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 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.
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