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Western Journeys
In Western Journeys , Teow Lim Goh charts her journeys immigrating from Singapore and spending the last fifteen years living in and exploring the American West. Goh chronicles her lived experiences while building on the longer history of immigrants from Asia during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, bringing new insights to places, the historical record, and memory. These vital essays consider how we access truth in the face of erasure. In exploring history, nature, politics, and art, Goh asks, “What does it mean for an immigrant to be at home?”
Looking beyond the captivating landscapes of the American West, Goh uncovers stories of the Chinese people who came to America during the era of Chinese Exclusion Act, as well as the stories of the Indigenous peoples who have been written out of popular narratives, and various others. She examines the links between the transcontinental railroad, the cowboy myth, and the anti-Chinese prejudice that persists today. These essays explore the early efforts to climb Colorado’s highest peaks, the massacre of Chinese miners in Rock Springs, Wyoming, and the increasingly destructive fire seasons in the West. Goh’s essays create a complex, varied, and sometimes contradictory story of people and landscapes, a tapestry of answers and questions.
Looking beyond the captivating landscapes of the American West, Goh uncovers stories of the Chinese people who came to America during the era of Chinese Exclusion Act, as well as the stories of the Indigenous peoples who have been written out of popular narratives, and various others. She examines the links between the transcontinental railroad, the cowboy myth, and the anti-Chinese prejudice that persists today. These essays explore the early efforts to climb Colorado’s highest peaks, the massacre of Chinese miners in Rock Springs, Wyoming, and the increasingly destructive fire seasons in the West. Goh’s essays create a complex, varied, and sometimes contradictory story of people and landscapes, a tapestry of answers and questions.
182 pages, Paperback
Published October 31, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 16, 2024
Western Journeys is a collection of essays addressing various topics, from environmental issues, nature walks, writers' struggles, book reviews, to various forms of societal oppression, including racial discrimination, oppression of minorities, sexism. A major portion of the text deals with the early history of Chinese immigration to the United States, effectively depicting the prejudices and the government-sponsored discrimination Chinese immigrants had to face. I found the book well written, with the author putting her musings on paper in a seemingly spontaneous, yet cohesive, readable style.
I was, however, taken aback by a comment she made in the chapter Split, where she addresses the issue of gas warfare. She writes: "...in Auschwitz, where thousands of Jews were gassed;" The number of Jews gassed in Auschwitz was over 1 million. The author comes across very well-informed and the topics she writes about seem to have been meticulously researched. It is difficult to believe that she would not have known, or would not have verified, the information about the number of Jewish victims of racial hatred in Auschwitz, before writing it down in the book.
The author is the only person who knows why she so significantly underreported the number of Jews murdered in Auschwitz. However, in light of this minimization of Jewish casualties to an immense racial prejudice, while voicing , vehemently and justifiably, her opposition to racism against other groups and to oppression of minorities, her concerns about racial injustices come across as shallow and intellectually dishonest; one cannot criticize racism and prejudice against certain races and ethnic groups and minorities, while, for whatever reason they may have, minimizing injustices committed against other such groups.
I was, however, taken aback by a comment she made in the chapter Split, where she addresses the issue of gas warfare. She writes: "...in Auschwitz, where thousands of Jews were gassed;" The number of Jews gassed in Auschwitz was over 1 million. The author comes across very well-informed and the topics she writes about seem to have been meticulously researched. It is difficult to believe that she would not have known, or would not have verified, the information about the number of Jewish victims of racial hatred in Auschwitz, before writing it down in the book.
The author is the only person who knows why she so significantly underreported the number of Jews murdered in Auschwitz. However, in light of this minimization of Jewish casualties to an immense racial prejudice, while voicing , vehemently and justifiably, her opposition to racism against other groups and to oppression of minorities, her concerns about racial injustices come across as shallow and intellectually dishonest; one cannot criticize racism and prejudice against certain races and ethnic groups and minorities, while, for whatever reason they may have, minimizing injustices committed against other such groups.
May 26, 2023
Teow Lim Goh is an excellent writer, combining facts and information with heart and insight. I so enjoyed this book of essays about the American West (with a bit of emphasis on Colorado, my native state, where the author currently lives). Her essays are wide-ranging from exploring early efforts to climb Colorado's highest peaks, the massacre of Chinese miners in Rock Springs, Wyo., descriptions of Angel and Alcatraz Islands in San Francisco Bay, the efforts of Christo and Jean Claude to put up a floating curtain over the Arkansas River. She describes the discrimination the Chinese face throughout our history. I feel so enriched by this book--it has exposed me to so much I didn't know or was on my back radar.
February 25, 2023
I was impressed with all the research Teow Lim Got accumulated to write about the western part of the United States. She also added her experience, feelings and impressions of the places she visited. The main part of "Westen Journeys" is the recovery of the history of Chinese Immigrants in the American West, an American history of migration and exclusion. Her main themes are places, identity and journeys. I enjoyed her "Letter to the Arctic". I felt a connection to the climate change and my participation or not.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews