Locke 1928 [Paperback]

Having just put this book down, I am still slack-jawed at the richness of Ms. Ryan's descriptions. Her characters can almost be felt with my own hands. I can most certainly smell them, hear their voices whispering in my ear...

I knew nothing of this time and place before I read this book and I now feel like I have a deep understanding of yet another story of how our country was built on the backs of immigrants. (Reference to the brothel workers not intended but makes for an interesting pun I now see...)

I wanted this book to be an enjoyable story about Locke in 1928, but I found instead a poorly researched novel with a bad plot. There is no sense of place and no local color, just a turgid plot. Don't waste your money! If you want to read this book get it from your library.
I don't know where Ms Ryan got her information for this book although she acknowledged some of Locke's longtime residents who "warmly welcomed" her to their town. I personally know most of those whose names she cited, and I do not believe that the author interviewed them for this book. She may have talked to them and gotten some tidbits of their stories, but this work of historical fiction is historically inaccurate. I spent my first 18 years in this town, and so I know its physical layout as well as anyone would know his or her hometown. Ms Ryan's descriptions of the locales do not jibe with the lay of the town. It is bounded by the Sacramento River on the west and the slough on the east and consists of just a few streets and several alleyways. How can she spend a month in this town doing research and not get it right?
I was also dismayed that the main character is a sleazy manager of a gambling parlor and the plot consists of his complicated relations with 2 prostitutes and the unexpected arrival of his wife. The morose prose is overblown, the plot has nothing to recommend it. The town of Locke was a happening place in the 1920s, but we sure don't see it in this book. It remains the only town in the U.S. founded and settled by the Chinese. There is no discussion of how the people made their livelihood, or indeed why it was necessary for them to settle there, aside from the fire that is mentioned in the last two paragraphs on page 2. Surely the author could have given some back story. Why did the she choose this town for her story if she respects its history so little? It would be infinitely better had she simply made up a location than to give readers a false impression of the Sacramento Delta and the Chinese who settled in this agricultural region.

Update:
How gratified Ms Ryan must feel to have such ardent defenders of her writing. Within 2 days of my posting this critical opinion of her book there were 3 comments criticizing my post. I acknowledge that I am perhaps too close to the subject to be entirely objective about this book. I wonder how many descendents of Locke's original settlers have picked up this book and read it, and how many of them enjoyed the story? It is obvious to me that Ms Ryan did not write the book for those of us who have sunny memories of their idyllic childhood growing up in Locke.
I think about our great-grandparents and grandparents who lived in 1928 Locke, and I cannot reconcile what is depicted in this novel with their actions and aspirations. Their greatest hope was that their children and future generations would continue to honor their cultural roots and yet succeed in their efforts in life while they had to face discrimination on all sides. The public schools were not integrated in the area until the late 1940s; a Chinese language school was established that children attended after getting home from public school. Most of the residents worked hard and maintained the Chinese ethos while pursuing the American Dream.
I picked up this book thinking that it would refresh some of the memories of the colorful stories I heard in childhood of opium dens, prostitutes, and gambling houses. Sadly, I would describe the book to be "arty", not "artful". I find the writing to be vague and the characters to possess no redeeming qualities. The plot and characters simply do not ring true. But again, I may be too close to the subject and so must decry the book's shattering of illusions still so closely held.
This book purports to be historical fiction. Its original title was Locke 1928. With such a title wouldn't you expect at the very least that the geographical descriptions be accurate? I could not recognize the town of Locke as it is described in the book. But Ms Ryan wrote this book for a much wider audience who would appreciate it for its "dreamlike haze" and "magical writing", and if that is what readers want, why, then go for it. It can be had for a paltry amount (like new!) at Amazon's used bookstore, but I still recommend that you get it from your local library.

This book has been quite controversial in the reviews, and I can see why. The author deals with race, class, gender and sexual orientation in this story of the manager of a gambling hall, the prostitute he frequents (and abuses), the minister's daughter she's in love with, the minister's wife and her suicidal thoughts and three mysterious Chinese women who come to town in a small boat. It's true that not all the characters are especially likable, but they all are well drawn and their interactions are believable and telling. This book would be especially good for a class on American fiction engaging in these kinds of issues.

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