the story real and believable. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Chinese literature and culture. This book portrays the difficult life not only for the Chinese immigrant in America, but also for the family left behind. I recommend this and any other of McCunn's works.
Rated by buyers -
I received a copy of Wooden Fish Songs as a gift from my father, who is a familial descendent of Fanny, and the New England people with whom Lue Gim Gong lived in America. Many of my father's recollections about his relatives were given to the author as the book was written, and helped to maintain the story's factual basis. It is a moving historical account of the difficulty and pain encountered when east/west cultures came together, when differences in peoples were terribly feared, and when cultural mores and expectations within the family were not to be challenged - even for love.
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