Book Review: Thousand Pieces of Gold

This is a biographical novel of Lalu Nathoy, who lived in northern China in the late 1800's. She was sold by her father to bandits so he could feed the rest of his family during a famine. Just a teenager, Lalu is shipped to America, landing first in San Francisco, and then being sent to Idaho to work in a brothel in a mining town.

Lalu is called Polly, and against all odds she wins her freedom and ends up marrying a local saloon keeper. They settle along the Salmon River in Idaho, and live in a cabin in the wild west, in a land that would have been similar to the homeland she left in China. Her ranch is a National Historic site, located in a protected wilderness area.

The book has photos of Lalu, which you can also see here.

A fascinating read of a pioneer woman, who not only survives against all odds, but comes to love her new home and country.