Love and Other Consolation Prizes: A Novel

WONDERFUL book! I could hardly put it down.......mostly trying to figure out who he would actually marry. But I enjoyed the history surrounding the two Worlds' Fairs in Seattle. Very interesting reading.

‘Love and Other Consolation Prizes’ covers more than 50 years. At one end, we have a five year old half Chinese/half white boy being sent by his starving mother to America. After a horrible voyage (children packed into the hold like animals; any who got ill were thrown overboard) and being placed in a few different places, he comes into the hands of Mrs. Irvine, who sponsors him at Holy Word school. When his year-end review comes up, he asks Mrs. Irvine if he could maybe go to another school or something rather than continuing at Holy Word. In an act that seems like retaliation, she takes him to the Seattle World’s Fair (actually called the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition), where many donated things are being raffled off, and donates *him*.

At the other end, we have the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair, with a brand new Space Needle and much more. The little boy is now Ernest Young, senior citizen, living in a flea bag hotel, with his wife, Gracie, being in a state of dementia. But her memories are starting to come back, and she is calming down. At the same time, one of their daughters, Judy (Juju), a newspaper reporter, is searching for a great story- and has discovered, via old newspapers, that her father was the boy who was raffled off. She wants his story. He’s reluctant to talk about it, for reasons that become obvious.

When Ernest was raffled off, the madam of Seattle’s finest brothel won him. At first glance this would seem to be a bad thing, but it’s not. For the first time he has enough to eat, and his own room. He’s treated well. He’s expected to work and earn his keep, but he’s not a slave. The other servants and the ‘upstairs’ girls are likewise well treated. Of course, the upstairs girls run the risks of the trade- disease and nasty customers. Nasty customers are barred forever, but nothing stops disease. Madam Flo is the stereotypical hooker with a heart of gold.

As soon as he is won by Madame Flor, he makes the acquaintance of two girls near his own age: one the daughter of the madam, Maisie (although identified to all as her sister); the other is Fahn, a Japanese scullery maid. It turns out he knows Fahn; she was on the same boatful of indentured servants that he was on. Ernest and the two girls become fast friends in the years that they are there.

It’s a heartbreaking story in some ways; in other ways it’s heartwarming. Ford has researched Seattle history; there really *was* a child raffled off at the AYP Expo, although that one was a baby. The brothels of Seattle of course were real, including one very high class one that bribed everyone that needed bribing to stay in business. The girls- many of them Asian- kept as slaves in the low class ‘cribs’ were real.

There is a good balance of well-developed characters, great description of scenes and events, and action. We’re seeing the beginning of the modern age- electric lights taking over from gaslights, automobiles showing up on the streets- and it’s an exciting time. Five stars out of five.

I think the reason why I appreciate Jamie Ford's novels so much is because he manages to express difficult parts of history with both grace and small moments of beauty and tenderness. "Love and Other Consolation Prizes" is no different- the story centers around a young boy (Ernest) who is desperately sent halfway across the world by his mother, and ends up *literally* auctioned off to the highest bidder at the 1909 Alaskan-Yukon-Pacific Exhibition. The book follows his life, and uses two World's Fairs in Seattle (the one in 1909 and the one in 1962) to provide a "beginning" and an "end" to the story.

This is a story about a tragic chapter in history, but Jamie Ford manages to make it not only tolerable but incredibly compelling. I walked away from this book not only knowing more about history, but feeling like the time I spent in the book's pages was well spent. Highly recommended.

This story of a Chinese Immigrant and his family is bookended between two World’s Fairs that took place in Seattle. The first in 1909 was Alaskan-Yukon-Pacific Exhibition where young Ernest was auctioned off in a lottery. The last was the Century 21 Exposition, better known as the Seattle World’s fair of 1962. In the latter we find the daughters of Ernest discovering the life story of their mother and father.

In China Ernest was of mixed blood, the bastard son of a white missionary. His mother was poor and he’s unsure if she sent him to America to have a chance at a better life or if she sold him to keep from starving. He’s forgotten her face but he always remembers her smell. In America he lives for a time in a children’s home but at the age of 12 his sponsor, Suffragette and Women’s Temperance leader, has him auctioned off at the Fair. He is won by Madam Flo who runs the Tenderloin, a gentlemen’s club in the city.

