The Silver Lotus

by Thomas Steinbeck

American merchant Captain Jeremiah Macy Hammond is at the forefront of the New World. His trading empire faces pirates, violent storms, and illness as it forges new paths across the Pacific Ocean, opening new markets in Hawaii, Mexico, and China. It is there he meets the beautiful Lady Yee, the Silver Lotus, prized daughter of a wealthy Cantonese merchant family. A great love is born, and their adventures will shape their lives—their love will transcend borders, oceans, cultures, and their marriage will eventually serve as a foundation for the growth and development of the Northern California coast.

Steeped in the rich culture of the Orient and set against the burgeoning trading routes of the Pacific Rim, The Silver Lotus presents Steinbeck’s most moving and textured narrative to date. Readers of both Lisa See and Patrick O’Brien will be drawn to this rich historical tapestry that examines how industry, adventure, and love served as the building blocks of the thriving California waterfront.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

368 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2011

About the author

Thomas Steinbeck was an American novelist, screenwriter, photographer, and journalist. He published numerous works of fiction, including short stories and novels. He was the oldest son of American novelist John Steinbeck.

Reviews

[Erin Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thom Steinbeck has written a gorgeous new novel - a moving and engaging saga of the marriage of two cultures and the strength people derive from celebrating their differences. Steinbeck takes the reader into a fascinating world and integrates his characters richly as they develop respect, friendship and then love through their experiences. The language is pure poetry and is an epic tale in the best of all senses, with people whose character resonates as much in the 21st century as they did at the turn of the last century. The Silver Lotus is a thoroughly enjoyable read that lingers long after the book is completed.

[Shamsia]

En la contratapa decía que esta clase de novela agradarían, entra otras, a las personas que disfrutaban con las novelas de Lisa See ("El abanico de seda"), y puedo decir que vi, y leí, las partes en donde se cumple esa proposición.

Dos mundos se unen, cuando una talentosa e inteligente mujer japonesa y un comerciante

yanquee marítimo se casan. El momento político no es del todo bueno, especialmente en China, y la feliz pareja de audaces personajes debe mover ficha para poder salvar a la parte china de la familia. Luego, en alta mar, corren grandes aventuras y...

...me ha aburrido tanto.

Quizás sea por la historia de amor, que es lo que empieza a mover todo, o porque el señor capitán es de los que dicen ser geniales, pero no demuestra que lo es. La señora, en cambio, es astuta y se muestra como tal en la historia, pero noto desbalance en el romance. De la clase que me revienta leer, así de sencillo. Sí, el señor la lleva en su barco, pero ella bien podría seguir su existencia independiente sin él. Lo único que pone su marido es una flota naval, ella hace que sea una de las más exitosas, y si no fuese por la tontería de que se tiene que casar por ser mujer, bien podría haber sido mucho más grande por su cuenta.

Esta clase de novela, por más bien escrita y documentada que esté, ni me interesa ni quiero terminar de leerla. Adiós.

[Kellyreads04 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book so profound and richly written, I almost wished I owned a copy rather than have a library edition on loan for just a little while :) This book is lush with a richness of characters and a historical view of how life - mostly on ships traveling the continents - was like. The romantic life between the Captain and Lady Yee is one that entwines time, love, sickness and sadly, even death. Charming characters ... beautiful descriptions. I gave this a 4 out of 5 stars due to the writing style. It's written VERY WELL, just not for me :) I'm more of a narrative reader and the author tends to lean one thought into another so the subject changes, often in the same paragraph, one sentence away. I had to read back, or forward, to gain clarity - again, just a personal preference. I'm told that this is a writing style of expostion - either way, it totally works.

I loved the quote on page 338 - writing it down so I will remember it :)

"The Silver Lotus professed to believe that all things in her life were in the hands of a merciful god."

Outstanding novel, truly one of my favorites of the summer!

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Written in the 3rd person narrative, the "no dialogue" of this book leaves it flat. Interesting story line of a rich Chinese woman marrying a dashing Yankee Sea Captain during the early 1900's. The Author, Thomas Steinbeck, is the son of John Steinbeck and certainly inherited his father's masterful word use. One of my favorite lines of the book compares politics and religion...."the same beast wearing different hides to beguile the gullible."

[Shirlee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring read. Dry as heck. Nearly put it down but trooped through it. Author idealizes Lady Yee as the perfectly stoic, selfless, impeccably-mannered, prosperous Chinese woman. He does paint her as amazingly intelligent and adaptable, and makes her clairvoyant to boot.

[Esther Bradley-detally · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kept me interested; i usually like a more metaphoic and lyrical writer, but this is a good story, and I read a lot, and read a lot regarding Chinese people; wonderful!

[Dorothy Mayeda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book seems extremely well researched with great plot ideas but falls flat. The end trails off after the perfect Lady Yee (and the author) fails to foresee the Russian Revolution. I thought maybe it was flat because terrible things didn’t happen, but it remained detached even when major characters died.

