Rating: 
Summary: A Symbol of Hope
Review: "From China to San Francisco Lalu is a constant source of hope and inspiration."
A biography of a young girl growing up during the Chinese famine of the 1870's who is sold into slavery by her father (even though she was his "thousand pieces of gold"), for a mere two bags of grain, becomes a ping pong being pushed on one owner after another until she is transported on a slave trading ship to the Americas. When she finally gets to the United States Polly is auctioned off to a saloonkeeper, and eventually traded because of a gambling loss. All along the way however, Polly describes her strife to be independent and make her mark on this new land.
"Black man came to saloon tonight. He tell me his people come from Africa. Like me, stolen from village and bring here, but man named Lincoln make war and they free. He free, I free," she said her English deteriorating under the strain. "The civil war was fought to free Negroes." "You mean law for China people not the same?"(pg.139) This is a direct quote from the novel through the characters Polly and Charlie involving the topic of civil rights. Polly does not understand why everyone just cannot be free; she even relates her situation to that of the African Americans, but she cannot achieve freedom when the law is already in her favor and individuals like Hong King (saloonkeeper) still take advantage of loopholes in the system. She continues to have hope for the future however, because if one group of people can be freed she can be freed someday too. It is this hope and determination that she has for her and her people's freedom that make this character a source strength, and belief throughout the piece even when times are so oppressive, and there seems to be "no light at the end of the tunnel".
This piece of literature was lacking at times, but it made up for it through the story of the main character; resulting in one of the best historical, inspirational, adventure novels I have read in a long time. Taking the reader back in time through a non-fictitious individual is a tough obstacle to succumb and it is my belief that Ruthann Lum McCunn did a fabulous job of it. I would recommend this work to anyone who has an interest in novels with romance, drama, suspense, or the survival and struggle of women throughout history.
Rating: 
Summary: Praise for McCunn's classic "Thousand Pieces of Gold"
Review: "A valuable book that gives Chinese Americans another true heroine."--Maxine Hong Kingston"[A] story of struggle and survival....Fast-paced and entertaining--packed with adventure, drama, and inspiration."--Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston "Ruthanne Lum McCunn has woven an enthralling work of fiction from the true-life story of Lalu Nathoy."--Los Angeles Times "From Shanghai to San Francisco, Lalu Nathoy's courageous journey is an important contribution to the history of pioneer women."--Ms. Magazine
Rating: 
Summary: tortured young
Review: "Thirteen,naked,fondled,and used for auction" How would you like your body to be exposed in front of thousands of wild men waiting to purchase you as their very own?Lalu later known as Polly is sold by her father to a stranger wanting to use her for whatever his needs may be.Polly is later faced with one of the greatest challenges of her life.She is taken to America only to be used as a slave in the arms of a powerful man.Used for a brothel and is treated like human bait.Finding herself standing around thousands of men ,being nude,and having them touch her in special places to make sue that she was okay for them to take to use as thier slave or whatever there thier needs may be.Having death happen in her own arms.Polly struggles with her new life in America and hoping that it would bring changes but only to find that it gets worse by the minute.She finds a man who thinks might change her life forever,is this man a true gentleman or just another pig wanting to take what she has left. This must be one of the best books i have ever read.I found myself bringing the book to life feeling as if i was a part of the book.I felt like I was in Polly shoes,I cried when she cried,i got angry when she did.RuthAnne Lum McCunn really brought out the best in this novel and detailed the scene nary very well.I usually don't like reading books that talk about ones life but this one really got to me.I usually enjoy readingsmall simple books like from authors,R.L.Stine,and Christopher Pike.Just because i knew that the reading would get done faster.The stories would be just nonsense stuff.After reading this book I found myself inquisitive to read other stories such as this one and get into it as much as I did for Thousand Pieces of Gold. I recommend this book to readers who like to read about a childs life in misery but in happiness at the end.Who enjoys sad parts and scary things in a novel.This book would give you a chance to really see what kind of things young woman in China go through,and also what immigrant woman such as Polly herself had to deal with.Many readers will find this book one of the greatest masterpieces RuthAnne wrote.This is really an eye catcher book.It makes you want to read it for as long as you possibly can.Thousand Pieces of Gold opens up a whole new reading span for me and I suggest that many go out and get this book because this is really one you dont want to miss.
