It took me four months to work my way through this towering tome recounting the history of the Chinese in the U.S., mostly in the 19th century and a bit into the 20th. Am I glad I read it? Yes… with some reservations.

If STRANGERS’ goal was to be the definitive text on the Chinese in America in the 19th century, then it has succeeded. This book is meticulously well researched and bursting at the seams with details of individuals’ travails arriving in a land that was happy to take them as cheap labor but increasingly hostile to the idea of their very presence. In addition, Luo covers political and legal discussions and decisions that shaped not only the Chinese’s changing legal status in the country, but also American immigration trends in general.

The amount of detail in this book, though, is both its strength and its weakness. The stories Luo recounts chapter after chapter become repetitive very quickly. I swear there are at least 10 (out of 25) chapters dedicated to different versions of the same violence visited upon 19th-century Chinese laborers: gangs of white people resentful of the Chinese’s visible Otherness and the way in which they are used as cheap labor by bosses to break laborer strikes, who gather together and then pillage, shoot, stab, maim, and steal the Chinese’s property and bodies.

While I am impressed by Luo’s research skills, these similar events are written about in totally identical chapters until they all blur together into one. More is not always more, and I think it is a writerly responsibility to be willing to cut out some detail in order to weave together a tighter frame and theme.

Some details included, in fact, serve no purpose other than that they were real and Luo came across them in his research. The one that stuck with me most was when one in a long string of white rioters in a long string of anti-Chinese riots was described as having a pimple on his nose… which would be a fine detail to add if, say, there was a significance to the pimple (such as being used later on to identify the rioter)—except that the pimple is never mentioned again, thus serving no purpose!

Reading STRANGERS, I was reminded of Roland Barthes’ literary theory of réalisme, in which objects mentioned in passing in fiction serve to create an atmosphere of verisimilitude in the story. Except that STRANGERS is nonfiction. If he hasn’t already yet, I think Luo would make a good go at writing fiction. The sheer amount of details in STRANGERS was simultaneously impressive and irritating.

Which brings me to my last point, about STRANGERS’ longer-term impact and position within the oeuvre of books about Asian American identity and race in the US. STRANGERS is a historical account, but its only theme seems to be, “A lot of terrible shit happened to Chinese people in America!” Luo doesn’t attempt to connect what happened to the Chinese with overarching patterns in the U.S.’ racism, xenophobia, and immigration trends.

Fortunately I’ve read enough elsewhere to be able to draw out the connections myself. These include:

- Alligator Alcatraz is not the U.S.’ first foray into detaining immigrants of color in inhumane conditions. (See: Angel Island.)

- Less than 100 years ago, foreign service officers were also recruited to basically prove that the Chinese were lying about their immigration status—the precursor to ICE’s treatment of Latinos today.

- The Chinese were always (and continue to be) used by white capitalist bosses to sow racial discord between Black, brown, Indigenous, and working-class white people…

- …and, from the start, the Chinese have desperately tried to believe in the myth of assimilation, and have been the best allies of White supremacy again and again as they’ve told their own peers to keep their heads down, assimilate, and all will be well.

STRANGERS IN THE LAND will be a big commitment for the general reader, but I think it would pair well with works by other Asian American authors who skim over the historical details in order to deliver a stronger message, such as Bianca Mabute-Louie’s Unassimilable or Julia Lee’s Biting the Hand.

Michael Luo does a phenomenal job of telling the triumphs and tragedies of Chinese in America. Well researched, with a focus on primary resources this book is a must read to glimpse the difficult lives of the immigrants who helped build America.

A comprehensive and much-needed account of Chinese Americans in the US. From the years of working on the railroads, through the Chinese Exclusion Act and its accompanying violence, and finally the 1965 immigration act that truly opened the doors to Chinese American immigration, Michael Luo tells this story with both engaging stories and plenty of historical documentation. I was pulled in by this history. Most of the book is centered in the 19th century, so I do wish there was more about more recent years, but of course the book needs to have a defined scope. For people who care about the roots of Asian American other-ing in the US–or anyone who wants to learn about an area of history that hasn’t been given enough attention, I highly recommend the book!

