I could not get into this story. It was too sad for me and not something that I enjoy reading. I appreciate the opportunity to read it.

Jamie Ford has a divinely beautiful way of making the mundane interesting, bringing to life history and fiction and weaving them together into something incredible. Love and Other Consolation Prizes takes readers on a journey that will have them sopping up tears on the neckline of their shirts and wishing they could give the characters one more hug.

As a fan of Jamie Ford, he has another winner with this story. Inspired by a true story, Ernest Young who is 12 goes to the Seattle World's Fair in 1909. It is not what he expected. Take this journey with Ernest as he discovers who he is and what encompasses family. Great read.

Thanks so much to the publisher and to NetGalley for giving me access to this book. I enjoy this author very much. He sets up interesting stories with characters that you care about. Thanks again for this opportunity to read the book.

This was such a rich, heartfelt novel, and I really felt like I was there! I loved all of the details of the Fair, and the characters were so well-crafted. I'm definitely happy I picked this one up.

Love and Other Consolation Prizes was a heartbreaking tale of child sold during the World's Fair. Told in flashbacks,

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

Love and Other Consolation Prizes vividly brings to life the way in which love can bring strength and solace despite adversity. The story shines a light on the challenges faced when a child of a mixed raced background living in the early 20th century is the "prize" in a raffle. Because the winning ticket belongs to a madam he is thrust into the unfamiliar world of a brothel. Once there he works hard, but also finds deep friendship with two young girls. The choices they make as they grow up together will unknowingly impact their lives for decades.

In 1902, Ernest Yung, about five years old, was abandoned by his mother in a cemetery in China. After watching his mother smother and bury his baby sister, he was told that an uncle would come and collect him and take him to a better life in America. His Chinese mother and his white missionary father had not been married. He was of mixed blood and was an outcast. His father had been murdered by those who did not accept them or want the likes of them in China. In actuality, those who were biracial were not welcome in America either. Because of a terrible drought, they were starving; the growing numbers of the bodies of those murdered were washing up daily in the nets of the fishermen. Alone and unable to care for her children, his mother saw no other way out. She gave him her only precious possession, a tarnished metal hairpin which was topped by a jade bird that symbolized peace and harmony.
Ernest Yung was taken with other forsaken or unwanted children to a ship owned by a man who kept them hidden in its bowels. They had been sold in order to save their own lives or those of the others in their family. Their parents had little notion of what would become of them but thought anything was better than the fate that awaited them all in China. Some believed that they had little choice but to sell their children in order to save the others in the family. What the children who were secretly transported in the underbelly of the ship, its cargo hold, experienced, was dreadful. The conditions were appalling and some were abused, not only by the crew but also by the other children who were bullies. Still, most often, whatever happened to Ernest, he was grateful to have a full belly and so withstood all of the hardships that came his way. He seemed older than his five or six years and was lucky to survive the voyage which took him to Seattle, Washington where he became, “young Ernest” to some, and Ernest Young to the world.
After almost drowning at the journey’s end, he was rescued and placed in a children’s home but was eventually removed from there by his patron, Mrs. Irvine, a member of a group called the Mothers of Virtue. She placed him in a private school and undertook his care. When he angered her, in 1909, by asking if he could transfer to a school that might be more welcoming to him, this pious, pompous woman offered him up as a raffle prize at the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition. She deemed him ungrateful, however, she was horrified by the woman who won the raffle and so tried to convince him to run away or return to her care.
For Ernest, the worst day of his life was the day he left his mother and the best was the day that Dame Florence Nettleton won him and took him to live in The Tenderloin where she was Madame Flora, the owner of a high class house of ill repute. He had a job as a houseboy and a lifestyle with friends and “family” around him. He no longer felt he was alone or an outcast. Although, on several occasions, Mrs. Irvine tried to convince him to leave the house of decadence, he refused to leave the Tenderloin where he was finally happy.
While there, he became reacquainted with Fahn who had actually been on the ship with him and now worked as a maid in Madame’s house. As a little child, when they were both in the bottom of the ship that took them to America, he had promised to marry her. He and Fahn became fast friends once again, and together with Maisie, also called the Mayflower, they were a happy threesome. Maisie was the Madame’s “little sister”, Margaret.
The novel is bookended between two world’s fairs, the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition in 1909 and the Century 21 Exposition in 1962. Both were held in Seattle. Both framed Ernest Young’s life, and it is through his memories that the four plus decades between the fairs, is revealed as a story about love and devotion in a world ruled by puritanical morality and racial prejudice. It is about poverty, sexual decadence, sexually transmitted disease and its devastating effects, child trafficking, the degradation of women, and the gross injustice and discrimination that existed. It is about the lack of civil rights for women and children and the hypocrisy of a society where the idea of “do as I say and not as I do” governed the behavior of those who were rich, famous and powerful.
The way in which Ernest faced his challenges illustrated his deeply loyal and remarkable character. How he lived his life and survived all of the obstacles put in his way were a testimony to his devotion to those he cared for and the courage that he showed when he had to protect them. Because he was so easily pleased by simple things and asked for so little for himself, it was hard not to admire him. In the forty intervening years between the World’s Fairs, Ernest and the woman he still loved, Gracie, had two children, Hanny and Juju. Eventually, they had a life of contentment in America. Perhaps it was secretly a bit unconventional, but from the outside, it was quite ordinary. They were happy, although the book was at times terribly sad.
The book is based on a past reality. A boy named Ernest was really raffled off at the AYP, although there is little known about what happened to him in the future, since he was not claimed. As a novel, I found it a bit disjointed, overlong, and a bit contrived, but as a love story, it was beautiful in its constancy.


