The Chinatown Trunk Mystery: Murder, Miscegenation, and Other Dangerous Encounters in Turn-of-the-Century New York City [Paperback]

Mary Ting Yi Lui (Author)

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Product Details

Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Princeton University Press; 1 edition (Feb 12 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0691130485
ISBN-13: 978-0691130484
Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.7 x 1.9 cm
Shipping Weight: 363 g
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,345,444 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

Lui has created a solid historical narrative through her combined use of empirical data and Chinese-language sources. . . . [Her] work deserves to be recognized as an important contribution to American history. -- Krystyn Moon, American Historical Review

This is an outstandingly well researched and elegantly executed book, rich in detail, theoretical insight, and contemporary illustration drawn from the archives, and at times great fun. . . . [I]t sets a new high standard for writing about the Asian American experience. -- Gregor Benton, Ethnic and Racial Studies

[A] magnificent social history. . . . [T]he book's graceful style, along with its vivid, engaging narratives and insightful analyses, is certain to be appreciated and enjoyed beyond the scholarly community. -- Renqiu Yu, Journal of American History

Mary Ting Yi Lui's book, The Chinatown Trunk Mystery, is the perfect blend of a thrilling mystery bestseller and a detailed cultural history. -- Shilpa Davé, Journal of Asian American Studies

Lui, in this provocative and compelling study, demonstrates how America's racial and gender formations were mapped onto the dynamic and urban landscape of New York's Chinatown. This book is highly recommended. -- Karen J. Leong, The Historian

Review

This is a fantastic book, overflowing with groundbreaking empirical research and rich with historical detail. The author has gathered an enormous range of newspaper and archival material, as well as prints and illustrations, and her detective work is amazing in its depth. She is particularly strong in detailing the historical fascination and obsessions with interracial sexual relationships, using the murder case of Elsie Sigel to narrate white American conceptions of Chinatown and Chinese men as a threat to white women.
(Henry Yu, University of California, Los Angeles ) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com ^(beta)

Amazon.com: 4.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, Aug 2 2007

By Ian Gordon - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: The Chinatown Trunk Mystery: Murder, Miscegenation, and Other Dangerous Encounters in Turn-of-the-Century New York City (Hardcover)

Lui has written a wonderful book that uses a murder in New York to examine the complexity of race and gender in New York at the turn of the nineteenth century. Her research is first rate and the narrative she shapes is enthralling. One highlight of the book is the discussion of the ways that the Chinese community mobilized to defend itself from the attacks on Chinese, and Asians in general, that followed the discovery of the body. Her narrative is crisp and her analysis sharp.

10 of 24 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Less Than Compelling, Oct 7 2008

By Grey Wolffe "Zeb Kantrowitz" - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: The Chinatown Trunk Mystery: Murder, Miscegenation, and Other Dangerous Encounters in Turn-of-the-Century New York City (Paperback)

Maybe if the book had a different title or was more forthright of the contents, I would have given it four stars. But as it stands, the book is only one third about the "Mystery" and even much of that is redundant. What the book is really about is a diatribe against the way the Chinese were treated under the 'Exclusionary Act'.

Lui must have spent an enormous amount of research time going through old records and newspapers because her data is first rate. What it isn't is about the murder and the murderer. Why? Because there is little to know beyond who they were and their relationship. You can only say the same thing so many ways and so many times and then it gets dull and repetitive (uh, redundantly redundant).

The body of Elsie Sigel is found in a trunk in New York's Chinatown. The room belongs to Leon Ling, and a massive manhunt begins. He is never found, but love letters from Elsie to Leon are found. Why was she killed, don't know; who killed her, maybe Leon.

We are then subjected to a plethora of data about interracial (asian and white mostly) marriage and mixed race children in New York at the turn of the twentieth century. Down to street and apartment addresses, baptismal and marriage date (even the names of the witnesses and godparents). Very boring and nothing to do with the murder. OK, I believe you, there weren't many single Chinese woman, so unless the bride came from China with her husband, the single men married white woman. OK, I get it.

Not recommended for anyone who is looking for a mystery story, only for those looking for a polemic as to how Asians were treated scandalously in turn of the century America.

Zeb Kantrowitz

› Go to Amazon.com to see both reviews 4.0 out of 5 stars