Love and Other Consolation Prizes

‘Love and Other Consolation Prizes’ covers more than 50 years. At one end, we have a five year old half Chinese/half white boy being sent by his starving mother to America. After a horrible voyage (children packed into the hold like animals; any who got ill were thrown overboard) and being placed in a few different places, he comes into the hands of Mrs. Irvine, who sponsors him at Holy Word school. When his year-end review comes up, he asks Mrs. Irvine if he could maybe go to another school or something rather than continuing at Holy Word. In an act that seems like retaliation, she takes him to the Seattle World’s Fair (actually called the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition), where many donated things are being raffled off, and show more donates *him*.

At the other end, we have the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair, with a brand new Space Needle and much more. The little boy is now Ernest Young, senior citizen, living in a flea bag hotel, with his wife, Gracie, being in a state of dementia. But her memories are starting to come back, and she is calming down. At the same time, one of their daughters, Judy (Juju), a newspaper reporter, is searching for a great story- and has discovered, via old newspapers, that her father was the boy who was raffled off. She wants his story. He’s reluctant to talk about it, for reasons that become obvious.

When Ernest was raffled off, the madam of Seattle’s finest brothel won him. At first glance this would seem to be a bad thing, but it’s not. For the first time he has enough to eat, and his own room. He’s treated well. He’s expected to work and earn his keep, but he’s not a slave. The other servants and the ‘upstairs’ girls are likewise well treated. Of course, the upstairs girls run the risks of the trade- disease and nasty customers. Nasty customers are barred forever, but nothing stops disease. Madam Flo is the stereotypical hooker with a heart of gold.

As soon as he is won by Madame Flor, he makes the acquaintance of two girls near his own age: one the daughter of the madam, Maisie (although identified to all as her sister); the other is Fahn, a Japanese scullery maid. It turns out he knows Fahn; she was on the same boatful of indentured servants that he was on. Ernest and the two girls become fast friends in the years that they are there.

It’s a heartbreaking story in some ways; in other ways it’s heartwarming. Ford has researched Seattle history; there really *was* a child raffled off at the AYP Expo, although that one was a baby. The brothels of Seattle of course were real, including one very high class one that bribed everyone that needed bribing to stay in business. The girls- many of them Asian- kept as slaves in the low class ‘cribs’ were real.

There is a good balance of well-developed characters, great description of scenes and events, and action. We’re seeing the beginning of the modern age- electric lights taking over from gaslights, automobiles showing up on the streets- and it’s an exciting time. Five stars out of five. show less

Jamie Ford’s debut novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, was historical fiction about the love and friendship between a Chinese-American boy and a Japanese-American girl in Seattle and during the internment in World War II.

In this book, Ford returns to the theme of a relationship between a Chinese-American boy and a Japanese-American girl in Seattle, this time during a period for the most part bracketed by the two Seattle World Fairs, the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in 1909 and the Seattle World’s Fair in 1962. The story goes back and forth in time, as did Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.

When this story begins in 1962, Ernest Young, now in his 60’s, is preparing to be interviewed by one of his two daughters, show more Juju, a reporter for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper. Juju has convinced her editor to let her write a then-and-now piece about the grand opening of the new world’s fair, seen through the eyes of those who happened to attend the original Alaska-Pacific-Yukon Expo in 1909. Her father is one of those, and she discovers to her astonishment that it is he who was the subject of a 1909 article she found about a young boy auctioned off at the Fair. [This part is based on a real-life story, although the boy named Ernest was an infant at the time; in this book, Ernest is 12 when the auction occurs.]

Juju wants to know his story, but Ernest has secrets he doesn't want her to know. Moreover, he is dealing with his wife Gracie’s memory loss. But Grace’s memory, perhaps spurred by Juju’s questions, seems to be coming back, and she herself contributes to part of the story for Juju. The doctor told Ernest this could happen: “the human body is a marvelous work and a wonder.”

Ernest explains to Juju that he left China as a 5-year-old during a time of war and famine. He was taken by an “uncle” [what we now call a "coyote"] to America to be sold. On the boat, he was put into a holding area with other children. One of the young girls, Fahn, was Japanese, first sold to China, and now being sold again. She was around three years older than he was. Nevertheless, he impulsively told her “I’m going to marry you.” She replied, “I am sorry. No one will ever marry us.”

Ernest ended up in Seattle, living in a series of boarding houses. No one adopted him; “he wasn’t Chinese enough for an Asian family and wasn’t white enough for a Caucasian home.” He was "sponsored" however by a Mrs. Irvine, a “crusader for virtue,” a cold woman who found offense in everything she saw. She told Ernest she wanted him to train to be a custodian. When he said he wanted to go to another home instead, she decided to auction him off at the Alaska-Pacific-Yukon Expo “for a good cause.”

The winning ticket was held not by a family as Ernest had hoped, but by Florence Nettleton, a.k.a. Madam Flora, of the Tenderloin Bordello. She intended Ernest to be their houseboy doing odd jobs.