Rating:
Summary: A Thousand pieces of "Polly"
Review: A THOUSAND PIECES OF GOLD is the story of an extraordinary Asian woman named Lalu, later on known as Polly, whose determination and hard working drive brought her to a new world. A world where she encountered new challenges such as the struggle of the understanding of a new language, humiliation of strangers, the true love of a special someone, but above all the struggle to gain her freedom back. The combination of all these events and more, give this story drama, action, and romance. By the end of the story it might even bring a tear to your eye. Without a doubt, Polly is a brilliant, witty, courageous woman for she was able to confront many adversities and challenges. This book can very well be used as a great example for young children. The great relationship Polly had with her father, and how she helped him through tough times such as the time when the harverst season was not at its best. Since she helped her father and even thought she was a girl, she was considered as a person who was at the same level as her him. It can teach children to enforce relationships with their parents and to follow whatever it is they want in life, to look at their life in a optimistic way, being able to achieve their goal in life successfully and live life to the fullest. I definitely recommend this book to anyone, yet I feel people who love drama, suspense or romance will be so involved and appreciate the book a little bit more. This story is very engaging and dramatic. It doesn't really describe in detail the reasons why some of the events were originally initiated. Instead, it described how these problems were solved and reached. This book is truly worth one's time, you will enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: Sara Frackelton, Karen Smith, and Kat Calder's assessment
Review: As an independent reading assignment given to us by our wonderful English teacher Susan Pearson, we had the privilege of reading A Thousand Pieces of Gold by Ruthanne Lum McCunn. Overall, we gave the novel 4 1/2 stars. It was easy reading and very moving. Lalu,the main character, struggles her entire life while searching for freedom. After she gained her liberty her quest became a search for happiness and a sense of belonging. The novel begins in the mountains of China where a little farm community is striving to survive. Lalu's father takes his whole life savings and gambles it away on a risky crop. The whole family's lives were turned around and Lalu's papa shamelessly sold his most prize possession to the bandits. The bandits, like her father, sold her to a women who took her to America, the Land of Gold. While in the United States, Lalu becomes the slave of an old man. She had no freedom or authority in this situation. Lalu finally gained her freedom when she married Charlie. This book was sentimental to the three of us because we fell in love with Lalu and her character. When she felt pain; we felt pain. When she fell in love with Charlie; we did as well. There was never a dull moment in the 307 pages that made up the novel and it was hard to put down. We also liked A Thousand Pieces of Gold because it represented many different lives. Lalu (Polly-her American name) experienced many aspects of mortality and the human condition.
Rating:
Summary: Lalu's struggle for freedom and love in America
Review: As I read the novel Thousand Pieces of Gold by Ruthanne Lum McCunn, I found it to be mostly like a right for survival for the main character Lalu, in the days of the past. She went through the pain and suffering of unbinding her feet, so that she can help work in the fields when the winter crop failed to grow. Unbinding your feet meant that you couldn't get a good husband. While the village was under attack by bandits, she courageously left her hiding place to get the rest of the food that would shut the mouths of her siblings. Although she did that for her mother and brother's sake, the cost was her freedom. Her father sold her for two bags of beans. I was just shocked that her father did that because she was his 'thousand pieces of gold'. This is the beginning of her journey towards freedom. During the journey after the bandits bought her she was sold right away from the glares of the men and to a merciful face of a woman who owns a brothel. The woman gave her a better chance at freedom, since her family now disowned her, she would have to survive on her own by depending on her wits, brain, and heart. What she did not know about the travel to America was that it was for slavery. Poor Lalu is being traded from one owner to another like a toy. Until she falls in love with her last owner who sets her free. This is novel tells of her journey to freedom and love with the horrible fate of slavery that she has to overcome, which she gained the "respect and dignity" among the pioneer woman of the 1800's.
Rating:
Summary: A TERRIFIC BOOK ABOUT ONE WOMAN'S STRENGTH AGAINST THE WORLD
Review: I am a 15 year old teen who hates to read. I was assigned to read this for summer reading and I read it in two days flat. This is a record for me conidering I only read about one page of any other book before I get board and toss it across the room. I loved this book and I would tell anyone to read it!
Rating: 
Summary: Poor writing doesn't do story justice
Review: I can't agree any more with the reviews that have pointed out the poor writing in this book. As a fan of stories about Chinese Americans and of historical fiction, I was sorely disappointed with this novel; what could be emotionally-moving scenes just aren't because of the "see jane run" kinds of descriptions. There is no skillful subtlety in this novel. I normally don't like to be this publicly critical, but this is one of the only times I've felt this strongly about something.
Rating: 
Summary: Review of a Thousand Pieces of Gold
Review: I just recently read the book A Thousand Pieces of Gold by Ruthanne Lum McCunn. It was a biographical novel about a chinese girl named Lalu whose father had to sell her to the bandits that came to their village. From the bandits, she got sold to a woman who sold her to a man in America. She then became a slave and prostitute to Hong King when she reached America. She was trying to save up enough money to buy her own freedom until she found out that the only way to get freedom was to wait until Hong King was dead. While she was still a slave, she met a man named Jim who told her, "The moon is not always round, flowers do not always bloom, and men do not always have a happy reunion." A couple days later, Jim died. Then she fell in love with the saloon owner next door named Charlie. Charlie and Hong King were gambling and Hong King placed her as bet. If Charlie won, he would get to have Lalu. He won and they moved in with each other even though they weren't married. She spends a couple more years in the mountains before she decides that she wants to live on a ranch, so she and Charlie move into a ranch. Charlie then dies from old age. Lalu dies a couple of years after him from heartache and old age. My personal opinion of this book is that it's really boring and changes subjects really fast.
Rating:
Summary: A Fair Fiction
Review: I prefer saying that this book is a fair fiction. For the information and the imagination she drew up and pinned down among the passages, she has made a peasant's life worthwhile. It becomes as much large as it is small. And there's no way for me to tell it from the others. It owns a unique fashion that no other can resemble. It is a one time story, therefore it is history; all time fiction, because it is illuminating.
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