Luo, an executive editor at “The New Yorker,” provides a detailed account of Chinese immigration and the Chinese experience in America. He notes in the Introduction to his heavily researched book that the Founding Fathers “celebrated the multiplicity of difference in their young republic and recognized that filling the country’s vast, open spaces with newcomers was necessary for securing its future.” The discovery of gold in Northern California gave rise to a large Chinese immigrant population (ten percent of California’s population at the time). Initially welcomed, these immigrants — who later were pivotal to the construction of the Central Pacific transcontinental railroad — became the victims of predatory licensing fees, random racial violence, the inability to obtain justice as they were barred from testifying against those who targeted them, and registration laws. Lawmakers banned Chinese immigrants from naturalized citizenship. Although there were no federal laws regulating immigration in the 1840s, economic downturns led Congress to enact a series of laws into the twentieth century to exclude Chinese immigrants from the country, with the gates finally swinging open to Chinese immigration in 1965, particularly to those with relatives who were U.S. citizens or immigrants with skills and “exceptional ability” in various fields.

There were two things that stood out for me with Luo’s narrative history. Although the scope is broad, he writes about the individuals themselves who survived the infamous race riots or who championed Chinese rights, like Joe Tape who led a legal fight against the local school district to allow his 8 year old Mamie to attend public primary school. Luo also fits the Chinese experience into the larger framework, noting how the “Chinese Question followed the Negro Question and coincided with the vanquishing of Reconstruction, the spread of Jim Crow, and the subjugation of Native peoples on the western frontier,” and reasoning that these histories “should be considered alongside each other.”

Today, when the immigration policy debate is at a fever pitch, it is noteworthy that Luo explores how politicians found political opportunity in the growing anti-Chinese sentiment. Understanding this legacy of exclusion faced by Chinese Americans offers insight into the current immigrant experience—and serves as a reminder of how the echoes of history inform the present. Thank you Doubleday and Net Galley for an advance copy of a richly detailed book that should appeal to anyone interested in American history.

Read this over the course of two flights, and I thought I knew Chinese American history pretty well, but this book proved me wrong. There's so much history starting from the 1800s onwards, with violence against Chinese American immigrants happening from the beginning. Some awful scenes are written about here, but it also shows the resilience and determination of a massive community here in the US. It's fairly typical history book, so it can be a bit dense if you're not used to this kind of writing. I am used to it, but I found it helpful to split up my reading into two different sessions.

Interesting book and perspective. Will be picking up when it hits stores, though hope the marketing behind it is propulsive, as it's not being featured nearly as much in the lead-up.

This is the extremely detailed history that I wished I was told in public education system that I grew up in. But, instead, this history wasn't really touched upon much and I'm grateful for this book to have been as detailed as it is with the migrant stories.

I'm not sure I have ever written a review like this one but here it goes. Michael Luo's Strangers in the Land is an exceptional book with impeccable research, riveting stories, and important historical lessons. There is a bit too much of it, though. Let me explain!

Luo tells the story of the Chinese in America. I think most people remember grade school where the atrocious treatment of Chinese immigrants on the West Coast when they were integral in the completion of the transcontinental railroad. Luo takes it a step further to chronicle specific stories of these immigrants whether it is about the laundry they opened or a horrific mob attack. I don't want to understate how much work Luo put into this and how effectively he tells these stories. Often, people exist only in a smattering of records but the author is able to piece together a story which will move the reader. I will explain my criticism, but I don't want it to take away from the excellent work Luo has done.

The issue is such a weird one to explain. I mean chocolate is great but what's better? More chocolate! However, Luo just puts too much into this book. The exceptional stories I mentioned are overwhelming and while the first half of the book was engaging, it starts to drag after the midway point. The issue is that those small stories start to pass by and blend with similar stories you already read about. There are certain chapters which cover a topic that makes it distinct, but there are others which seem to cover much of the same material but in a different city. Luo also focused the vast majority of the book in the 1800s. The last couple of chapters then cover 60 years in a flash. The pace is off just enough to be noticeable but not fatal.

My criticism aside, this is definitely a book worth reading with an important story that is told well, overall.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Doubleday Books.)