Here it is. I'm 23 weeks into my quest to read a book a week in 2017 and I've reached the mountaintop. Not only is this the best book I've read this year, it's easily in my top 10 favorites of all time. I'm not just saying that because I have a family connection to the author and we once exchanged the sign of peace at Christmas mass. This book is simply beautiful.
And, you can't get it yet.
You see, there's a little watermark on the front left corner of the book. It says "Advance Reader's Edition." I'm fancy, right? Must be because I'm a very important book blogger. Or a super famous local newscaster.
Nah, it's none of those. It's because of this little lady below.
That's my big sister, Gretchen. She went to high school with the author Jamie Ford's wife. She's also insanely competitive. When Jamie posted online that he'd placed an advanced copy in one of our hometown's Little Free Libraries, she knew exactly where it was; she stuffed her kids in the car and dashed out to get it - you can see above, she didn't even take the time to tie her shoes. Is it because she loves to read as much as I do? No. She just likes to win. Subsequently, she did read the book, as did my mom. They both loved it as much as I did.
I've been waiting to read Ford's next book since the moment I finished his last. His previous two novels are beautiful, character-driven books set in Seattle. They both tell stories of Japanese-Americans in Seattle and their complicated pasts. Though he lives in my Montana hometown now, Ford is from Seattle and is also Japanese-American. His understanding of those complicated relationships is evident, as is his clear affinity for Seattle's history. But, that's only a small part of why I love his books so much. His characters are dripping with heart.
The basic premise of this book comes from a hard-to-believe piece of history they don't talk about these days in Seattle. At the World's Fair in 1909, the State of Washington raffled off a baby as a prize. A BABY. And, it's not clear what happened to that child afterwards. Ford's story picks up that premise and turns it into a grown man named Ernest, decades later.
In Ford's book, a series of tragic events bring a young Chinese boy to America at the turn of the century. He ends up a ward of the state, longing for a family to call his own. To his own surprise, he finds himself on a marble staircase at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Expo, where everyone is waiting to see who wins the coveted prize. Ernest realizes he is the prize - and, that the winning ticket belongs to the madam of Seattle's most notorious brothel.
(Yes, loyal follower of this blog, this is the second consecutive book I've read about a brothel. Don't look too deep into that, okay?)
Ernest quickly learns that being the house boy at a brothel isn't exactly the idyllic childhood he imagined; just as quickly, he realizes the women there are more family than he every could have known. And, he finds himself learning over and over that true happiness in life both comes at a price - and cannot be bought.
Ford's story alternates between young Ernest's life in 1909, when Seattle was buzzing with the excitement of that first world's fair, and his life decades later in 1962, when a new world's fair was about to open. His daughter's work as a journalist cracks open the secrets he's hidden from them for so long. Through that compelling narrative structure and Ford's beautiful prose, you find your heart aching for Ernest and the women of the Tenderloin.
You watch Ernest form deep, intimate relationships with two girls in the brothel. He - and, they - are struggling to understand what matters more: love or freedom. And, you find yourself hoping right up until the very last line that they're all somehow able to find both.
I raced through this book and found myself worrying about the characters. I read the last line, then closed the book and cried. I cried because the emotions were so raw. I cried because it was over. I cried because I wished deeply for the well-being of people who don't actually exist. That's how good this book is - how good Jamie Ford is - and how I wish I could start again and feel it all from the beginning.
Pre-order this book, Do it now so that you won't forget. September you will thank you so much for how smart you are right now.
And, in the meantime, check out Ford's other books, especially Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. Next time I see him in church, I'll tell him to hurry up on the next one.
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