The Lost Garden

by Laurence Yep

The author describes how he grew up as a Chinese American in San Francisco and how he came to use his writing to celebrate his family and his ethnic heritage

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Asian American, Memoir, Biography Memoir, China

150 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 1991

About the author

Born June 14, 1948 in San Francisco, California, Yep was the son of Thomas Gim Yep and Franche Lee Yep. Franche Lee, her family's youngest child, was born in Ohio and raised in West Virginia where her family owned a Chinese laundry. Yep's father, Thomas, was born in China and came to America at the age of ten where he lived, not in Chinatown, but with an Irish friend in a white neighborhood. After troubling times during the Depression, he was able to open a grocery store in an African-American neighborhood. Growing up in San Francisco, Yep felt alienated. He was in his own words his neighborhood's "all-purpose Asian" and did not feel he had a culture of his own. Joanne Ryder, a children's book author, and Yep met and became friends during college while she was his editor. They later married and now live in San Francisco.

Although not living in Chinatown, Yep commuted to a parochial bilingual school there. Other students at the school, according to Yep, labeled him a "dumbbell Chinese" because he spoke only English. During high school he faced the white American culture for the first time. However, it was while attending high school that he started writing for a science fiction magazine, being paid one cent a word for his efforts. After two years at Marquette University, Yep transferred to the University of California at Santa Cruz where he graduated in 1970 with a B.A. He continued on to earn a Ph.D. in English from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1975. Today as well as writing, he has taught writing and Asian American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley and Santa Barbara.

Reviews

[ambyr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yep writes uncompromisingly about the racial tensions and personal sense of alienation that colored his childhood, yet at the same time entertains with charming anecdotes (like the time he accidentally set the altar on fire as an altar boy) and clearly shows his family's deep love for one another. As a child's introduction to Chinese-American life in the mid-twentieth century, this is excellent. As a reading experience for an adult, it sometimes frustrates; Yep is clearly writing for short attention spans, and time after time I wanted to delve deeper (or skip explanations of basic facts like what a street car is). I wish he had written an adult version of his memoir--but alas, this will have to do.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book because it was evocative of my own childhood, my own family, and my own people, the San Francisco Chinese community that I grew up "outside of." It also reflects some of my own experiences as a Chinese American growing up in a multicultural context and moving into the mainstream American culture. I sense in Yep a kindred spirit greater than any other Chinese American writer I have read so far, mainly because I also did not grow up speaking Chinese or living in Chinatown, and because we are of the same generation. My reaction as I read this book was, "I have to get copies of this book to give to friends who grew up in San Francisco with me," -- who know the people and places that are being described here. And "I have to get my family to read this" -- the next generation, so they get a feel for where we came from.

[Clark Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book for a school assignment. I wanted to throw it across the room almost every other minute of it being in my hands. The author can't seem to decide on what he wants to talk about. He'll be talking about, how he's homesick, then he'll get on the topic of movie, to food, back to homesick! How?! What?! No! Also, his life isn't interesting! He drones about things that he might find important, but us as readers find insignificant. Laurence Yep's life is not one that should've been put to print. A childhood that was fine to be put to print was Roland Dahl's memoir. He had a fairly interesting childhood, unlike Mr. Yep.

[Chapter · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Memory is like a seed." Great juvenile memoir.

[Lisa Montgomery · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a biography of Caldecott Honor author, Laurence Yep. In it, Yep discusses how he transition from "being a puzzle to a puzzle solver." He describes himself as a Chinese puzzle box with interlocking pieces made of wood who instructions are locked up inside. I thought that a powerful statement of how most of us see ourselves.

On page 91, Yep says he could "reach into the box of rags that was my soul and begin stitching them together. Moreover, I could try out different combinations to see which one pleased me the most. I could take these different elements, each of which belonged to something else, and dip them into my imagination where they were melted down and cast into new shapes so that they became uniquely mine."

[Sonia]

These days I wash the rice only once, too.

[Connor Marvin · Rating 1 out of 5]

He is not a good writer and also doesnt have a interesting life

[Hudson White · Rating 1 out of 5]

Completely awful, I was assigned this book for school and couldn't get past the first eighteen pages. I would rate this negative seven stars if I could.

[Barbara Radisavljevic · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have enjoyed many historical novels by Yep, and this book filled me in on some of the background of those novels. Most of the book deals with Yep's search for identity as a Chinese-American who was too American to fit in with the Chinese and too Chinese to fit in anywhere else. Since Yep is of my generation, I learned a bit of what it was like to grow up during my lifetime as Chinese in San Francisco as the child of a store owner in a changing neighborhood. The neighborhood may have resembled that of the Chinese church I attended for nine years in Los Angeles -- a church started by Chinese and ministering in a neighborhood that had turned almost entirely black. I wonder if any of the people at my church, some of whom were born in America, had similar childhood memories and identity issues. I do know that some of my Sunday School students worked in their parent's businesses as children.

