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jdelloso's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
hilaryreadsbooks's review
4.0
Ye Chun’s STRAW DOGS OF THE UNIVERSE has the kind of effortlessly gorgeous (yet mature) prose that lends a solemnity to this dark part of American history. Chun’s dexterity with language is not new though—her story collection HAO still remains one of my favorites—but what she brings in STRAW DOGS that’s different from HAO is the sheer amount of historical detail and tangled narration that follows four different Chinese immigrants in Gold Mountain traveling towards converging points in time.
It is the 1870s, and a boat carrying Sixiang and other girls sold to a human trafficker docks in America. A new land, a new master, a new language, and xenophobic antagonism beyond what she can imagine, but this she knows: she is to find her father, who sailed to Gold Mountain for work and disappeared without a trace, and bring him back home. Unbeknownst to Sixiang, her father has created a new life in Gold Mountain, and their impending reunion will not be what she expected. Along with a man from a family with five-generation Daoist priests, a woman who killed her abusive husband and has been running since, and many other unforgettable characters, Sixiang and her father will need to contend with the dangerous landscape of the American West during a time where lynchings of the Chinese and burnings of their homes and communities ran rampant and without consequence, even as they reevaluate transformed meanings of home, love, and family.
If you loved books such as Jenny Tinghui Zhang's FOUR TREASURES OF THE SKY and C Pam Zhang’s HOW MUCH OF THESE HILLS IS GOLD, particularly the historical parts, you’ll likely love STRAW DOGS. My only wish with STRAW DOGS, as with many historical fictions, was that disablement wasn’t so heavily associated with tragedy! It is of course, as always, important to tie in disability with the historical context—in STRAW DOG’s case, becoming disabled (and unable to work) further amplifies the precarity of finding work as a Chinese immigrant, particularly as a Chinese man. I’ll continue wishing for a reimagining of disability in Chinese American historical fiction though. Thank you Catapult for the gifted copy!
It is the 1870s, and a boat carrying Sixiang and other girls sold to a human trafficker docks in America. A new land, a new master, a new language, and xenophobic antagonism beyond what she can imagine, but this she knows: she is to find her father, who sailed to Gold Mountain for work and disappeared without a trace, and bring him back home. Unbeknownst to Sixiang, her father has created a new life in Gold Mountain, and their impending reunion will not be what she expected. Along with a man from a family with five-generation Daoist priests, a woman who killed her abusive husband and has been running since, and many other unforgettable characters, Sixiang and her father will need to contend with the dangerous landscape of the American West during a time where lynchings of the Chinese and burnings of their homes and communities ran rampant and without consequence, even as they reevaluate transformed meanings of home, love, and family.
If you loved books such as Jenny Tinghui Zhang's FOUR TREASURES OF THE SKY and C Pam Zhang’s HOW MUCH OF THESE HILLS IS GOLD, particularly the historical parts, you’ll likely love STRAW DOGS. My only wish with STRAW DOGS, as with many historical fictions, was that disablement wasn’t so heavily associated with tragedy! It is of course, as always, important to tie in disability with the historical context—in STRAW DOG’s case, becoming disabled (and unable to work) further amplifies the precarity of finding work as a Chinese immigrant, particularly as a Chinese man. I’ll continue wishing for a reimagining of disability in Chinese American historical fiction though. Thank you Catapult for the gifted copy!
_cararichardson's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Great characters and writing, interesting setting and time period.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Death, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Racism
ldubs82's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
tinamayreads's review
challenging
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Death, and Rape
cherreadssharereads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
I like the way Chun writes; looking forward to picking up HAO. I like the history embedded into this story of a woman longing for home. I absolutely abhor the history of Chinese laborers in Truckee and Northern California especially bc there are so many Chinese here now and there are very few mentions of all the discrimination they faced when tasked with doing all the menial labor all the while getting killed, raped, and being recipients of hate-crimes!!!! Pacing at the beginning could have been tightened up a bit. I didn’t care for all the mention of Dao and wuwai — I didn’t feel the connection there. I didn’t like that several scenes were revisited multiple times but by different POVs…I feel like that slows down the story significantly and I do not need 3 (albeit, different) regurgitations of the same scene; one or 2 less POVs would have been nice.
acarter's review
5.0
Oh, I just loved this sweeping historical saga. The characters feel so real, and they broke my heart a thousand times over as I watched them struggle and persevere and give up and fight back against years of systemic oppression, exclusion, violence, and fear-mongering. Yet the novel doesn't allow itself to be the sort of underdog story in which the characters face endless brutality whilst maintaining a plucky spirit -- instead, Ye Chun shows the devastating effects of facing violent racism and misogyny, all while complicating the notion of what it means to leave home, to search for home, and to make a home.
jukietoss's review
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
What a harrowing, sweeping story of a Chinese family trying to build a life in late 19th century California/Nevada. Incredibly well told, Chun takes an extensive history and condenses into four key perspectives from whom we learn about the horrific racism against the Chinese as they built the west coast railroads and then tried to settle and build their own lives--amidst growing xenophobia and ultimately the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882. And yet somehow, despite the amount of trauma these characters endure, this book is much more than that. Chun is matter-of-fact in her relaying of the violence her characters endure without making it the central or most salient part of their stories.
Instead, their humanity is what brims, and their attempts to connect with one another are what push the book forward. These characters are a pulsing reminder that doing life alone isn't an option, and that releasing our demons is necessary in order to fully connect with one another. There is so much heart throughout the novel. It's a breathtaking way to gain exposure to the history leading to and just after the Chinese Exclusion Act.
Instead, their humanity is what brims, and their attempts to connect with one another are what push the book forward. These characters are a pulsing reminder that doing life alone isn't an option, and that releasing our demons is necessary in order to fully connect with one another. There is so much heart throughout the novel. It's a breathtaking way to gain exposure to the history leading to and just after the Chinese Exclusion Act.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Murder, Trafficking, Sexual violence, Racism, and Drug abuse
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