This book is about the gold rush years in California and the Chinese immigrants that were so much a part of that time in history. There is much about Chinatown in San Francisco, the sex trade and the laws of the "hatchet men" (the Chinese version of the mob). Some of the book is about Polly, a Chinese concubine smuggled to San Francisco, who eventually is "lost" in a poker game and marries Charlie Bemis. I will admit that I was disappointed in how little of the book is actually about Polly...with its title I expected the book to be almost entirely about her and it isn't. Doesn't make it a bad book...just a deceiving title in my mind.
Why I picked it up: I will admit I found the title to be intriguing...deceiving, but intriguing!
Why I finished it: It was an interesting book and I did want to find out more about Polly and her life story.
I'd give it to: Anyone interested in history...especial the Gold Rush days.
call # E184.C5C67 2010
The Poker Bride: The First Chinese in the West by Christopher Corbett c2010.
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