God of Luck

July 30, 2007
Ah Lung, the youngest son in a family of silk producers, is kidnapped and forced into slavery in McCunn's underpowered latest. Though Ah Lung signs a labor contract that promises generous wages and a limited term of employment, once he begins the journey to Peru from his native southern China, he discovers the wages are nonexistent and his chances of surviving the contract are only slightly better than those of surviving the voyage to Peru. While he endures being shackled in an overcrowded ship's hold, a failed mutiny, a shipboard fire and a cholera outbreak before being unloaded and forced to do backbreaking work in a guano mine, his family, especially his wife, Bo See, and sister Moongirl, search for him. Bo See decides to grow an additional crop of silkworms to finance her husband's rescue, and Ah Lung perseveres in the harshest of conditions. McCunn has done an enormous amount of research into both Chinese slavery and silk production, and though the information is fascinating, it tends to overwhelm her narrative and undermine its tension. The book has an epic sweep, but the reading experience is only partially satisfying.

September 1, 2007
Praying to the God of Luck doesn't hurt, but it takes hard work and careful planning for Ah Lung to escape enslavement in this fine novel by the author of "Thousand Pieces of Gold". The young man was kidnapped from a small village near Canton and sold into slavery in Peru. He never gives up hope of returning home because of his burning love for his wife, Bo See. Listening to a fellow slave who had escaped from a plantation, Ah Lung learns how to plan his own flight. Meanwhile, Bo See helps with the family business of raising silkworms, proving so adept at handling these fragile creatures that she manages to increase silk production; with the extra money, the family hires men to look for Ah Lung. Based on historical events, this novel brings to life a little-known aspect of Chinese history; between 1840 and 1875, close to one million men were stolen from southern China to labor in Latin America. The author does a clever job of interweaving the novel's two perspectives, and her clear voice and simple yet elegant style easily turns this work into a real page-turner. Highly recommended for general readers as well as those studying Chinese history.Lisa Rohrbaugh, East Palestine Memorial P.L., OH

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2007
Adult/High School-Another look at the forced migration of Chinese people to the Americas in the 19th century. Ah Lung is happy with his wife, Bo See, and his whole family as they raise silkworms and sell the fiber. In the marketplace one day, he is kidnapped, and eventually transported to an island off Peru to work in the guano mines. The story is told alternately from the point of view of husband and wife. Ah Lung tells of life on a slave ship, an attempted mutiny, backbreaking labor, and his efforts to learn enough Spanish to facilitate an escape. Bo See keeps the family business going and contrives a way to raise an additional generation of worms in order to save enough for a ransom. The strong emotional ties between the pair are evident, and their combined narratives make for a good read. This tale of human struggle told in the context of a little-known piece of history will be most appealing to serious older teens and to those seeking stories reflecting their families non-European experiences."Sarah Flowers, Santa Clara County Library, CA"

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2007
McCunn (Moon Pearl, 2000) dramatizes the nineteenth-century practice of kidnapping Chinese men to serve as indentured slaves inthe Americas.This painful story of toiling in Peruvian guano mines, told in alternate voices by Ah Lung and his wife, Bo See, traces a harrowing journey on a slave ship, the disgusting work itself, the cruelty of theoverseers, and the tragedy of a helpless family left behind without their loved ones. The author bringsa powerful immediacy to thestory with heruse of earthy, even crude, imagery: descriptions of vomit and excrement aboard ship, Bo Sees meticulous work in a silk factory contrasted with Ah Lungs desperate shoveling and breathing of guano dust. The enslavement of a million Chinese men at this time was a shameful blot in historys copybook, and McCunns story certainly prompts the readers outrage. Unfortunately, it doesnt go much further than that. The newlyweds come off as a bitwooden, and McCunns pedestrian style lacks the psychological depth of other writers who have tackled this subject, including Gail Tsukiyama and Lisa See. Marginally recommended.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)