Thousand Pieces of Gold

By: Ruthanne Lum McCunn

Narrated by: Emily Zeller

Lalu Nathoy's father called his thirteen-year-old daughter his treasure, his "thousand pieces of gold," yet when famine strikes northern China in 1871, he is forced to sell her. Polly, as Lalu is later called, is sold to a brothel, sold again to a slave merchant bound for America, auctioned to a saloonkeeper, and offered as a prize in a poker game. This biographical novel is the extraordinary story of one woman's fight for independence and dignity in the American West.

©2004 Ruthann Lum McCunn (P)2013 Audible Inc.

loved it

beautifully written and narrated. i would definitely recommend this listen. 5 stars in all categories.

Stunningly excellent both story and narration

I did not have high expectations when I ordered this book, but i was seriously mistaken. This may be the one of the best stories I have read in years, and it is wonderfully narrated.
It is not often that passages can move me to tears or fury, but McCunn pulls you in. She paints a wonderful canvas of time, place and person.
This is truly a masterful piece of writing. Enjoy it as I did.

AMAZING!

This book is a MUST READ! So much adventure and emotion, I could not put this book down!

Good history

Good insight into another culture. Although in the end, it’s hard to compete with “The Good Earth.”

Had me at the beginning then kind of lost me.

The telling of this story became kind of strange to me after a while. The beginning really drew me in, until about the time she ended up in America. Then, it seemed to be several really detailed descriptions of random events - sometimes many, many, years apart. I feel like I lost the emotional connection that I had in the beginning, and was wondering where the story was going. I felt like it could have been so much more given better pacing, if that is the correct term. Too much detail in some areas, and not enough in others - most specifically, why did she make the critical decision about family? In the end, I found myself wanting to know more about the person, and less about specific things that happened.