The Concubine's Children: Portrait of a Family Divided

Joan Buchanan is a writing instructor and storyteller, and the author of
Taking Care of My Cold! and The Nana Rescue.

It’s clear why this popular-history book was nominated for the
Governor General’s Award for nonfiction: it’s extremely well written
and surprisingly gripping. Denise Chong, an economist by training and
once a senior adviser to Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, seamlessly tells
the heart-wrenching story of an independent-minded Chinese concubine and
her family. The story begins in the early part of this century and
concludes in the 1990s.

In language notable for its sophistication and flow, Chong presents the
remarkable story of her grandmother’s sacrifice for the first wife and
family back home in China. It’s history that is as addictive as any
well-plotted novel. One cannot help but feel for the young concubine,
May-ying, as she works long hours in Nanaimo or Vancouver Chinatown tea
houses or cafés and sends all but the tips overseas. But Chong does not
glorify her heroine. Despite her strengths and sacrifices, May-ying
drinks, gambles, and parents reprehensibly.

An attractive cover and 16 pages of family photographs enhance a book
that is not just a valuable recounting of Canadian history, but also a
fascinating read.