Staff Reviews

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A young woman listens as Mei, an ancient lighthouse keeper, combines the legend of "Maker of Gold Mountain" with her tragic life story. The legend begins in China in 1000 BC, where Mei, betrothed to a foreigner, steals her dowry gold and rides a whale across the sea to a rocky coast with a welcoming bay. There she throws the gold into rivers and hills "where no gold was before, nor was ever meant to be." Although she's free, she's also cursed. She must keep fires going until she recovers every nugget she stole. In 1849, Mei still lives in San Francisco. She's collected an unimaginable amount of gold in her lighthouse, but it's still not enough. Desperate to be free, she entraps another young woman, only to see this selfish act backfire. Desire, deceit and regret come together in this spellbinding mixture of legend and heartbreak.

-Cindy

— From Cindy's Recs