The first part of the book dealt with family background, life working in the family store, family relationships, and childhood memories of places. These were all interesting. But toward the end of the book as Yep moved into his experiences in high school and college, the book becomes quite humorous. I especially enjoyed his tales of various chemistry teachers and their experiments, mistakes, and disciplinary measures, as well as the pranks he inspired his students to perform (unintentionally.)

[Samantha Duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

1. Genre: Junior Book - Biography

2. This is a great book about a young boy struggling to find his way in life. He struggles with the conflict about his background. He doesn't feel Chinese because he doesn't speak the language, but others do not view him as American either because of his looks.

3. (A) Area for comment: Descriptions and plot
(B) This story does a great job of describing not only Lawrence's feelings and his experiences but it also describes certain things from the past that might intrigue young readers. The author does a great job of using certain words to make the reader feel as though the are actually within his life.
(C) On page 78 the Pullman Car is described. This is one thing that stood out to me because I was not aware of what this was when I was reading this book. I think the 'new' yet old school things described in this biography are very catchy to the readers.

4. This story could be used in any social studies lesson as a way to talk about history and how much things have developed through time as well as the differences people not from a traditional American background feel.

[Ms. Wayne]

From Publishers Weekly

In this somewhat desultory but affecting autobiography, Yep ( Dragonwings ) describes himself as a collection of disparate puzzle pieces: a Chinese-American raised in a black neighborhood, a child too American to fit into Chinatown and too Chinese to fit in anywhere else. Writing, he explains, has conferred on him the role of puzzle-solver, allowing him imaginatively to join and even reinvent the pieces. Among the most notable figures in Yep's unassuming narrative are his hardworking, indomitable parents, owners of a grocery that requires their unflagging attention, and his Chinatown grandmother, the model for several characters in his novels. Occasional flashes of humor or whimsy--an eccentric chemistry teacher's antics, the revelation that Yep wrote his Mark Twain books to the music of the B-52s--enliven the mix. Ages 11-13.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

[Pat Carlson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Lost Garden, by Lawrence Yep (Beech Tree Books, 1991) p.116
Junior book: autobiography

Summary: Lawrence did not know quite where he fit into society when he was young. He didn't feel Chinese because he did not speak it, and could not understand his grandfather who lived in China town. Other people did not consider him American because he was different. This is a memoir of his growing up.

a) descriptions, word choice.

b) the descriptions of the Pullman car and the Murphy bed caught my eye. They are not described outright but in context and I think these are things that will intrigue students because they are things of the past. Students have never seen anything like some of the things in the life of Lawrence growing up.

c) pg.2 the Murphy bed is brought up, and pg.78 the Pullman Car is described.

Curriculum Connections: Social Studies, immigration, cultures, China Town, Chinese New Year, WWII.

[Boyuan Cai · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about the pass of Laruence Yep. He talked about his parents and siblings. He also talked about his family. He wrote about where he lives and how his life feels. His family had a grocery store at the corner of the street. He works in the store since he was a little kid. The store helped him get ideas for his writings. He was a lot different from his parents. His parents were athletes and Yep was a writer. Their grocery store was open to anyone in the neighborhood. They were nice and helpful people in the neighborhood.
I suggest this book to anyone who likes to read biography.

[MaryJane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read! Growing up, the author felt he was too Chinese to fit in with Americans, too American to fit in with Chinese, an awkward child in an athletic family. In an easy manner, he tells us how writing helped him to figure out the "puzzle pieces" of his life.

I will be recommending this book to my students who perhaps live in two seemingly separate worlds, as well as to students who are looking for a good autobiography to fulfill a class assignment.

[Jenny Ma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Autobiography of Laurence Yep. Yep talks about his inspirations for writing and the stories of his family members whom he included in his fictional stories. As students examine life stories and self-portrait of Laurence Yep, they study literature and examine works of art from Chinese cultures. Teachers can encourage students to explore their own identities as talented learners through discussions, research, oral presentations, and reflective writing.

[Yoon Jin- ISB · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about the narrator and his family who are living in USA, and the details about his writing skills. This book is not as exciting as other books, but gives us many ideas about the life and the way to make a story. I recommend this book to people who were immigrated to America.

[Sadie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never liked autobiographies or biographies until I read this book. Yep's use of humor made this a treat to read.

[Sara · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book was very boring and i do not recommend it to anyone!!!