Pages: 279Genre: Biographical FictionWriting Style: Formal Arabic (translated for clarity)Synopsis: *Thousand Pieces of Gold* tells the life story of Lalu, from her early childhood until her death, detailing all the obstacles, hardships, challenges, and experiences she faced, both sad and terrifying, as well as happy and heartwarming.Honestly, at first, I thought it was just a typical novel, and I was annoyed by the time jumps that seemed to happen without reason. But when I got to the last few ...

Based on the true story of Lalu Nathoy, Thousand Pieces of Gold plunges us into the life of a Chinese teenager abducted by bandits in northern China in 1871. Sold into prostitution, she's then trafficked to a Chinese man in Idaho, where she's given the name Polly. Ruthanne Lum McCunn's historical fiction includes actual photographs of Polly and her ranch, cementing her legacy. Today, Polly is celebrated as one of Idaho's most remarkable pioneers. A must-read for fans of historical fiction and st...

I first learned about Lalu/Polly Bemis during my senior year of college in a Women of the West history course. The pervasiveness of whitewashing in United States history meant that discovering the hardships faced by Chinese women in the mid to late 1800s wasn't entirely shocking. I'd caught glimpses of such stories before, but I wasn't familiar enough with them, which made Polly's story particularly impactful in class. We watched the film adaptation of Ruthanne Lum McCunn's *Thousand Pieces of ...

This was a really interesting read. As a 13-year-old girl, Lalu is forcibly sold to a bandit, then to a brothel, then brought to America and sold to a Chinese saloon owner in Idaho, where her name is changed to Polly. A local man wins her in a poker game, as an effort to free her. She appreciates him and eventually comes to love him. Together they were among the first pioneers in the Salmon Canyon. Their cabin there has been deemed important to Idaho's heritage and in 1988 was listed in the Nati...

If you've somehow missed this incredible story, it's likely because *Thousand Pieces of Gold* by Ruthanne Lum McCunn first hit shelves in 1981. That was before books like *The Joy Luck Club* and *Red Azalea* really broadened the mainstream's understanding of Chinese American experiences. *Thousand Pieces of Gold* tells the real-life story of Lalu Nathoy, a Chinese girl sold into servitude and brought to San Francisco. Forced into prostitution, gambled away in a poker game, and treated as propert...

I've read a ton of books about pioneer women, but *Thousand Pieces of Gold* by Ruthanne Lum McCunn really stands out. It tells the true story of Polly Bemis, who lived in Idaho from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. Born in China, Polly was sold by her own father to save her family from starvation. Eventually, a Chinese businessman in America bought her. Polly was fiercely independent, and after gaining her freedom, she became quite successful on her own. She ran a boarding house for years and ...

This is an utterly delightful book. I highly recommend it. If you're looking for great historical fiction, check this one out. You need different books for different moods, and this one will make you happy. I think it's because it's optimistic, and that isn't to say bad things are excluded from its pages. Far from it! The book is exciting - bandits, a fire, shootings. This is a biographical novel about the Chinese woman Lalu Nathoy (1853-1933). Her beloved father sold her to bandits for the mere...

I thoroughly enjoyed "Thousand Pieces of Gold" by Ruthanne Lum McCunn, both as a glimpse into Idaho's history and as a uniquely compelling story. I read it while hiking through the Frank Church Wilderness, near the Salmon River and the story's primary setting. My ebook version included a later essay where McCunn detailed her research process for Polly Bemis's biographical novel. Finding that version is worthwhile, as it highlights the difficulty of uncovering Polly's story and the author's dedic...

Ruthanne Lum McCunn's descriptions of the settings in *Thousand Pieces of Gold* are incredibly vivid and illustrative. Her word choices are definitely not superfluous, which gives a touch of simplicity to the tale she weaves. The emotions she tries to capture in her characters are portrayed perfectly through her words, most notably in the scenes involving intense movements and actions filled with tension and suspense. However, it's important to note her failure to mention worldwide events, such...

I absolutely adored Thousand Pieces of Gold, and not just because of Ruthanne Lum McCunn's beautiful writing. The story of Polly Bemis, the 13-year-old girl at the heart of it all, resonated deeply because she lived in Warren City, Idaho – the very place my maternal grandfather was born! My great-grandfather and grandfather actually knew Polly and her husband, Charlie Bemis. Because of this connection, standing on the steps of her house in Warren felt incredibly special; her story feels interwov...