On Gold Mountain: The One-Hundred-Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family by Lisa See

I have no clue how this book ended up on my Kindle. I do not recall purchasing it, or even having heard of it before. I like what I've read of Lisa See's works, so I decided to give it a try. I've read some pretty easy stuff recently and thought I could tackle a little more serious reading.

When I started the book I did not realize that it is a biography of her family: how they came to America originally, and all the ins and outs of being a Chinese (unwanted, considered low class, etc) in California during that time. I thought it was another one of her novels. The subtitle did not show up on my Kindle. I bet I was a third of the way through the book before I figured out that these were real people, not just made up characters.

As always, her writing is amazing. I was drawn into the book immediately and kept interested the entire time. When I read the last page I was almost surprised to see my usual surroundings instead of a dark, antiques-filled building with a Chinese American family conducting business in Los Angeles.

I was floored today when I looked up more information on the book to find it was her first book. She started out with a bang.