Re

Love this book and really anything by Jamie Ford. Love the historical context he provides all the while having fully developed characters that you become invested in.

**I received and advanced reader’s copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

Ford has a remarkable talent of weaving heartbreaking pieces of history into lovely stories, filled with likeable characters. In this novel, Ford has readers travel to Seattle in 1909, and the duration of the World’s Fair. Young Ernest faces a new life, as a recent immigrant from China, and as a centerpiece for the World’s Fair. Ernest looks at his 1909 self in 1962, as he tells his daughter the story of his boyhood, and the two loves he had in 1909.

This is captivating, and the story makes the reader want to learn more. More about 1909 Seattle. More about the World’s Fair. More about the red light district in Seattle and the suffragette movement. More about the illegal trade taking place between Asia and the United States, one that harkens back to slavery. Ford is a great storyteller, indeed.

I have loved all of Jamie Ford's books including this one. It is a wonderfully told story which switches from the early 1900s to 196os covering two Seattle World's Fairs and Chinese man named Earnest Young. It is a must read.

I love Ford's writing and his characters are really developed. The setting of the novel was great and the story was truly wonderful.

Another wonderful story written by Jamie Ford. It tells of a time in history that many may not be particularly familiar with. Very engaging and memorable story!

WOW, what a wonderful read! This book is beautifully written, strong and vibrant characters bring this story to life. I couldn't put this book down and I will definitely be reading other novels by Jamie Ford!

I feel like the only reader who didn’t love Jamie Ford’s Love and Other Consolation Prizes. I liked it, I’m glad to have read it, and I don’t regret the time I spent with it, but I can’t in good conscious claim it blew my socks off.

Inspired by a shockingly true event in which a young boy was auctioned by raffle at the 1909 World’s Fair, Ford creates a heart-wrenching tale of a life lived off the record. A story set against the gentleman's clubs, crib houses, and brothels of Seattle's red-light district. A story tinged with secrets and the dark realities of human trafficking, its victims, and its profiteers.

I really appreciated the historical material, Ford’s reflection on age and the passage of time. I liked how he infused the events and circumstances of this story with complex human emotions, but the pacing of the narrative didn’t work for me at all. The material resonated, but the telling is so drawn out that my mind wandered. I wanted a page-turner, something that drew me in and commanded my attention, but this novel only tickled the edges of my imagination.

Would I recommend Love and Other Consolation Prizes? Certainly, but only to the right reader. This is a reflective and emotive piece, best suited for those who appreciate subtle themes and delicate storytelling.

This was such a sweet story! I live in the Seattle area, so it was fun to read about bygone days. I appreciated learning about certain aspects of this area's history--such as the Asian population and their storied backgrounds--about which I had never even heard. The World's Fair was practically character itself as the story swirled around it in two totally different eras, which was a fun concept. This was a moving read that kept me guessing until the very end. I will say, the end felt a little rushed, but still provided most of the closure needed. I would've like to have heard more from/about their kids, but perhaps that's a story for another book. All in all this was a good, clean, fast read and I recommend it for one of those cozy, rainy days when you just want to snuggle up with a book that will make you think AND give you warm fuzzies.

I enjoyed this book, but I didn't love it like I did Jamie Ford's previous books. Mr. Ford's writing style is very easy to follow and his descriptions allowed me to "see" the book, which is my measure of a good author. I also learned some historical facts about the Seattle and the World's Fair. However, I didn't find myself invested in the characters and found some of them a bit shallow. I will definitely read any future books by this author and will continue to recommend his books to anyone that enjoys historical fiction set in the early 1900's.

Mixed emotions on this one. While an intriguing story, I found there was a whole lot of 'history' woven unnaturally into the story.

I have loved all of Jamie Ford's books and this one is no exception. It is a wonderfully told story flipping from the early 1900's to 1962 covering two Seattle World's Fairs and a mixed race Chinese boy now man named Ernest Young. It is a must read.

A really well written and poignant story of hope, love and hardship. Travel through the years with Ernest and discover the tragedy, hardships and hope. Now as a grown man he must face the hardships of the past while helping his wife navigate through her own journey without sharing the past with their children. A wonderful, rich and heartfelt story!