Love and Other Consolation Prizes

In his third novel, Ford returns with a story framed much like his debut best seller, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. A historical romance with a Chinese American boy and a Japanese American girl as its centerpiece, the story moves between two time periods: that of the 1909 Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition and the 1962 Century 21 Exposition. Basing his narrative on research of actual events and people, including one unfortunate child named Ernest Young, who was raffled off at the 1909 World's Fair and a notorious "madam" of elite companionship, Ford ambitiously attempts to highlight social movements and ills of the time. The novel starts off strong, weaving Ernest's tale with the flourishing of human trade from East Asia to the United States (more than 50 years after the Emancipation Proclamation), then going on to portray the height of Seattle's red-light district against the peak of Washington state's suffrage movement. The latter half of the book feels rushed, with what is perhaps a too-tidy ending. Still, it's a laudable effort that shines light on little-known histories.