Rating: 
Summary: For mature people
Review: This is not an entertainment book. It is a great book to get an understanding of the typical life of a chinese american before and after coming to america. It doesn't emphaise racism, but it does include a lot of it. Lalu lived a very hard life, so this book is only avised to older students.
Rating:
Summary: "Lalu: a slave and a prostitute"ΓΏ
Review: This story is about a young girl that is sold by her father; a very sad story of a Chinese women's struggle to become free from her slavery. she had many herd times and many disappointments, but she still hung in. It was like her luck was always bad, and she spent most of her time working. This story was sad, and it made me cry. I have read other books, but this one would leave me wanting more; and i couldn't just read one chapter at a time. While I was reading I could imagine just how the scenery looked like. Being a slave in America, a Chinese slave at that, is not the kind of life anyone would like to live. But Lalu had no say in the matter, thuown in a brothel without pay. But Lalu didn't have all bad times; she also had some of her dreams of life come true. She also lived in a very pretty part of the country. She got a lot respect from families in the main town, and helped a lot of people. Most of the people in the later part of the book didn't even know what Lalus' past life was like. But she will never forget she had more bad days than good days and she does love her life in the end. There are a lot of good things I could say about this book, but it will leave you hanging in the end. The book does start to get slow in the end but after the scene is set, it gets interesting again. There is a lot more to this story than her being a slave, prostitute, or even how she survived. It is a lot more then just that, she also does a lot of stuff that she really enfoyed. I didn't like the way she was treated or the way she got to America, and I really didn't like her master. I really enfoyed this entire book, and would like to read more of RuThAnne Lum McCunn writing. I am a 37 year old man that had to read this book for my English class, but the reading that I done was more satisfying than I thought. At first I thought that this story was going to be boring, but on the contrary it was a very good experience for me to read. I am more of a Stephen Kings fan, but this book had so much adventure that it also keep me in suspense. The Stephen Kings novel The Green Mile had a lot of imprisonment in it; and with Lalu being a slave she had her own imprisonment.
Rating:
Summary: Inspiring and Suspenseful
Review: Thousand Pieces of Gold by Ruthanne Lum McCunn is a non- fiction story that has given me inspiration to keep reaching for my goals even if they seem impossible. The main character in the story, Lalu, had everything in her life going against her but she seems to always beat the odds. Throughout the novel Lalu wanted many things in her life and even if they seemed impossible to get she still kept trying. From reading this book I've learned to never give up on things I want in life because even if all the odds are against me nothing is impossible. I think that if everyone lived their life with the kind of inspiration that Lalu lived her life everyone would have a chance to reach their goals. I think that the book Thousand Pieces of Gold was a good book. I would give this book four and a half star out of five because I think that it would have been better if the novel was a little more challenging. I don't usually like reading but when I read this book it was so suspenseful that I wanted to know what was going to happen next so I couldn't put the book down. I would recommend this book to a younger audience that enjoy reading suspense because it was very easy to read and very suspenseful. I think that this book is a very sad book but overall it is a good book.
Rating:
Summary: A Chinese Girl Struggling for Survival in a Foreign Nation
Review: Thousand Pieces of Gold is a very interesting novel, which gets the readers attention and a touching sentimental piece of literature. The story talks about a Chinese girl's life of utter suffering and sorrow. The girl's name is Lalu Nathoy and later she is called Polly Bemis. This novel is actually based on a true story but some fictional characters have been introduced. The story talks about Lalu being sold by her dad to bandits and later sold to a bar owner in America. This story shows a person how a Chinese person's life was like during the 1870's of America. I really enjoyed reading this book because the story was really touching and many scenarios are very exciting. Lalu's courage and strength helps her survive through many tragic moments. I admire Lalu because she manages to never give up and maintain her hope that one-day she will get her freedom. Her courage allows for her wish to come true. She finally receives her freedom when her American husband sacrifices all his assets including property to live with her in the canyons. The betrayal by Lalu's family really hurt her a lot and her marriage brought the only source of happiness that she ever had. I felt this book is really worth reading so I recommend everyone to read this book.
Rating:
Summary: fighting for freedom
Review: Thousand pieces of gold is an exciting story of struggle of a young Chinese daughter, fighting for her freedom.I really liked this book because there is a lot of cultural and historical issues about the old times in China and how people had different ways of seeing things and there are also examples of American slavery and America during the time of Gold Rush. What I found most interesting about this book was the way Polly,the main character, was faced with so many different problems such as: being sold to the bandits by her own parents, being auctioned of naked when she was sold again in America, being sold to an old man and having to sleep with him,and just how badley she was treated by some men in her life, and the way she dealt with it by fighting to get her freedom back and being able to go on with her life and trying to be happy. It was just amazing how brave she was! Also as an immigrant in America, I could really relate to her. The story was so exciting that I just wanted to read more and more until I got to the end. I think anybody could enjoy this book and learn something from it, since it's full of themes and talks about many real issues like American slavery, the old China country, and what kind of problems immigrants that come to America have to go through that a lot of people don't even know about. I also recommend this book to Asian immigrants who I think can relate to this book the most!
