Poetic And Compelling. Usually, if a book uses a lot of flowery language and descriptions, it tends to bog the book down quite heavily. Here, McMorris actually manages to flip that script and use such poetic prose to *lift* material that is otherwise quite heavy indeed.
The entire book is essentially about the perils faced by both Chinese immigrants and indeed poor people generally on the US West Coast at the nadir of the 19th century, and McMorris does a wonderful job of transporting the reader to that place and time throughout the book.
The dual timeline yet single character approach is rare and useful here in creating tension in the reader, and yes, the timelines do eventually converge.
Overall a rare look at an often glossed over or even outright ignored period of American history, and McMorris manages to pluck it out of relative obscurity and tell a powerful tale set in all of that era’s realities – both good and bad.
Very much recommended.
This review of The Girls Of Good Fortune by Kristina McMorris was originally written on May 19, 2025.