To his surprise he ran into Fahn there, working as a scullery maid. It had been seven years since they came over together on the ship, but she recognized him and asked, “are you still going to marry me?” Fahn and everyone else assured him the Tenderloin was a wonderful place to work, and it was. Madam Flora took in castaways and gave them jobs. [The story of Madam Flora seems to have been modeled in part on the real-life madam Lou Graham, who was a famous madame in Seattle. In addition to running her lavish, high-end brothel, she contributed a great deal of money to the education of the city’s children.] Indeed, without Madam Flora, Ernest told Juju, “I might have wound up as a street kid, eventually sent to a poorhouse, or a reform school that was more like a jail, or worse….” And most importantly, “If I didn’t end up in the Tenderloin, I might never have met your mother.”

Ernest was immediately drawn to Fahn, but also to Maisie, another young girl with an unknown status at the house. Maisie told Ernest, “We’re like a big happy family at the Tenderloin; Fahn and me are like Irish twins.” She clarified that Madam Flora was her mother, although Flora told everyone Maisie was her younger sister, because having a child was “bad for business.”

But Madam Flora was suffering from the advanced stages of syphilis, and had more and more days where she was losing contact with reality. To pay for her treatment, Miss Amber, Flora’s managing partner, decided that Maisie must have a “coming out” party. This took place when any of the girls destined to be “upstairs girls” turned 16; these virgins were auctioned to the highest bidder. Everyone was upset about it, but Maisie loved her mother and coped by rationalizing “it’s only one night.”

To Ernest's astonishment, Fahn was upset that Maisie was picked instead of her. She wanted to be an upstairs girl, and Ernest was appalled. Fahn, angry over the rejection, ran off to a lower class brothel.

Ernest was emotionally overwhelmed; he was in love with both Maisie and Fahn, and now it seemed both of them were destined for a life he wouldn’t wish for them.

On top of the other problems, women like Mrs. Irvine, opposed to the idea of “immorality” in any form, were getting more successful. [In 1909 in real life, newly elected Seattle Mayor John F. Miller, in part as a response to the constant marching of more and more women, ordered the “disorderly houses” in Seattle’s red light districts closed. Miller endorsed “the purpose of segregating vice and the establishing of a thoroughly regulated district as the best practicable means at hand of dealing with the social evil.”] The Tenderloin received notice it was being shut down. Tragedy ensued all around.

At one time Maisie had told Ernest, “My theory is that the best, worst, happiest, saddest, scariest, and most memorable moments are all connected. Those are the important times, good and bad. The rest is just filler.’” Or as Ernest was told by “Professor True” who played the piano at the Tenderloin, “There are people in our lives whom we love, and lose, and forever long for. They orbit our hearts like Halley’s Comet, crossing into our universe only once, or if we’re lucky, twice in a lifetime. And when they do, they affect our gravity.”

Ernest finds all of this to be true.

Evaluation: This author has a knack for constructing beautiful love stories while at the same time seamlessly filling in historical details of bygone eras. The issues he explores, like poverty, prostitution, cultural clashes, decency, and devotion, are well treated, and add depth and poignancy to his stories. This is an excellent book. show less

I was quite enchanted by the setting of this book and the amount of historical knowledge I gained reading about the World's Fair.
 
Especially as Ernest is an immigrant coming from nothing, Seattle is mystical to read about and I very much enjoyed all of the details of the politics of the time and the influence that various people from different backgrounds had, especially when hypocrisies were exposed and future implications highlighted.
 
The timeline worked quite well. The book is in a manner a mystery, as our view of Ernest's wife flipflops and evolves. One of Ernest's daughters is a journalist which adds a fascinating aspect also. While the meat of the story is in the 1910s, the elements from the present day that are included serve show more to give the book a little more momentum.
 
I felt like most of the characters had their own motives and desires which made the story all the more intriguing to read. I loved how characters that I thought I would never read about popped up again and grew up in their own manners.
 
At points this was a slow read, but it was solid nonetheless. This book was worth reading simply for the historical aspects and for the way that the World's Fairs were brought to life, and that an intriguing exploration of characters and growing up was included made it even better.
 
To know this was based on a true story makes it all the more charming and romantic.
 
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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It’s been eight and four years, respectively, since author Jamie Ford released his first two novels. I must say, that the wait for “Love and Other Consolation Prizes,” has been worth it.

With his “never ending appetite for lost history,” Ford stumbled upon the story of a healthy boy who was raffled off during the Alaskan-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (AKY) of 1909. The five-year-old, half-Chines/half white boy was won by the madam of one of Seattle’s most notorious brothels, The Tenderloin.

The novel is Ernest’s story. It is framed with the AKY of 1909 and the Century 21 Exposition of 1962. I love the dualing timelines, and no one does them better than Jamie Ford.

The book follows Ernest from 1902, when his mother sends him to show more America because they are near death from starvation. The journey by ship is harrowing and frightening, but Ernest makes a few friends in the cargo hold stuffed with other children. He arrives safely in American where he spends a year at the Holy Ward School, paid for by his sponsor. When he asks to attend another school, his sponsor, Mrs. Irvine, takes him to the AYP and donates him to be raffled off.