Ernest’s wife Grace is suffering from memory loss brought about from medical complications resulting from compromises in her past. She is now skittish around men and lives with her daughter Juju who is a journalist and wants to unravel her parent’s story for an article that will tie in to the current Fair. His second daughter, a show girl in Las Vegas comes to town for the fair and also to introduce her parents to her fiancé. As the family comes together bits and pieces of the story of Ernest and Grace emerge creating a tale that is both tender and bizarre.

The chronology of this well-crafted story fluctuates between Ernest’s immigration from China in 1902, and the fairs of 1909 and 1962. Author Jamie Ford is a master at creating characters that the reader connects with and who become alive on the page. I found this book fascinating for both its history as well as its character’s storyline.

Jamie Ford has done it again. The author of a couple of my all -time favorite books ( Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet and Songs of Willow Frost) once again provides his readers with a heartbreaking and compelling novel, inspired by the true story of a month old infant boy named Ernest raffled off as one of the prizes at the 1909 Seattle World's Fair.

In Ford’s imagining of the tale, Ernest Young is a twelve year old half-Chinese orphan. As a charity student at a local boarding school, Ernest is delighted when he is given the opportunity to go to the World's Fair, but once there he learns he is to be one of the prizes raffled off to “a good home”. The holder of the winning ticket is the glamorous and somewhat notorious madam of an upper-class brothel that caters to the rich and famous gentlemen of Seattle. It is in this unusual setting that Ernest finds the first true family he has ever known when becomes the new houseboy of the establishment.

Now some fifty years later Seattle is once again hosting the World’s Fair and Ernest is reminiscing about his life and the lives of those he met in those intervening years. As the narrative moves back and forth in time readers are introduced to a cast of vibrant characters who permeate and influence Ernest’s life.

Ford is a master at capturing the American scene in the early 20th century with a tale that runs the gamut of human emotions, foibles and prejudices with his tale of a man who faced all of life’ challenges and survived them all without ever losing his compassion and the ability to love.

This is an ideal choice for any book club since it offers a multitude of topics for in depth discussion.

It’s not too much of a stretch to say that author Jamie Ford has put historical Seattle on the literary map. In previous novels HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET and SONGS OF WILLOW FROST, Ford has taken people back to World War II-era and Depression-era Seattle, respectively. In both cases, he has explored the lives and legacies of the Asian immigrants who made their homes in this American city. Now he adds a new chapter to this exploration, with LOVE AND OTHER CONSOLATION PRIZES.

The action in Ford’s latest novel is bookended by two World’s Fairs held in Seattle --- the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition and the 1962 Century 21 Exposition (the one that brought us the iconic Space Needle). At the center of his narrative are three people whose lives are changed irrevocably by the AYP fair in 1909. Yung, the young son of a Chinese woman and a white missionary, is sent to the United States by his impoverished single mother early in the 20th century. By a twist of fate, he escapes the gruesome fate of many of his shipmates and finds himself renamed Ernest, living in an orphanage run by a sanctimonious activist, Mrs. Irvine. During the 1909 fair, when Ernest is 12 years old, Mrs. Irvine decides to stage a publicity stunt in conjunction with President Taft’s visit to the fair, raffling the boy off as a son --- or servant --- to the lucky winner.

But imagine Mrs. Irvine’s horror when the winning bidder is none other than Madame Flora, the famous madam of the most celebrated brothel in all of Seattle’s quite extensive red light district. Madame Flora hires Ernest to be a houseboy (and eventually her driver). Ernest is immediately entranced by the glamorous house over which Madame Flora presides, the glittering parties and, of course, the beautiful women. But most of all, he becomes intrigued by two girls who are a little older than himself (they are not the “upstairs girls” who entertain men). One is Fahn, a Japanese girl who coincidentally traveled to Seattle on the same ship as Ernest himself. The other is Maisie, known as Madame Flora’s little sister but in actuality is her daughter. The two very different girls are friends, and Ernest is fascinated by --- and soon besotted with --- both of them.

Scenes from Ernest’s youth are interspersed with scenes of him in 1962. Now a senior citizen, he is dealing with his wife’s dementia and with his journalist daughter’s desire to write a story about him in conjunction with the new World’s Fair. Naturally, her inquiries dredge up memories of the past, some of which he would just as soon forget. But perhaps his memories can help prompt his wife to remember as well --- even if those memories might be painful for them both.

