The fourth pick for the NRM’s Summer Reading series is A Superior Man by Paul Yee. This book follows the story of Yang Hok, a former railway worker on the Canadian Pacific Railway. Hok has found himself with a child, left by the mother of his child, an Indigenous woman Hok met at one of the rail towns. Hok wants to bring the child back to the mother so he himself can return to China. He has been soured by the hard life and little reward for the past twelve years.
This book is recommended for a strict adult only audience given the mature themes, graphic depictions of violence, period accurate racism, and crude language. While this book tackles intense themes, the NRM recommends A Superior Man. This unflinching tale shows the brutal working conditions, the backbreaking labor, and the struggle immigrant workers had adjusting to a country that was unlike their home.
Hok frequently encounters Native peoples, some friendly and others not, in his trek with his young half-Native son. The treatment that both groups had from the Europeans were the same, yet the Chinese and the various Native tribes viewed each other as part of the “redbead” problem. It is a fascinating dynamic to read and explore, as Chinese railway laborers and Native struggles are not well covered in American or Canadian rail history. This book, even though set in Canada, shares the same themes and storyline that a Chinese immigrant would have faced in America building a railroad.
At almost 400 pages, this book is long, full of vivid scenery, conflicted characters, and a surprising ending.
To leave future readers with a quote: “The iron road was death: the passing of compatriots, the loss of friends, the mourning of men not ready to die.”
Curious about A Superior Man? Find a copy at the Snoqualmie Depot or a copy at the King County Library System.
