The Yellow Pearl: A Story of the East and the West
About This Book
A young woman of mixed American and Chinese parentage recounts her upbringing in Asia and her reluctant relocation to her paternal grandmother's household in America after her parents' deaths. She encounters relatives who attempt to erase or disguise her ancestry while a French governess cultivates her Western manners and education. Tensions arise between family pride and racial prejudice, and she negotiates competing cultural expectations, languages, and social instruction. The narrative traces her inner loyalty to her mother's people, the family's social maneuvering, and the shaping of identity at the intersection of East and West.