Jamie Ford is a skillful storyteller, and if at times the events of LOVE AND OTHER CONSOLATION PRIZES rely a little too heavily on coincidence, those coincidences work in service to the story. His debut novel, HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET, is currently under development as a motion picture, and his latest also shares its predecessor’s cinematic descriptions and vivid evocations of a Seattle most readers probably didn’t know anything about.

Readers should be sure to peruse Ford’s afterword, in which he explains the historical roots of his inspiration and gives suggestions for further reading. His books offer the very best kind of historical fiction, with accounts that not only bring to life specific stories from the past but also excite readers’ imaginations and enthusiasm for the boundless possibilities of historical inquiry.

Reviewed by Norah Piehl

"'We all have things we don't talk about, Ernest thought. 'Even though, more often than not, these are the things that make us who we are.'"

Ford is the author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, which is one of my favorite novels, and so I was thrilled when I saw he had written another historical novel set in Seattle. Thanks go to Net Galley and Ballantine Books for the DRC, which I received free in exchange for this honest review.

Ernest is a small child when his mother, who is dying, wrenches herself away from him and puts him on a boat to the USA. He attends a charity boarding school and then is raffled off, a free orphan to a good home, by the Children’s Home Society at the Alaskan Pacific World’s Expo. It is Flora, the madam of a Seattle brothel, that claims him and brings him to the city. There he is essentially a house boy, and he forms a warm friendship with two young women employed there, Fahn and Maisie.

The narrative is divided between two time periods, the first following Ernest as he leaves China and arrives in the USA at the dawn of the twentieth century, and the second in the early 1960s when he is elderly and his wife, Gracie, is suffering from dementia. There’s an element of suspense that is artfully played as we follow both narratives, trying to untangle whether the woman that becomes “Gracie” is Maisie, Fahn, or some third person.

But Ford’s greatest strength is in bringing historical Seattle home to us. The characters are competently turned, but it’s setting that drives this book, just as it did his last one. Ernest lands in the city’s most notorious area at the time, a place just south of downtown known as the Tenderloin:

“He had never once been near the mysterious part of Seattle that lay south of Yesler Way, a street better known as the Deadline. His teachers had talked for years about sewer rats that plagued the area, and rattlesnakes, and about the wolves that prowled the White Chapel District, waiting to sink their teeth into the good people of Seattle, which a local song had dubbed the Peerless City. Ernest had imagined lanky, sinuous creatures with sharp claws and tangles of mangy fur, but as he looked out at the avenue, all he saw were signs for dance halls and saloons.”

Ernest’s years at the brothel prove to be the best of his young life, primarily because the rest of it was so much worse. Every time a rosy glow starts to form around the brothel and the condition of the women that work there, Ford injects an incident that is stark and horrible to remind us that trafficking in human beings and their most intimate acts is criminal and should never be condoned. Miss Flora is a relatively benign madam because it is better for business, not because of any sentimentality toward the women she employs. This comes to us all the more starkly when her own daughter’s virginity is raffled off to the highest bidder.

All told, this is good fiction, poignant, warm, and moving. Two things give me pause: the ending seems a little far-fetched, and the depiction of the suffragists, who are some of my greatest heroes, is so hostile that it borders on the misogynistic. However, the latter is peripheral to the main story, winking in and out briefly, and overall this novel is an appealing read. It will particularly appeal to Seattleites and to Asian-Americans.

I recommend this book to you, with the above caveats, and it for sale to the public today.

I loved Jamie Ford's first novel, "Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet". I really liked this book about Eurasian orphan, Ernest and his journey through love and life. Ernest and his Mother were starving when she placed him on a ship to the U.S. for a better life. Ernest and many other children were placed in the ships hold for the trip with little food and even less comfort. When the ship docks, he is placed in an orphanage and then raffled off at the World's Fair. Ernest meets the 2 loves of his life, Fahn and Maisie, one of them will be his wife, but which one is the mystery throughout the story. Ernest's story is told from the present with memories of the past prompted by the World Fair 1962.
This book is very well written and soon the reader is pulled into Ernest's world with all the uncertainties.

This is a beautiful, thought-provoking story. It's based on real history, but with plenty of liberties taken.

It swaps between Ernest growing up as a child to his teenage years(1902, 1909-1911) and Ernest as an older man(1962). In his younger years, he's in love with two girls and it was fun trying to guess which one he ends up marrying. I highly preferred the portion of the story that was Ernest's younger years. It held my interest more. I had a harder time connecting to the other portion, mainly because of the daughters. I didn't connect to them as well. Both sides are still sweet and enjoyable, though.

Content:
One word of religious profanity and one or two words of mild profanity.
Though prostitution is a main subject, it never goes into detail. There's a scene of an attempted rape(child) and one where children are murdered, which I found disturbing, but it doesn't go into detail, either. I'd still label this as a gentle-ish read, overall.

Sweeping historical novel inspired by a true story of a little known World's Fair (Seattle), left me hopeful and nostalgic, and definitely a fan of Jamie Ford.

I so enjoyed LOVE AND OTHER CONSOLATION PRIZES, which captivated me from the first page and send me into a the lovely dual time periods of the early 20th century (1902-1911) and the mid-twentieth century (1962) as we follow Ernest Young from poor China, then stripped from his mother to board a cramped ship en route the U.S. The first few chapters are particularly harrowing and are a bit reminiscent of the African slave trade; it will pull at your heart strings.

Ernest (whose name was changed from Kun-ai), is placed in an orphanage in Seattle, attends a fancy boarding school, but he's not happy. An opportunity arises for more 'adventure' and Ernest is raffled off at the AYP (Alaska-Yukon-Pacific) World's Fair. He's 12 years old. This struck such a chord as my own daughter is also twelve, plus family lore shares my grandfather met a similar fate when he was approximately the same age, only he was returned to his parents because he apparently, had lice.

But who has the winning raffle ticket is what will blow your mind. Ernest is not sent to a loving family who desperately want a child; his life is on the seedier sides of the track, so to speak. I don't want to say too much for fear of giving it away, but we are met with a cast of very colorful characters, issues involving race (Ernest is half-Chinese, half-Caucasian), of not really fitting into either culture, and also love and issues of morality.

In 1962, we meet Ernest's grown daughters and their quest to learn the truth of their dad's past. One daughter is an investigative journalist and shehandles this story with aplomb and sensitivity.

Jamie Ford is such a gifted writer and I was completely thrust into his world, the scenery is amazing, his use of historical facts truly organic and relevant; I found LOVE AND OTHER CONSOLATION PRIZES a glimpse into not just the heart of the characters, but also the author. Stunning!

As for comps, I'd lean toward Christina Baker Kline's ORPHAN TRAIN for the orphan theme, SIN IN THE SECOND CITY (Karen Abbott) and DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY (Erik Larson) regarding the World's Fair vibe.

This is the third Jamie Ford book I have read and I loved all three of them. His writing is sweet, almost to the point of smaltzy, but also brutally honest. He really is a master of words and this book proves it.

Once again, he returns to Seattle. Set in the early 20th century, this book tackles some difficult aspects of the history of the Pacific NW, through the eyes and experiences of children and young adults, while simultaneously telling the story of an older couple, dealing with illness and past heartbreak, but still held together with a bond that has strengthened over time.

Young Ernest is, for all intents and purposes, orphaned and comes to America aboard a ship full of children and young adults that are getting smuggled into the US, from China. On board, he meets a tough and tenacious young girl, who reappears in his life, years later, when he is still a child, after he has been auctioned off, at the World's Fair. At the same time, he meets another young girl. The three of them must grow up together and navigate some difficult waters, as they grow up together in one of Seattle's most notorious and luxurious houses of ill repute.

The story is bittersweet and some of the events are eye-openers. The premise of the climactic start of young Ernest's life with these two girls is actually based on actual events, since the early 20th century World's Fair held in Seattle did involve the raffling off of a child. Make sure to read the author's notes at the end.

I fell in love with Jamie Ford's first novel Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet and he quickly became a must-read author for me. So, I was super excited to read Love and Other Consolation Prizes.

Ernest Young was just a little boy when his starving mother left him in the graveyard to be collected with the other children and taken to America. Through a series of fortunate and unfortunate events, a now twelve year old Ernest Young is to be raffled off the prize holding ticket at the World's Fair in Seattle.

Years later, his journalist daughter has been digging into the 1909 World Fair and discovers this tiny tidbit. Could the boy that was raffled off so many years ago be her father? She approaches him to tell his story which she is sure will be a newspaper hit. He is reluctant only because his story intertwines so much with his sick wife's story and he wants to save her from any possible humiliation. For Ernest wasn't claimed by a family but by the Madam to the most high-class brothel. Ernest will form deep friendships with the Madam's feisty daughter Maisie and scullery maid Fahn.

I had just finished listening to the audio version of Amy Tan's The Valley of Amazement that was about Chinese courtesans and I didn't love it (Sorry Amy, way too many details) so I wasn't sure I was really in the mood for more of the infernal sex trade. However, Jamie Ford handled it so much better. It was an honest and careful novel about young people caught in a tragic world they barely understand and how they were able to deal with it and eventually move past it, while finding love and hope.

Love and Other Consolation Prizes is a very beautiful and moving story told with so much passion and consideration. I just adored Ernest and his love for the two wildly beautiful and bold young women and how he would just about anything to save them.

Anyone who loved Ford's earlier novels will also love Love and Other Consolation Prizes. I promise.

Ford's debut novel Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet was one of my absolute favorite reads, not only of the year I read it but one I still think about and consider in my top reads of all time, so it was no wonder how crazy excited I got when I saw he had another release coming out and in the same vein as his first. I don't think I've ever hit a request button so quickly as I did for it. In fact I stalked Netgalley until it was available because I just couldn't wait to get my hands on it. I knew it was going to be something special, something emotional and something so worth my time and all the feels I would go through while experiencing it.

Ford knows how to weave a tale riddled with history and heartbreak, hope, and love unlike any other author out there. He truly is a master at what he does. It isn't often that one can make you crave history, romance, and a happily ever after, along with struggling and feeling right along with the characters. To be both sad and happy at once, along with heartbroken and angry for everything we put one another through as a people and as a country and as a nation.

His words are powerful in every way imaginable and it is so incredibly easy to get wrapped up in the story and the characters themselves until you are completely consumed by them and want nothing more than to see how it will all come together and wishing like crazy that there will be a happily ever after when all is said and done.

This story moved me. It touched my heart and rocked my world. The characters, the setting, the circumstances. I couldn't have asked for a more heart felt, emotional read. I loved every single minute of it and I didn't want it to end but at the same time, was eager to see how it would.

Once again Ford has exceeded all my expectations and once again touched my heart and soul with his beautifully written stories and unforgettable characters. This story will forever live on min my thoughts and memories.

Leaving your mother at age five, going with a stranger, and living in the bowels of a boat to America was not something anyone would wish for a child but what was done back in 1909.

Yung had to leave his mother because they both were starving, and her hope was for a better life for her son.

When Yung got to America, his name was changed to Ernest, and he spent his first few years at a school where he was always the underling even though a rich woman, Mrs. Irvine, was paying for his room and board.

One day Mrs. Irvine told Ernest she was taking him to the World's Fair. She didn't take him to enjoy it, but to be auctioned off in a raffle as a strong, healthy boy.

Ernest ended up being won by the owner of a brothel as a houseboy, and the place he met his wife.

Now his childhood and his life before children and marriage were coming to light. His daughter is a reporter and is investigating the World's Fair and stories she heard about those who attended. She knew her father had been there and wants to know everything.

Ernest didn't want to tell his daughter his story because then she would find out about her mother's life at that time. It was a life that wasn't anything to be proud of. Gracie was now suffering from dementia, and Ernest was hoping she wouldn't accidentally remember the life she led when she was young and tell her daughter.

We follow Ernest from his childhood to present day and learn what life was like for him in both times. We get a well-researched glimpse into everyday living during the early 1900’s as well as the life in a brothel.

LOVE AND OTHER CONSOLATION PRIZES is another marvelous, stunning, beautifully told story by Jamie Ford with characters that will steal your heart.

Mr. Ford knows how to tell a story and keep your interest with his meticulous historical research, his history lesson, and his superb writing style.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book - I hope you are able to also read it. 5/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher and Net Galley in return for an honest review.

It’s been eight and four years, respectively, since author Jamie Ford released his first two novels. I must say, that the wait for “Love and Other Consolation Prizes,” has been worth it.

With his “never ending appetite for lost history,” Ford stumbled upon the story of a healthy boy who was raffled off during the Alaskan-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (AKY) of 1909. The five-year-old, half-Chines/half white boy was won by the madam of one of Seattle’s most notorious brothels, The Tenderloin.

The novel is Ernest’s story. It is framed with the AKY of 1909 and the Century 21 Exposition of 1962. I love the dualing timelines, and no one does them better than Jamie Ford.

The book follows Ernest from 1902, when his mother sends him to America because they are near death from starvation. The journey by ship is harrowing and frightening, but Ernest makes a few friends in the cargo hold stuffed with other children. He arrives safely in American where he spends a year at the Holy Ward School, paid for by his sponsor. When he asks to attend another school, his sponsor, Mrs. Irvine, takes him to the AYP and donates him to be raffled off.

Ernest is won by Madam Flo and taken to her brothel. There he becomes a houseboy and begins to find the family that he longed for. As fate would have it, Ernest meets up with one of the girls from the ship, but she is so healthy now, he hardly recognizes her. The period details are remarkable, proving that Ford has done is homework.

Then the story flashes forward fifty years. It’s now 1962. Ernest lives live a flea bag hotel so that he can afford hospital care for his dementia-suffering wife, Gracie. Their daughter, Judy, is a reporter and has stumbled upon what she believes is the biggest story of her career: the little boy raffled away like a set of cheap dishes. When she learns that the boy is her father, she tries her best to convince him to tell his story.

I loved this story, this search for family, love and belonging that Ford does so well. “Love and Other Consolation Prizes” receives 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

I do not know where to begin with this book. Jaime Ford has such a way with his descriptions and heartbreaking characters that it is always a disservice to try to relay the depth and emotions that he puts into his writing and the lives of his characters.

Beginning in 1902 when five year Yung Kun-ai is placed on a freighter by a starving mother after he witnesses her smothering his infant sister, this sad young boy learn quickly that the world does not treat everyone fairly especially if you are an orphan and have mixed blood. Being the product of a Chinese mother and a white missionary father, he lives in two worlds and realizes that neither world wants him.

Arriving in Seattle, he becomes a ward of the state and with a wealthy benefactress, he is sent to a boarding school, but once again is treated like a second class citizen. Gathering courage, he informs his sponsor that he no longer wants what is offered and being the horrible person that she is, she has the brilliant idea of auctioning him at the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific World’s Fair.

Madam Flora and the Gibson Girls of the Tenderloin bordello take him in and create a home for him. To the outside world this is a disaster, but to Ernest, his prayers have been answered especially when he is reunited with Fahn, a young Japanese girl that was on the freighter with him and had, in his youthful way, told her on their first week at sea, that he was going to marry her.

Of course there are conflicts especially when Maisie, the daughter of Madam Flora, has staked her claim on Ernest, but the three come to terms with their arrangement. Life in a brothel is both exhilarating and terrifying. There are prices to be paid and lasting realties must be faced.

Now in 1962, Ernest is trying desperately to keep control over Gracie’s memories. She has slipped away from him and with moments of clarity, and an investigative journalist daughter that is asking questions about their past, Ernest is trying to keep the most scandalous parts hidden and his family together.

Every chapter has a breathless moment as their story is revealed. The reader is trying to keep a step ahead and when the realities are voiced, you are both relieved as to what has been exposed and terrified as to what will be laid bare next.

Linda Z, Reviewer
Last updated on 18 Jul 2017
I Recommend This Book

Strongly
MY REVIEW OF “LOVE AND OTHER CONSOLATION PRIZES’ by Jamie Ford
“Love and Other Consolation Prizes” by Jamie Ford is an informative Historical Fiction novel, that I highly enjoyed. The time line is in the past around 1909 and more in the present around fifty years later.
Can you believe that it is possible for a person to be raffled off as a prize? During the World’s Fair in Seattle in 1909, that is exactly what happened to Ernest, a half Chinese Orphan. In China and other countries where there was poverty, it was not unusual for parents to either sell or giveaway their children in hopes for a better life. Many of these children did not survive the trip. Others were “raffled” off as slave labor of one sort or another. Surviving was very difficult.
I appreciate the historical research that Jamie Ford has done in preparation for this novel. I also am impressed with the important issues that Jamie Ford discusses.
The author describes the Immigrant children and adults, as victims, innocent and easily manipulated. Other characters are discussed as complicated and complex There is the evidence of good and evil.
During the time of the 1909 World Fair, there were brothels, the fight for women’s rights, religious factions that wanted to clean up the city. Almost everything is for sale.
In the present part of the story, one can see how the secrets and history of the past effect relationships.
I like that the author brings up cultural expectations and differences, friendship, family, love and hope. I would recommend this highly for those who enjoy Historical Fiction. I received this ARC for my honest review.
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Love and Other Consolation Prizes is another very special offering by Jamie Ford. Using actual historical items to spin a heart tugging tale, Mr. Ford tells the story of Ernest Young, or young Ernest as he is often called. Sold as a small child and smuggled into the US, Ernest finds himself as a sponsored student at a private school until his sponsor actually raffles him off at the AYP Expo in Seattle in 1908. But luck favors young Ernest and he is won by the madam of an upscale gentleman's club where he is reunited with Fhan, a young girl who was brought on the same ship with him.

The story weaves the unlikely friendship between Ernest, Fhan, and Maisie, daughter of the madam from the day Ernest was won through to the demise of the brothel and beyond.

Jump ahead to 1962 and the Seattle Worlds Fair. Ernest's journalist daughter Juju wants to interview him about the earlier fair and comparing the two. A simple thing until she discovers the story of the raffled boy was not only true, but it was her father. The fair has served to trigger memories for her mother who has been in her own world for the past few years and she is the one who tells of the raffle and spills other secrets from the past as she finds her way back to being more of herself.

A beautiful story of finding family in unlikely settings, Love and other Consolation Prizes will bring a tear to your eye and hope to your heart. The take away lesson is best seen in Ernest and the way he cares for others in his life. A great story, I do recommend this book!

This was a very interesting book, inspired by a true event at the Seattle World Fair . This story, goes between Yung's childhood in 1902, when Yung a five year old half breed, Part Chinese part white European, which would make him an outcast in both worlds, lived in dire poverty with his mother who could not make ends meet, and she tells him “Only two kinds of people in China, The rich and the too poor.” Then tells him to wait for his “Uncle” who is going to take him to America.
He leaves on a ship for Seattle, Washington, and after seven years there, and given the name Ernest Young, where he has gone through reformatories and boarding schools, always looking for a sense of family, but never finding it. Then in 1909 at the Seattle world fair, he is led to believe he is finally going to be adopted into a good family, but is instead given to the winning number of a raffle ticket. The winning ticket owner is a Madame Flora, who runs a high-class brothel, called the Tenderloin, and actually here he does find a family. He becomes good friends with Madame Flora's daughter Maisie and a maid Fahn who he actually had met on the boat to Seattle.
The other part of the story, which goes back and forth throughout the book takes place in 1962, with Ernest now and older man, Gracie and Margaret and Ernest's two grown daughters, Hanny and Juju, who want to find out more about their father and mothers past.
This story has a great story line and a lot of fun characters.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC copy of this book.

Jamie Ford delivers another absorbing story set in the early 1900s. We follow a young half-Chinese and half-Caucasian boy from China as his family suffers during the famine and fire. He is taken on an American ship to the Pacific Northwest where he is given a new name (Ernest) and taken in by a wealthy American woman and established at a private school. He finds that while he enjoys school, the scholarship students, particularly Chinese, Native American, African American, etc. are isolated and treated as second class citizens. When he asks to transfer to a public school, his benefactor takes him to the World's Fair in Seattle and he is raffled off.
The winner, Madame Flora, runs the classiest brothel in Seattle - the young women are given classes in dance, art, music, etc. and chances to develop themselves beyond their occupation. Ernest somehow finds a home for himself here - he makes friends and becomes a well liked and useful member of the team. His former benefactor comes to picket the Tenderloin and rebuke him, offer Ernest a chance to leave. Each time, Ernest refuses.
Ernest grows up at Madame Flora's establishment and Flora's daughter Maisie and the Japanese girl Fahn (who Ernest had met on the boat to the US) become Ernest's closest friends. The three are inseparable - friends, fellow students, confidants, fellow explorers. But as Madame Flora needs money for treatment, things change dramatically and each of them must find their way.
Jamie Ford tells Ernest's story with flashbacks and glimpses of his new life with his wife suffering from memory loss. It is only towards the end that we discover who Ernest married. Love and Other Consolation Prizes is an engrossing, heartwarming read.

