The Curses of Third Uncle

by Paul Yee, Donald Besco (Illustrator)

Lillian Ho loves her father dearly--he's kind, gentle, strong, a man of integrity greatly respected in Vancouver's Chinatown. But in 1909 China itself is violently divided between supporters of the Empire and Revolutionaries who seek to overturn it, and no one can afford to remain neutral-- not even those who have crossed the Pacific Ocean to Canada. When her father mysteriously disappears, Lillian fears the worst. And the worst is not long in soon her swaggering, scheming Third Uncle arrives to sell the family business and to take Lillian, her mothers and sisters back to China--a land she's never seen. Lillian knows she much search for her father to thwart her Uncle's plans, and sets off for the mountains to find him. What she finds is more terrible than she could have anticipated--and more dangerous. The Curses of the Third Uncle is the story of a courageous young woman's fight to hold onto her family and her home in the face of tragedy and upheaval.

139 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Paul Yee never planned to be an author but got published in 1983 and followed up with over twenty books in his area of obsession: Chinese immigrants to North America. He wrote mostly for young readers, from picture books to Young Adult fiction, as well as histories for everyone. His university degrees in history, plus working as an archivist, plunged him into researching the past. His work has been translated into French and Chinese, and used in animated films as well as stage plays. Born in small-town prairie Canada, he grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia, but Toronto tempted him away from that west coast paradise in 1988.

Reviews

[Capn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lillian glanced furtively around, then knelt and dragged the suitcase from under the bed.
The fastener was rusty, but she forced it open. A foul stench burst forth and almost brought tears to her eyes. . . . Frantically, her hands travelled through the jumble of socks and shirts and underwear. Then her fingers stumbled over a suspicious bump in the bottom liner. Something was hidden there! Lillian poked around, and then groped under the cardboard.
It was an envelope! Slowly Lillian pulled it out and turned it over.

Would this be the clue she was looking for?
Lillian's father had left home five months before and since that time there had been no news, no letters and no money. Her family was desperate, and her scheming uncle threatened to send Lillian, her mother, and her sisters all back to China. Lillian knew she had to find her father.
Finally she had a lead.

Set in Vancouver in the early 1900s, The Curses of Third Uncle is a tale of intrigue, adventure, and betrayal. But above all, it is the story of one girl's fiery determination to find out the truth and save her family

1909, and 12 year old Lillian is strolling through Stanley Park as a birthday treat with her emotionally distant and chronically absent father. The sun is shining, the park is alive with people, and Lillian (Ah-Lai to her Chinese relations) is experiencing a range of conflicting emotions: she's a girl and therefore seen as "seet boon foh" - useless, 'no-profit goods'; her father is a stranger to her; she's humiliated that pig-tailed, Chinese-jacket wearing men come up and speak to her father (who dresses in 'Western clothing') in public on her day out; she's envious of the white pinafores worn by the white girls watching the caber-tosses at the Highland Games; but she's also having the time of her life, and was bought a packet of peanuts as a birthday gift (a secret she must keep from her miserly grouch of a mother).

Lillian is not ashamed to be Chinese per se, but she is a Canadian-born Chinese, and seems to occupy a strange no-man's-land of identity as a result - she longs for the wealth and security of the white Canadians, while both reviling and revelling in traditional Chinese culture. The identity crisis that defines her existence in a racist, backwards early Canada is acute, but perhaps not as detrimental as simply being female in Chinese society... Eldest of four sisters (and a baby on the way), Lillian and her sisters are tutored at home (privately, as girls couldn't attend the Chinese school of Chinatown) by a blinded railway worker who lives in the family's garment factory-cum-shop, along with the shops employees. Her dour mother insists that she receive an education.

Rumours begin to reach her ears of her father's involvement in a 'revolution' - a new word and concept to Lillian - and soon her and her family's already tenuous existence is further threatened when her father fails to return from an undisclosed location. Lillian is forced to grow up, as well as she can, and cope with political intrigue, dire financial straits, fear and grief.

Now before you fear that this is another A Thousand Splendid Suns (has Khaled Hosseini written anything that wasn't heartbreaking and traumatic to read?! Oof.), Lillian has some options as a Canadian-born Chinese girl - more than she would have as a Chinese-born Chinese girl. She's also a very strong character, admirable but falliable, and quite worthy of an audience on her adventures. I liked her very much, and I like to think that the author's aunt, Lillian Ho Wong, who inspired the story, really was as Lillian was described. (Yiwen, who only makes a brief appearance, sadly, is seriously impressive - there are some formidable females here).

I had previously read The Bone Collector's Son by the same author, and I really didn't think much of it. In fact, I still cringe when I think about that book: I had recommended it for the October 'Middle Grade Madness' readathon, thinking it to be more akin to Temutma (which I sadly haven't read yet - scarce!) than a slightly-spooky book written to appeal to Lower Mainland teachers looking for educational local historical content (lesson learned: if all the glowing ratings are given by teachers, and the sullen middle graders are giving it failing grades, listen to the middle graders - they have better taste!). ;)

When I saw this:

This book was published in celebration of Vancouver's Centennial with the financial assistance of the Vancouver Centennial Commission

(same year as Expo'86!), I'll admit to having put it onto the shelf for awhile. Worried I had another clunker on my hands.

But this really is a much better work (Paul Yee gives much credit to editors Shelley Tanaka and Linda Sheppard in the Acknowledgements - I didn't see them mentioned in The Bone Collector's Son!). If you're an educator looking for historical Vancouver content, find a way to dig up this one instead. (Revelstoke is also depicted for a chapter).

Also - Dr. Sun Yat Sen makes a cameo himself towards the end (the book is sparsely but adeptly illustrated by Don Besco. Just the three pencil sketches, but one of Dr. Sun himself). So the next time you're in the Sun Yat Sen Garden, you'll be able to appreciate it all the more.

3.5, rounding up (if there had been actual kung fu depicted, this would have been an easy 4, maybe more! I was so hopeful at the end of chapter four! I don't want to spoil it any further, but you'll see what I mean if you read it! So hoping for some Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon fighting!).

Did I miss something? Have a specific question about content? Happy to help - just comment/drop me a line. :)