Reviews of the Canton Elegy

Canton Elegy · 71 like this

Yesterday at 8:25am ·

This is one of the most beautiful memoirs I have ever read (and I've read a lot of memoirs). Stephen Ah Nom Lee was born in China and taken to the US in 1913, at age 6, by his grandfather to get a good education. When he graduated university no one would give him a job because he was Chinese so he returned to China, but in time for civil war, WWII, and then the Communist takeover. Stephen Lee left a manuscript, really a long letter, to his children to let them know his story and that he loved them. He kept it hidden and it was found after his death - a note from beyond "to speak to, comfort and inspire my children, grandchildren and their children in a time when my name is just a memory carved in a tablet of stone on a grassy hillside." His story is a gripping drama of determination, survival, hope, and love revolving around a terrible time of Chinese history. I paused many times to soak in the eloquent wisdom or to wipe a tear. What a love story - of a father for his children, a husband for his brave wife. Better than 5 stars.

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/730005020
2