Rating: 
Summary: An Emotional and Sad Story
Review: Thousand Pieces of Gold tells a moving and tragic story of a Chinese mimigrant woman - Lalu. Though the destiny was cruel to Lalu and her whole life was full of dramatic events, she fought for freedom persistently and with extraordinarily strong will. Her unyielding character impressed my very much. Lalu grew up in a poor farmer's family that struggled with famine in Northern China. She didn't follow the tradition of getting marry and be a housewife like the other women did. She worked at the farm like the other man in order to help the family out of the natureal disaster despite she was being ridiculed. When she was seized by the bandit, she tried very hard to escape. Even though she failed and was sold to a brothel, she didn't just accept her fate but planned to buy herself freedom. Later, Lalu was resold again as a slave to America and worked for a saloonkeeper, she never stop struggling for her own freedom. She worked very hard and collected as much aold as she could in a hope to save enough money to buy freedom. She even risked her life to kill her slave owner with a stolen gun. At that time, to pursue freedom seemed so difficult and almost impossible to her, but she just never gave up hope. Lalu finally won her freedom, but there were even more challenges and hardship waiting her to go through.... Her unyielding character had once again save her love and her life. The profound and romantic love between Lalu and her husband Charlie had made me cry even the second time I read the book. This real life biographical novel has brought back the history of Chinese American of the early American West. How hard their lives were. I recommend this book to those new immigrants who are struggling to adapt themselves to a whole new world. This is definitely a stirring and inspiring story that encourages the later generation to better cherish and love what we already have around us. Whatever hardship your are suffering, just don't give up hope to pursue your dream.
Rating: 
Summary: Graphic Story of a Girl's Life
Review: Thousand Pieces of Gold was a very sad story of an unfortunate little girl who went through terrible experiences throughout her life. As I started reading this book I enjoyed it because the first couple of chapters spoke of how a young girl worked so hard for her family and helped out wherever she possibly could just so they could survive. Then finding out that her father was going to have her sold for crops made me sick. I mean how could your own father sell you away, especially after all of the hard work that you have done to help your family. Anyway, for me I kind of lost interest in this book as I kept reading along. I am going to be truthful with you, I think if I were a little bit older I would have appreciated this book a whole lot more than I did. There were definitely parts that kept me wanting to read on, such as, toward the ending when Polly (the young girl) tries many remedies that even consisted of different types of candies and gum to help ease the pain of a fellow character. This part really made me think about personal experiences. When I was younger and my mother or father was sick I used to try to mix up a few remedies myself. Other than that I couldn't really relate to any of the situations in this book. But I would recommend this book to adults in the age range of 20-35, who enjoy reading fiction books. I think that thay would be able to appreciate this book a lot more than I did. My overall opinion of this book was that it just did not keep my attention very well. It was a brilliantly written story but I need a book that has more adolescent issues. I couldn't really grasp on to the historical context; the story was a little too old fashioned for me. I really would enjoy something with some current issues. When I read this book, I felt bad for some of the characters and a little depressed for everything they were going through. Personally I'd rather read about mysteries and thrillers. But I do believe that if I were in a different state in my life I probably would have taken advantage of this book and enjoyed the whole reading experience.
Rating: 
Summary: 1000 pieces of fools' gold
Review: Thousand Pieces of Gold wasn't as good of a book as I thought it was going to be. There were SOME good parts but I didn't like it. Lalu was a girl who was caught by bandits and then shipped to a brothel. She marries this guy named Charlie and after a while she dies. The setting was accurate but they could have put a couple of war scenes in it but didn't. The book would be good for people who like fiction. This book had a O.K. story line and the scenes were O.K. Lalu's name changes in the book to Polly Bemis. The story takes place in China then in America. The historical sites are good. For example, Lalu's house in the beginning is a farm. One thing I remember well is the manure pit. The family had to hide in it when the bandits came and took Lalu. Another place I remember well is the soloon across the street from Charlie. The last place I remember is Polly's death bed.
Rating:
Summary: A lush and inspiring text
Review: What a great read! I finished it in an afternoon. The characterizations were both real and inspiring. Because of the author's rich, and colorful descriptions, I felt as if I were actually there with the characters. What I appreciated about the book was that it did not end with the main character's coming to America -- rather, this was when her journey began. Therefore, the book delved into how American culture affected and influenced the protagonist's Asian cultural beliefs. I appreciated the positive tone of book. While the heroine endured many hardships, she rose above them in interesting, awe-inspiring, and sometimes silly ways. The authors did an excellent job of melding the heartbreaking with the happy. I would definitely recommend adding this great work to your bookshelf.
Rating:
Summary: A Heartwarming Story That Just Can't Be Put Down!
Review: WHAT A STORY! Ruthane Lum McCunn's, THOSAND PIECES OF GOLD, is a heartwarming story that once read, can't be put down again. This novel draws the reader into the life of a woman's struggle to fight for respect and freedom for her own life. It begins in China as she (Lalu) was traded to bandits for two bags of seeds at the age of thirteen during the early 1870's. This event carries her through many times of hardships where she doesn't know where she is or where she is going. The basis through most of her life is to please men and fulfill their dreams. It is not until the midpoint of her story that her dream of becoming free becomes reality. This story is full of exciting events that put the readers into the world of the characters. The most significant event that made me want to keep reading was when Lalu (later known as Polly Bemis) was traded to some bandits at the age of thirteen. This event occurs at the beginning of the story and makes it a joy to read.One can only imagine all the pain , sadness, and suffering Lalu went through as a child (and as a women). At first, she was terrified for what had happened to her. She thought she was her fathers "quijin"- his "thousand pieces of gold". She then realized that she was traded for her family to survive. This book is purely amazing, from the beginning, to the end. This is an outstanding book for those that like drama and suspense. It is also recommended for those that can't seem to put great books down. It's like the Pringles commercial saying, " Once you pop, you can't stop." I really enjoyed this book, not only for its simplicity to understand, but also the way Ruthanne Lum McCunn put the story down on paper.
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