First they lost the baby and then Ma, and then they lost Ba. Now it is just the two siblings, Lucy and Sam. Still children themselves, they leave the miners camp and try to find a place to bury their father’s body in a way that will honor the traditions of their family, for they are immigrants in this wild new land. The West is a hard and dangerous place, and they find evidence of that everywhere they turn, in the bones of the buffalo, in the paw print of a tiger and in the flat beds of lakes where now only salt remains. 

For Lucy and Sam, however it is not just the outer landscape that threatens, it is also the inner landscape; the story of how they came to be orphaned and the meaning of home to children who know nothing of the country from which their parents came and are not allowed to claim a home in the country in which they were born. For Lucy and Sam these memories are just as threatening as the weather, or losing the trail, as they struggle to find a place to claim for a burial. When they finally bury their father’s remains, Lucy and Sam realize they no longer share enough to keep them together and go their separate ways. Yet, the ties that bind them are stronger than what draws them apart.

Zhang’s infuses her story with a rich mix of Chinese symbolism and Western tall tales. It is both an intimate story of the struggle to belong and an epic tale about a journey to find a home. Zhang’s language is both beautiful and haunting as she explores the secrets that keep families together and drive them apart.  With this book, her first, being recognized as a notable book by both the Washington Post and the New York Times and a best book by NPR for 2020,  Zhang will be an author to watch in the future!

Brenda’s Rating: ***** (5 Out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this book to: Marian, Ken, Keith and Sharon

Book Study Worthy? Yes

Read in ebook format.