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Feb. 7th, 2011 11:11 amMan, guys, Laurence Yep - much as I love him - is generally a pretty optimistic and feel-good writer, overall; I was not expecting Dragon's Gate, which is probably the darkest Laurence Yep book I've yet read, and that includes the one in which a teenaged boy sacrifices himself to make a magic cauldron.
Dragon's Gate starts out in China in 1867, with Otter - an upper-class Chinese teenager whose adopted father and uncle travel back and forth from the US, with cash - and his AWESOME REVOLUTIONARY ADOPTED MOM, who spends all her time a.) being a financial genius and b.) plotting against the Manchus. She is only in the first few chapters and is nonetheless the most amazing character in the book.
OTTER: I want to go to America and have adventures with my dad and uncle!
OTTER'S MOM: No son, someone has to stay here and learn my job so you can be an AWESOME REVOLUTIONARY INVESTMENT BANKER like me.
OTTER'S DAD: Well, honey, maybe Otter can -
OTTER'S MOM: >:|
OTTER'S DAD: Have fun staying home and being a revolutionary investment banker, kid!
Except then Otter accidentally kills an official (which already ratchets this a level or two in srs bsns above most of Yep's other books) and his mom has to ship him off to America anyway. Otter is super excited - until he realizes that the job his father and uncle have taken to learn about the railroad for ~revolutionary purposes~ has backfired, and now they are all working fourteen-hour days inside a giant snow-covered mountain where people are dropping like flies from frostbite or ill-timed explosives every day. Oh, and despite the fact that they're technically free hires, nobody's allowed to quit.
OTTER'S DAD: Oh great, not only did we basically get tricked into slave labor, but now my son is here too. AWESOME. BEST WINTER EVER.
OTTER: I seriously did not sign up for this. D: D: D:
This is really gritty stuff for Laurence Yep,and he is not pulling his punches about how terrible the conditions were. It's not completely grim and depressing though - I mean, one of Laurence Yep's main theses is that the people who hacked their way through a solid mountain to build this railroad were awesome, and everyone better recognize. One of my favorite bits is when Otter and his uncle have volunteered for an extremely important and near-suicidal job in an attempt to get off the mountain:
SEAN, THE BRUTAL FOREMAN'S SYMPATHETIC SON: I feel bad about my privilege, so I'll come on your suicidal mission too!
BECCA: Is the noble white kid going to be the one to complete the dramatic mission? Because I like Sean, but I'm pretty sure I'm not down with that.
SEAN: *ten steps in, falls in a hole and twists both ankles*
OTTER: . . . well, I appreciate the thought! But I think you'd better crawl back to camp now. Don't worry, we got this.
BECCA: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Other things I liked: the fact that Yep goes out of his way to set up the complicated political situation in China before transferring his attention to the US; Otter's class issues, and how he's got his own privilege to deal with as well; the semi-ambiguous ending; OTTER'S MOM. Whenever I read a Laurence Yep book, I always end up wanting to read the prequel about the awesome mom! And fortunately such a prequel usually exists, so Serpent's Children and Mountain Light are also now totally on my list.
Dragon's Gate starts out in China in 1867, with Otter - an upper-class Chinese teenager whose adopted father and uncle travel back and forth from the US, with cash - and his AWESOME REVOLUTIONARY ADOPTED MOM, who spends all her time a.) being a financial genius and b.) plotting against the Manchus. She is only in the first few chapters and is nonetheless the most amazing character in the book.
OTTER: I want to go to America and have adventures with my dad and uncle!
OTTER'S MOM: No son, someone has to stay here and learn my job so you can be an AWESOME REVOLUTIONARY INVESTMENT BANKER like me.
OTTER'S DAD: Well, honey, maybe Otter can -
OTTER'S MOM: >:|
OTTER'S DAD: Have fun staying home and being a revolutionary investment banker, kid!
Except then Otter accidentally kills an official (which already ratchets this a level or two in srs bsns above most of Yep's other books) and his mom has to ship him off to America anyway. Otter is super excited - until he realizes that the job his father and uncle have taken to learn about the railroad for ~revolutionary purposes~ has backfired, and now they are all working fourteen-hour days inside a giant snow-covered mountain where people are dropping like flies from frostbite or ill-timed explosives every day. Oh, and despite the fact that they're technically free hires, nobody's allowed to quit.
OTTER'S DAD: Oh great, not only did we basically get tricked into slave labor, but now my son is here too. AWESOME. BEST WINTER EVER.
OTTER: I seriously did not sign up for this. D: D: D:
This is really gritty stuff for Laurence Yep,and he is not pulling his punches about how terrible the conditions were. It's not completely grim and depressing though - I mean, one of Laurence Yep's main theses is that the people who hacked their way through a solid mountain to build this railroad were awesome, and everyone better recognize. One of my favorite bits is when Otter and his uncle have volunteered for an extremely important and near-suicidal job in an attempt to get off the mountain:
SEAN, THE BRUTAL FOREMAN'S SYMPATHETIC SON: I feel bad about my privilege, so I'll come on your suicidal mission too!
BECCA: Is the noble white kid going to be the one to complete the dramatic mission? Because I like Sean, but I'm pretty sure I'm not down with that.
SEAN: *ten steps in, falls in a hole and twists both ankles*
OTTER: . . . well, I appreciate the thought! But I think you'd better crawl back to camp now. Don't worry, we got this.
BECCA: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Other things I liked: the fact that Yep goes out of his way to set up the complicated political situation in China before transferring his attention to the US; Otter's class issues, and how he's got his own privilege to deal with as well; the semi-ambiguous ending; OTTER'S MOM. Whenever I read a Laurence Yep book, I always end up wanting to read the prequel about the awesome mom! And fortunately such a prequel usually exists, so Serpent's Children and Mountain Light are also now totally on my list.
