Rating: 
Summary: painful but inspiring
Review: Reading this book introduced me to worlds (in China and America) of extreme hardship and moral decay; you saw that people did terrible things to each other to survive. But not everyone succumbs -- some people manage to do good, to be loving and human even while struggling under bad circumstances. That the story is based in truth, and is written clearly and simply, helps to make a Thousand Pieces of Gold a depiction of hope and a great story.
Rating: 
Summary: Waste of time
Review: Reading this book was a total waste of time. I met the author recently. She asked if we thought any of the book was irrelevant...personally I thought the whole book was irrelevant.
Rating:
Summary: FOOL'S GOLD
Review: This book is about a girl from china named Lalu who is sold to bandits. She is then sold to a woman who works for someone who uses her as a prostitute in America. In America a man named Charlie fell in love with Polly (Lalu) and it turns into a love story. This book is recommended only for those who like long confusing stories.
Rating:
Summary: A true story of personal courage
Review: This book is categorized as a novel but is the story of Polly Beamis, a real person. She was born in China, lived in a poor farming village until seized by a robber band, transported to the US, sold into slavery and lived out her life in a remote mining town in central Idaho.She endured hardships, heartache and isolation but still retained the ability to love and help those who were less fortunate or who were kind to her. I marveled at her resilient, strong spirit and the happiness she was able to find in a foreign culture to which she was forcibly taken.For me this was a compelling and fast-read book which I expect to read again and again. I have shared it with several friends, both male and female who also enjoyed it.
Rating: 
Summary: Great story, badly written
Review: This book is so badly written, it is comparable to junior high school English essays. Terrible!But the story of this strong and smart Chinese woman carries the book despite the terrible writing. Polly, a name thrust on her by her owner in California, is a Chinese peasant girl who is sold into slavery by her impoverished family. Eventually, in California's "wild west," and with her consent, a white friend bought her out of her concubinage and they ran a boarding house together. Later, their relationship blossomed into something more serious. Since an interracial relationship in those days was intolerable, they bought a farm far from the rest of the world on a creek named Polly Creek after her. There, they both lived happily ever after until their deaths. The story of Polly's survival skills, inventiveness, hard work and great love is what this book is all about. I learned alot about self-reliance and creative thinking.
Rating:
Summary: Great story, badly written
Review: This book is so badly written, it is comparable to junior high school English essays. Terrible! But the story of this strong and smart Chinese woman carries the book despite the terrible writing. Polly, a name thrust on her by her owner in California, is a Chinese peasant girl who is sold into slavery by her impoverished family. Eventually, in California's "wild west," and with her consent, a white friend bought her out of her concubinage and they ran a boarding house together. Later, their relationship blossomed into something more serious. Since an interracial relationship in those days was intolerable, they bought a farm far from the rest of the world on a creek named Polly Creek after her. There, they both lived happily ever after until their deaths. The story of Polly's survival skills, inventiveness, hard work and great love is what this book is all about. I learned alot about self-reliance and creative thinking.
Rating: 
Summary: Thousand pieces of gold
Review: This book shows a woman's journey in chronological order, leaving the readers in anticipation, wondering what will happen next, and although the plot was good, I must say it was poorly written. Sort of ironic how the dad sold her own daughter to bandits, yet she was his "thousand pieces of gold". Besides that, the rest of the book was okay. I actually learned about a lot of the history in San Francisco with this book.
I recommend this book to anyone who loves drama, suspense, or romance. People who love these types of books will definitely like this book, and appreciate it for it's fine intent and messages. It gives history with a plot, dramatic characters, and specifically a heroine being Polly: the thousand pieces of gold. Despite some of the poorly written contraditions in this book, this book is okay in my opinion.
Rating:
Summary: FOOL'S GOLD !
Review: This book was a pretty boring book about a girl from china who ends up bieng a prostitute. I recommend this book only for the people who like long winding story.
Rating:
Summary: suriving on your own
Review: This book was good. It reflected the life of Asian people how they survive in Golden Mountain. Lulu was the main character in the book. Her tragic life began when she was a little girl. She was sold to the bandits by her parents without any choices. Then her struggle to survive began at that moment. Fortunately, she met the man of her life who she could rely on. They got married and lived a simple life together. I recommend this book to anyone who like to know about early history of Chinese people and who believe in love can be happen between two races.
Rating:
Summary: A Thousand Pieces of Gold
Review: This book was not only fasinating it was also educational. Once I started the book it kept your interest. There was always something happening that kept the edge on the book. The wording was easy to read. Also the author's descriptions was so detailed that it was like you could see like it was an old memory. The historical part of the book was elegantly intertwind into the story. I would recommend this book to almost everyone.
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