[Sep · Rating 4 out of 5]

The adventure story of Captain Jeremiah Macy Hammond, a Yankee sea captain, who marries Lady Lee, the daughter of a Chinese merchant around the turn of the century. It is a story well-told rather than shown but the adventures are realistic. The couple eventually settle in Monterey and I'd love to know if there ultimate home was real or a figment of the author's imagination.

[Days Of Old · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found it a little difficult to get into at first but soon fell in love with Captain Hammond just as Lady Yee did and felt inspired to conduct myself more like Lady Yee would of done with all her grace and elegance.

[HÜLYA · Rating 2 out of 5]

Çok da sevmedim.

[Kata · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book had so much potential to be a knock-out novel. Historical fiction is often one of the best genres because there is a wondrous reality tied with a grand story line.

The main character, an American merchant, Captain Jeremiah Macy Hammond is at the forefront of the New World. His trading empire faces pirates, violent storms and illness as it forges new paths across the Pacific Ocean, opening new markets in Hawaii, Mexico, and China. In China he meets the beautiful Lady Yee, the Silver Lotus, prized daughter of a wealthy Cantonese merchant family. The book has two wonderful plot concepts: 1) their great love and adventures shape their lives while transcending borders, oceans, cultures; and 2)their marriage serves as a foundation for the growth and development of the Northern California coast.

Unfortunately the narration in this book is so dissatisfactory to me that I could barely manage to finish the novel. Thank goodness it was short. The dialogue between husband and wife who are wildly enamored with each other is limp and squalid. I'm not certain the author knows what true love is. Unfortunately, the best dialogue in the novel is between the Captain and another ship's Captain (this man being on his death bed from opium addiction). It was only when these two Captains were speaking that I saw talent by Steinbeck. I was flabbergasted that the author pushed all his talent into this short exchange but could not do the same for the Captain and Lady Yee.

Lady Yee is a very strong feministic power for the time period. This concept caused me to become elated over her determination to walk outside female boundaries. I clung to the hope that this may bump the novel up a bit in my mind. But as I continued through the book, she remains faultless and so perfect that she didn't seem at all real. She even begins to predict the future and solve murders. She's just too much all around. I'm not certain she's human. Towards the end of the novel, she loses two immediate family members and I thought just for a moment this is when the author will allow us to glimpse imperfection in Lady Yee. I thought this is where we will see her break. Nope. She does not grieve. Common!

Such great potential but a complete disappointment.

[Steven Buechler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although the storyline doesn't have any face-to-face dialogue, Thomas Steinbeck did learn how to write a gripping story from his famous father.

Page 38
"The Silver Lotus had been driven far off course, and subsequently suffered a fair degree of damage to her sails, gaffs, booms and rigging. The decks looked like a bomb had gone off in the rop3 locker, and at least half the crew were suffering from exhaustion, and the other half wished they had it that easy. The seas had been so treacherous and perverse that just moving about the ship proved an exercise in challenged mortality. Conditions were so dangerous that Captain Hammond issued orders that Lady Yee and her maid were to be secured in their berths with canvas straps to prevent them from being thrown about the cabin every time the ship pitched or yawed violently, or was hammered, bow down, by waves that crested thirty feet and more above the decks. But when Lady Yee heard that two of her men had been seriously hurt by falling tackle, she cut herself free from her restraints, grabbed the surgeon's case, and somehow made her way to the fo'c'sle to tend to their injuries. She stayed with them through the worst of the storm, and tended to the abrasions, cuts, and contusions of all that came to her for help. Perhaps it was the fear of imminent destruction and death, but somehow all these hard-boiled seamen, who'd normally twist the devil's tail on a wager, suddenly became like distressed children seeking the comfort and safety of their mother's care. They never forgot her courage and generosity. Captain Hammond wasn't top happy that she had risked her own safety, even in such altruistic pursuits, but he knew better than to voice his displeasure. As it stood, he knew that if he called her to account for her actions, the crew would have probably beached him in favour of serving under Lady Yee, and he later said as much to his first officer, who smiled but reluctantly agreed with his captain's assessment."

[Clay Kallam · Rating 2 out of 5]

"The Silver Lotus" is an odd book, for a variety of reasons.

First, there is no dialog. The voice is an omniscient narrator who takes the point of view of the two main characters (for the most part) but never delves too deeply into their motivations and desires.

Next, the book is as much a fable as a novel, as the extraordinary Lady Yee is almost perfect. She is beautiful, brilliant, wise and every other positive one can think of, and her life sails along so smoothly it is more like the happily-ever-after part of fairy tales that never really gets written. Her American husband is also pretty perfect, embodying all the Yankee virtues of an early 20th century merchant captain, and their relationship is smooth as the silk they sell (she's a spectacularly good businesswoman as well).

It seems to me that Steinbeck's narrative voice could have melded these two aspects of "The Silver Lotus" much more effectively had it sounded more like a myth than a historical novel, or, on the other hand, the story could have contained a few more hurdles for Lady Yee and her family to overcome rather than the placid description of wealth and success.

Granted, there are some deaths toward the end of the book, but all in all, it's much more pleasant than riveting -- which I have to say I welcomed after slogging through a series of bloody, brutal science fiction and fantasy books. Still, even though I enjoyed a book without violence or cruelty, "The Silver Lotus" needed either a different voice or a more robust plot to make it truly successful.

[Winnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the publisher:
American merchant Captain Jeremiah Macy Hammond is at the forefront of the New World. His trading empire faces pirates, violent storms, and illness as it forges new paths across the Pacific Ocean, opening new markets in Hawaii, Mexico, and China. It is there he meets the beautiful Lady Yee, the Silver Lotus, prized daughter of a wealthy Cantonese merchant family. A great love is born, and their adventures will shape their lives—their love will transcend borders, oceans, cultures, and their marriage will eventually serve as a foundation for the growth and development of the Northern California coast.

Steeped in the rich culture of the Orient and set against the burgeoning trading routes of the Pacific Rim, The Silver Lotus presents Steinbeck’s most moving and textured narrative to date. Readers of both Lisa See and Patrick O’Brien will be drawn to this rich historical tapestry that examines how industry, adventure, and love served as the building blocks of the thriving California waterfront.

My note: Interesting story. Lady Yee is the Silver Lotus.....a woman ahead of her time.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this awhile ago and have put off reading it because I did not want to compare it to John Steinbeck's work with which I am basically obsessed and with which it is not fair to compare anyone elses work.

I wanted to love this and there were some moments where the wording was higlightably lovely and it was right on the edge for me the whole time but it never quite got there. Telling the story without any dialogue kept me from really knowing or caring about the characters and while the words were pretty they just didn't quite let me completely in to the story. There were moments where I started to relate and feel it but the door always closed again before it had even been fully opened so I was always left just on the outside trying to get a better view. 2.5 stars but I will probably give the author another chance because there is definitely something in the way he uses words.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Believe it or not, my favorite part of this book was the heartfelt and lovingly written Acknowledgements. It bothers me to no end when I read a mere list of names that an author "would like" to thank. Steinbeck does justice to the tradition of thank-you note writing by explaining his gratitude specifically. He doesn't merely say he "would like" to thank these individuals; he actually voices details and emotions that make one feel appreciated.

As for the novel itself, I truly enjoyed the description, but typical American that I am, wanted more conflict along the way. The last five chapters were by far the most captivating for me. So, there's my criticism. Two things I cannot criticize are Steinbeck's lovely use of language and his descriptive ability.

[Sherry Rosenberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a nice tale about an American seafaring merchant who falls in love and marries the beautiful,highly intelligent and accomplished daughter of a wealthy Chinese merchant. The story begins in the late 1800s and takes us on sea adventures to their settling in California. Unfortunately, it took me 6 months to actually complete this book. There was always something more interesting that took me away. While I kept going back to peak at the next adventure of Captain and Mrs. Hammond, there was absolutely no live conversation in this book. Rather than bringing the characters to life, this was written strictly as a tale being told and so it remained flat on the page.

[Vionna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Liked his writing style, but the book itself reminded me of a fairy tale. The handsome, wealthy sea captain, Jeremiah Hammond, meets the brilliant, beautiful Lady Yee fall in love, marry and roam the seas. They finally settle down in Monterey and live a life of luxury. The perfect couple lead a perfect life and have two perfect children and perform many, many charitable works . Adversary never touches them for years and years.

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the language and the story, but it drove me bananas that the title character had absolutely no character flaws. Not only is she perfection in an exotic package, but during her pregnancies, she inexplicably becomes clairvoyant! Having read this book right after reading Tortilla Flats by John Steinbeck, I wondered if Thomas Steinbeck was trying to create a character that was the antithesis of his father's characters who are nothing but character flaws.

[Evelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I stayed with this through to the end to see what happens. It was good to read the back story of a character in another book that Steinbeck wrote. But, this was no where near as well written as Under the Shadow of the Cypress Trees. The plot really suffered from poor editing, and the characters were flat, which is typical for this writer.

[Mandy Cooper · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was okay, but could've been so much better. I did not enjoy the entire story being told in the 3rd person narrative. It read more like a textbook than the great love story and life adventure it was supposed to be. It sucked most of the excitement right out of it, and made it very hard to connect with the characters.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book, but it was a little too idealistic. I loved the strong, female heroine, but her perfection was a bit unrealistic. However, it was an interesting story about love and loss.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thomas Steinbeck is NOT John Steinbeck, but his love and knowledge of the historical Monterey Bay area makes for a good read. He is a good storyteller and anyone who lives or loves the area will really enjoy this book.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I may have learned something reading this book, but I could do without repeating the same information over and over. It was a slow read.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this book until the end. The writing style is interesting - no dialogue. The end just seemed a little abrupt and flat.

[Debbie]

Was entertaining, but I was always left waiting for something really exciting to happen, but it never did.

[Frieda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well worth reading, especially for John Steinbeck fans and those who love the Monterey Bay, CA area. It is very well written and entertaining.

[Kent · Rating 2 out of 5]

A straight-forward story, which fell a little flat for me.

[Donald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engrossing, well-crafted page-turner. Settings in late 19c Canton, Monterey, and the High Seas.