L.A., Chinese history are woven together in See’s newest book
If I could only choose one genre to read for the rest of my life, it would be historical fiction. I’m especially drawn to immersive stories rooted in real history that make you forget you’re reading fiction. I’ve been a huge fan of Lisa See’s writing, with “Lady Tan’s Circle of Women” (2023) and “The Island of Sea Women” (2019) being two of my all-time favorites. I always finish her books feeling like I’ve learned something new while also being completely swept away by the story.
The premise: Her latest, Daughters of the Sun and Moon is a gripping, beautifully told story that follows three vastly different Chinese women: Dove, Petal, and Moon. All three women arrive in Los Angeles in 1870, but with very different paths ahead. Dove is the bound-footed daughter of a scholar who arrives prepared to marry a man decades older than her. Petal a “big-footed daughter” of poor peasants, who comes to California after her parents sell her into servitude represents the brutal truth of commodified women. And Moon, the wife of a traditional Chinese medicine doctor, is educated and strikingly beautiful, but a failed foot binding in childhood has left her with a limp that diminishes her worth in the eyes of those around her. In the wake of the real-life “Night of Horrors,” a long-forgotten and bloody episode of American history, Dove, Petal, and Moon are brought together by hardship amid rampant anti-Chinese sentiment in Los Angeles. 
The verdict: Lisa See is a master of character development, and I found myself deeply invested in each woman’s journey. The research behind the novel is impeccable. The author said that she has “long been inspired by history that has been lost, forgotten, or deliberately covered up.”
I knew very little about the lives of Chinese immigrants during this period in the late 1800s, and I knew almost nothing about “The Night of Horrors,” an event that, as the author explains, has largely been erased from the historical record.
The “Night of Horrors,” also called the 1871 Chinese Massacre, took place October 24 of that year. A mob of roughly 500 people attacked Chinatown on Calle de los Negros (now known as Los Angeles Street) in Los Angeles, resulting in the lynching of 18 Chinese men. It is considered one of the worst mass lynchings in U.S. history.
Although 25 indictments were made, no one was convicted due to legal restrictions that prevented Chinese residents from testifying against white people. On the 150th anniversary in 2021, the city of Los Angeles issued a formal apology, and a memorial is in development.
Bringing this forgotten history to light makes the novel all the more powerful. While this book was very hard to read at times due to the violence depicted, I could not recommend it more, especially as a resident of Los Angeles.
Daughters of the Sun and Moon will be available for purchase starting Tue., June 2.
Interesting fact: Lisa See’s great-grandparents were a mixed-race couple who moved to Los Angeles in 1897, at a time when marriage between Chinese and white people was illegal.
Category: Entertainment
