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A review by dorhastings
The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-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
4.0
How this book ended up on my TBR: Book club!
I sure have been reading my fair share of historical fiction based in the southern US in the late 1800s/early 1900s. The other book I read centered on New Orleans, LA, whereas this book takes place in Georgia. But some of the themes are still the same: a significant portion of Southern white families are miffed at having lost to the North, and they are unwilling to change their lifestyles. While black people are no longer slaves, they probably earn pretty poor wages and still perform service jobs. Some folks genuinely did not know that Chinese immigrants came to the US and were subjected to bad work conditions (to say nothing of their not being naturalized into the US and having no path to citizenship. If this book's portrayal is accurate, even Chinese Americans didn't have a path to citizenship).
Jo Kuan is a 17-year-old young Chinese American woman who lives with an older Chinese immigrant, Old Gin, in the basement of a newspaper publisher's house. Jo has lived down there her entire life with Old Gin, her "uncles" (other Chinese men who come to the US for work), and the family upstairs, the Bells. (And also, the Bells have no idea anyone is living in the basement.) After losing her employment, Jo has to go back to being a maid for one of her previous employer's daughters. At the same time, she hears that the Bells's newspaper is losing community interest and may need to close, which would then lead to Jo and Old Gin needing to find a new place to live. Upon hearing that other newspapers offer ladies' advice, she adopts the name "Miss Sweetie" and offers to write similar columns for the Bells's newspaper.
As you can imagine, Jo is pretty progressive, in addition to being outspoken. Author Stacey Lee is clearly using Jo to buck the stereotype of Chinese/Asian women being meek. But maybe I'm also mischaracterizing Jo's outspokenness for frankness, and it's not as though she never holds her tongue. But she really has the ability to let loose in her columns, some of which the Bells can accept while they try to navigate relationships with their readers. Eventually Nathan Bell, the son of the publisher, decides to take the newspaper into a more progressive direction.
Millinery gave me a way to be seen; Miss Sweetie gave me a voice to be heard. But maybe what I needed most was simply the freedom to walk out from the shadows of my hat. Somehow, Old Gin and I have managed to fit ourselves into a society that, like a newspaper, rarely comes in colors other than black and white. There will always be those who keep their distance. But there will also be those who don't mind riding their safeties in my lane. I spent my whole life worried that the sound of my own voice might give me away, but I was wrong about that. If I hadn't used my voice, I wouldn't be here today.
I liked both Jo and Old Gin. Old Gin reminded me a little of Iroh from Avatar: The Last Airbender. I also eventually liked Caroline and, to a certain extent, her mother. I enjoyed reading the book from Jo's perspective. I did think she seemed remarkably eloquent, with a wide range of relevant commentary, for someone her age, but I suppose you could say that women especially had to grow up quicker back then. But there is something to be said for Jo finding her voice and not allowing herself to be silenced. There are a lot of examples of folks cutting off opinions they don't want to hear, and there are just as many examples of other folks just shouting louder because they simply will not go away.
Also, I'm all for happy endings, but I was a bit stunned that 1.) she rode Sweet Potato in the race (and won), and 2.) the Bells had almost no reaction to Jo and Old Gin living in their basement. Their reaction was... to help them settle in. I can suspend some judgment/sense of reality, but this is asking a lot.
I did enjoy reading the book and often found myself flipping to the next chapter without missing a beat. I'd really like to read more of Stacey Lee's work.
I sure have been reading my fair share of historical fiction based in the southern US in the late 1800s/early 1900s. The other book I read centered on New Orleans, LA, whereas this book takes place in Georgia. But some of the themes are still the same: a significant portion of Southern white families are miffed at having lost to the North, and they are unwilling to change their lifestyles. While black people are no longer slaves, they probably earn pretty poor wages and still perform service jobs. Some folks genuinely did not know that Chinese immigrants came to the US and were subjected to bad work conditions (to say nothing of their not being naturalized into the US and having no path to citizenship. If this book's portrayal is accurate, even Chinese Americans didn't have a path to citizenship).
Jo Kuan is a 17-year-old young Chinese American woman who lives with an older Chinese immigrant, Old Gin, in the basement of a newspaper publisher's house. Jo has lived down there her entire life with Old Gin, her "uncles" (other Chinese men who come to the US for work), and the family upstairs, the Bells. (And also, the Bells have no idea anyone is living in the basement.) After losing her employment, Jo has to go back to being a maid for one of her previous employer's daughters. At the same time, she hears that the Bells's newspaper is losing community interest and may need to close, which would then lead to Jo and Old Gin needing to find a new place to live. Upon hearing that other newspapers offer ladies' advice, she adopts the name "Miss Sweetie" and offers to write similar columns for the Bells's newspaper.
As you can imagine, Jo is pretty progressive, in addition to being outspoken. Author Stacey Lee is clearly using Jo to buck the stereotype of Chinese/Asian women being meek. But maybe I'm also mischaracterizing Jo's outspokenness for frankness, and it's not as though she never holds her tongue. But she really has the ability to let loose in her columns, some of which the Bells can accept while they try to navigate relationships with their readers. Eventually Nathan Bell, the son of the publisher, decides to take the newspaper into a more progressive direction.
Millinery gave me a way to be seen; Miss Sweetie gave me a voice to be heard. But maybe what I needed most was simply the freedom to walk out from the shadows of my hat. Somehow, Old Gin and I have managed to fit ourselves into a society that, like a newspaper, rarely comes in colors other than black and white. There will always be those who keep their distance. But there will also be those who don't mind riding their safeties in my lane. I spent my whole life worried that the sound of my own voice might give me away, but I was wrong about that. If I hadn't used my voice, I wouldn't be here today.
I liked both Jo and Old Gin. Old Gin reminded me a little of Iroh from Avatar: The Last Airbender. I also eventually liked Caroline and, to a certain extent, her mother. I enjoyed reading the book from Jo's perspective. I did think she seemed remarkably eloquent, with a wide range of relevant commentary, for someone her age, but I suppose you could say that women especially had to grow up quicker back then. But there is something to be said for Jo finding her voice and not allowing herself to be silenced. There are a lot of examples of folks cutting off opinions they don't want to hear, and there are just as many examples of other folks just shouting louder because they simply will not go away.
I did enjoy reading the book and often found myself flipping to the next chapter without missing a beat. I'd really like to read more of Stacey Lee's work.