205:
one's family. Children who lose their 'Chinese brains' are called 'bamboo stumps' by the elders because of the hollow emptiness within, so Kiam-Kim must study hard at
Chinese school as well as English school. He must help Poh-Poh to cook for her mahjong ladies, and her hard knuckles rap his head when he misbehaves.
250:
follows Kiam-Kim as he learns the responsibilities and rewards of family and community, as he approaches adulthood in a city much divided, and as he faces decisions about what truly matters in life. More than anything else, the novel is an exploration of his character. "I think all stories should
204:
In their new life, there is a constant struggle to balance the new Gold
Mountain ideas with the old traditions and knowledge of China. Old One doesn't like Kiam-Kim speaking English, and Kiam-Kim knows that to be without manners, without a sense of correct social ritual, is to bring dishonour to
192:
province to become the new family of Third Uncle, a wealthy businessman whose own wife and son are dead. The place known as Gold
Mountain is Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and Third Uncle needs help in his large Chinatown warehouse. Canada's 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act forces them, and many
201:, and freight trains shake their windows at night with noises the Old One says are dragons playing. Yet this is a land where the Chen family will not starve; where they will be able to keep a girl baby, and not sell her into servitude as was the Old One, whose back is scarred from whippings.
208:
Although Poh-Poh urges him to stick with his own kind and not let non-Chinese 'barbarians' into the house, Kiam-Kim forges a lasting friendship with Jack O'Connor, the Irish boy next door. He also has a girlfriend, Jenny, daughter of one of the mahjong ladies who owns a corner grocery shop.
196:
Like many families around them, they must survive in unsavoury surroundings. Since the closing down of the railroad work camps, Chinatown is filled with unemployed labourers who live in poor rooming-houses. Sea winds fill the rooms with acrid smoke from the mills and refineries of
171:
follow the lives of the Chen family, this time through the experiences of Kiam-Kim, the First Son and Oldest
Brother of Jook-Liang, Jung-Sum, and Sek-Lung, whose childhood and adolescence in a strict but caring Chinatown family. The story runs parallel to the events related in
217:, and soon the whole world is at war. Boys at school are enlisting, and many Chinese have gone back to fight for the old country. Kiam-Kim wonders, "What world would we fight for?" Canada is his home, yet he knows that the new country does not want Chinese soldiers.
251:
arise organically from the characters' definitions of the world," says Wayson Choy, who believes that it is in the identification of reader with character that literature exists. "If you give details that ring true...that's the meaning conveyed by good writing."
184:
Kiam-Kim is three years old when he arrives by ship at Gold
Mountain with his father and his grandmother, Poh-Poh, the Old One. It is 1926, and because of famine and civil war in
332:
27:
90:
193:
others, to use false documents, or ghost papers, to get past the 'immigration demons' and become Third Uncle's Gold
Mountain family.
432:
427:
304:
417:
437:
412:
385:
407:
422:
246:, and won the Vancouver Book Award. Blending rich historical detail with powerful personal stories,
26:
354:
189:
381:
300:
97:
85:
271:
231:
135:
57:
47:
243:
239:
226:
148:
115:
401:
153:
294:
198:
143:
131:
37:
230:
was "a genuine contribution to history as well as fiction" according to author
214:
160:
104:
164:
139:
77:
210:
185:
98:
110:
96:
84:
73:
63:
53:
43:
33:
8:
19:
266:
264:
25:
18:
209:Meanwhile, China is suffering during the
327:
325:
323:
260:
7:
357:. Quill & Quire. 20 October 2004
293:Choy, Wayson (28 September 2011).
188:, they have left their village in
152:(1995), and was nominated for the
14:
238:bestseller list, shared the 1995
1:
134:. First published in 2004 by
167:during the 1930s and 1940s,
234:. It spent 26 weeks on the
161:Vancouver, British Columbia
454:
24:
16:2004 novel by Wayson Choy
433:Fiction set in the 1940s
428:Fiction set in the 1930s
418:Novels set in Vancouver
438:Doubleday Canada books
413:Novels by Wayson Choy
376:Choy, Wayson (2005).
408:2004 Canadian novels
335:. Barnes & Noble
299:. Doubleday Canada.
21:
378:All That Matters
355:"All That Matters"
333:"All That Matters"
272:"All That Matters"
274:. Bukowski Agency
123:
122:
91:978-0-385-25777-0
74:Publication place
20:All That Matters
445:
392:
391:
373:
367:
366:
364:
362:
351:
345:
344:
342:
340:
329:
318:
317:
315:
313:
296:All That Matters
290:
284:
283:
281:
279:
268:
248:All That Matters
232:Margaret Drabble
169:All That Matters
136:Doubleday Canada
127:All That Matters
111:Preceded by
100:
65:Publication date
58:Doubleday Canada
29:
22:
453:
452:
448:
447:
446:
444:
443:
442:
398:
397:
396:
395:
388:
375:
374:
370:
360:
358:
353:
352:
348:
338:
336:
331:
330:
321:
311:
309:
307:
292:
291:
287:
277:
275:
270:
269:
262:
257:
244:Margaret Atwood
223:
182:
66:
17:
12:
11:
5:
451:
449:
441:
440:
435:
430:
425:
420:
415:
410:
400:
399:
394:
393:
386:
368:
346:
319:
305:
285:
259:
258:
256:
253:
240:Trillium Award
236:Globe and Mail
227:The Jade Peony
222:
219:
181:
178:
174:The Jade Peony
149:The Jade Peony
130:is a novel by
121:
120:
116:The Jade Peony
112:
108:
107:
102:
94:
93:
88:
82:
81:
75:
71:
70:
67:
64:
61:
60:
55:
51:
50:
45:
41:
40:
35:
31:
30:
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
450:
439:
436:
434:
431:
429:
426:
424:
423:Sequel novels
421:
419:
416:
414:
411:
409:
406:
405:
403:
389:
383:
379:
372:
369:
356:
350:
347:
334:
328:
326:
324:
320:
308:
306:9780385674867
302:
298:
297:
289:
286:
273:
267:
265:
261:
254:
252:
249:
245:
241:
237:
233:
229:
228:
220:
218:
216:
212:
206:
202:
200:
194:
191:
187:
180:Plot synopsis
179:
177:
175:
170:
166:
162:
157:
155:
151:
150:
145:
141:
137:
133:
129:
128:
119:
117:
113:
109:
106:
103:
101:
95:
92:
89:
87:
83:
79:
76:
72:
68:
62:
59:
56:
52:
49:
46:
42:
39:
36:
32:
28:
23:
377:
371:
359:. Retrieved
349:
337:. Retrieved
310:. Retrieved
295:
288:
276:. Retrieved
247:
235:
225:
224:
213:invasion of
207:
203:
195:
183:
173:
168:
158:
154:Giller Prize
147:
138:, it is the
126:
125:
124:
114:
199:False Creek
144:debut novel
132:Wayson Choy
80:(Vancouver)
38:Wayson Choy
402:Categories
387:0385257775
255:References
221:Reception
215:Manchuria
54:Publisher
211:Japanese
105:57697176
44:Language
361:25 July
339:25 July
312:27 July
278:25 July
190:Toishan
159:Set in
142:to his
48:English
384:
303:
165:Canada
140:sequel
118:
78:Canada
34:Author
242:with
186:China
382:ISBN
363:2013
341:2013
314:2013
301:ISBN
280:2013
99:OCLC
86:ISBN
69:2004
404::
380:.
322:^
263:^
176:.
163:,
156:.
146:,
390:.
365:.
343:.
316:.
282:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