Ernest is won by Madam Flo and taken to her brothel. There he becomes a houseboy and begins to find the family that he longed for. As fate would have it, Ernest meets up with one of the girls from the ship, but she is so healthy now, he hardly recognizes her. The period details are remarkable, proving that Ford has done is homework.

Then the story flashes forward fifty years. It’s now 1962. Ernest lives live a flea bag hotel so that he can afford hospital care for his dementia-suffering wife, Gracie. Their daughter, Judy, is a reporter and has stumbled upon what she believes is the biggest story of her career: the little boy raffled away like a set of cheap dishes. When she learns that the boy is her father, she tries her best to convince him to tell his story.

I loved this story, this search for family, love and belonging that Ford does so well. “Love and Other Consolation Prizes” receives 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world. show less

What a powerful, up close and personal, emotional ride featuring Ernest Young/aka Yung Kun-ai, and we walk in his shoes throughout the novel.
With a start in China our little fellow tells of horrible happenings, and being so hungry, he gleaned a harvest rice plot for a few scraps, and then he is gone. What is remarkable that he survived at all, and in doing so we meet his two daughters.
Talk about the down trodden, we meet them and through Ernest we walk in their shoes, and from the shores of China to Seattle. He was born to Chinese mother and an English father, and as such was an outcast, in both China and America.
The Worlds Fairs in Seattle, yes the one in early 1900, and again in late 1950’s are the back drop for a lot of this story, show more along with a brothel, and what the two have to do with each other, you are on one amazing journey once you turn the first page.
It took me a little bit to figure out who Grace was, and then more surprises are about to fall. A book to tear your heart, and again warm it, and you will be quickly be absorbed in the lives of the people and events that follow young Ernest.
I received this book through Net Galley and Ballantine Books, and was not required to give a positive review. show less

“There are people in our lives whom we love, and lose, and forever long for. They orbit our hearts like Halley’s Comet, crossing into our universe only once, or if we’re lucky, twice in a lifetime. And when they do, they affect our gravity.”

Jamie Ford’s latest novel, Love and Other Consolation Prizes weaves a story of love, loss, and redemption, as it tells the story of a young man and his search to belong.

In the early 1900s, young Ernest (at that time, Yung Kun-ai), was taken from his homeland of China after witnessing a horrific act from his mother. As a five-year-old with a mother unable to care for him, Ernest is taken to America, desperately in hope of a “better life.” He became a charity case at a boarding school, show more but as a half-Chinese boy, he didn’t quite fit in. In 1909, during a visit to the breathtaking Seattle’s World Fair, he is raffled off as a prize to the person with the winning ticket. It is here that he finally finds what he’s always wanted – a place to belong.

The cathartic nature of memories was also important. Gracie had been diagnosed with neurosyphilis, which had been latent since contracted in her days working as a prostitute. Neurosyphilis can present Alzheimer-like symptoms in patients, like in Gracie. It wasn’t until she started to come to terms with her past, subconsciously wrestling with the idea that she wasn’t good enough, that she was finally able to start to heal.

What I really like about Jamie Ford’s writing is he has a way of drawing the reader in. He alternated between 1909/1910 and 1962 in a way that, although over 50 years apart, seemed to be running side-by-side, slowly closing the gap and leading to the “big reveal.” Although the identity of Gracie (Fahn? Maisie?) was a major plot point of the story, it wasn’t the main point. It didn’t matter who Gracie was, what mattered was Ernest’s love and devotion toward her, even when she didn’t remember her love toward him; what mattered was the life they built together, the legacy they would pass onto their daughters; what mattered was their survival in a world that wasn’t always kind or fair, but their eventual triumph.

And that was both beautiful and poignant.

I really enjoyed Love and Other Consolation Prizes. It was beautiful and surprising and poignant and captivating, all rolled into one. I look forward to reading more of Jamie Ford's books in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine for an advanced copy of this eBook in exchange for an honest review! show less

Highly recommended! Poignant, subtle, philosophical story by an author who knows how to immerse the reader in a time and place.

The storyline follows the life of Ernest Young. Born in China, he is sent to America as a child by his starving mother to save his life. He survives the brutal trip when others do not and is taken into a children’s home as a ward of the state. His education is sponsored by a wealthy Seattle matron. When he expresses a desire to expand his horizons beyond the school, where he has been subjected to racism and second-class treatment, his sponsor arranges for him to be raffled off as the prize. When the Madame of a high-end brothel wins the raffle, Ernest’s life improves dramatically through developing the show more familial bonds with the colorful cast of residents.

The story is told in dual timelines: the early 1900s and 1962, related to two significant fairs that took place in Seattle, the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition of 1909 and the Century 21 Expo in 1962. This beautifully written book provides a vivid picture of each event, and provides a striking contrast between the two.

Explores substantial topics such as human trafficking, racism, prostitution, and hypocrisy. Also delves into the timeless themes of the human condition, such as yearning for a sense of belonging, feeling less than adequate, the psychological impacts of suffering, and the desire to be loved. The main characters express philosophical views of life, such as the interconnectedness of memorable moments, the often-unintended consequences of decisions, and the vast capabilities of the human heart.

Highly recommended, especially to book clubs, readers of historical fiction, and those who enjoy somewhat sentimental stories about the complexities of people. show less