Love and Other Consolation Prizes is a love story involving three friends who live and work together as teenagers (the story begins in 1902 when Yung - who is later renamed Ernest Young - is 5 years old) at Madam Flora's Tenderloin.

The story jumps between 1909-1910 and the "present" time of 1962. Ernest is hoping the new world's fair in 1962 will help his ill wife, Gracie, to remember the special memories the three friends shared at the 1909 world's fair.

While I liked the characters and the story was fine, I found myself getting bored, especially past the halfway mark. The story or the action, or maybe the growth of the characters seemed to drag. The characters, although interesting, lacked something. I'm not sure how to define it, but for some reason my attention and interest waned and I did not feel fully involved in the story.

I loved this book! A heartbreakingly beautiful story of love, loyalty, and survival told against the backdrop of two World’s Fairs in Seattle: the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific exposition of 1909 and the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair. Ernest, Fahn, and Maisie are three children who find their way to the Tenderloin - a high class brothel in Seattle’s red light district - in the early 1900s. Each has their own haunting back story but they are united by a strong drive to survive and a deep caring for each other. This is a coming of age story, told in alternating segments with Ernest’s story in 1962. The mood painted is wistful, a little sad, and replete with innocence slowly seeping away and being replaced by kindness, defiance, and determination.

Fans of historical fiction will enjoy the attention to detail Ford gives to the mood and surroundings of the two time periods. Events such as Halley’s Comet, the Panama Canal, the rights of women to vote, and the details of Seattle mayoral races and their impact on the moral structure of the city are sprinkled throughout the tale. Fans of literary fiction will enjoy the delicious writing which infuses mood and sentiment throughout a plot that describes historically accurate events and the impact on a diverse set of characters. Each character - from the primaries to the secondaries - are interesting, well drawn, and bring a unique perspective to the story. All and all a great read.

This touching story of Ernest Young’s life begins as he stands at the gates of the 1962 world’s fair in Seattle. It is told through flashbacks over the course of Ernest’s life, returning periodically to 1962 where he struggles with his beloved wife’s memory loss.

After traveling from China alone as a young boy, Ernest bounces from home to home until President’s Day, 1909. He is excited to attend the world’s fair in Seattle until he discovers that HE is the big raffle prize.

The winning ticketholder is the owner of a house in the “red-light district” of Seattle. Ernest settles into his new home and his role as servant, errand-boy, and, eventually, chauffeur. The story follows his growing friendship and love for two girls near his age at the home, Maisie and Fahn.

Maisie and Fahn contrast beautifully and highlight many characteristics of the other. As friends, the three fit together as perfectly as a puzzle. Ernest sometimes struggles with his confusion of being in love with both girls, but primarily he wants to protect and remain friends with both.

The setting of Ernest’s life in the brothel makes this story hard to beat. The book has many moments of laughter, along with deep sadness and pain. It will stick with you long after you finish the last page.

I received an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.

This is the story of Ernest, a half-Chinese orphan who made his way to the United States as a young boy under heartbreaking circumstances. He eventually "settles" into a boarding school and finds himself with the opportunity to attend the World's Fair. Little does Ernest know that he's actually being raffled off at the fair to the holder of the winning ticket. No one claims him as the prize at first, which adds insult to injury. When the winner finally comes forward, Ernest finds himself in the care of the madam of a popular brothel in Seattle. The inhabitants of the brothel end up becoming the closest thing to a family Ernest has ever had.

Ernest's story goes back and forth between the past and current day, which is over 50 years later. The secrets of his past are finally making their way out to the open.

Check this one out - it's a great read with many different emotions throughout. I'm looking forward to reading Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet!

What a powerful, up close and personal, emotional ride featuring Ernest Young/aka Yung Kun-ai, and we walk in his shoes throughout the novel.
With a start in China our little fellow tells of horrible happenings, and being so hungry, he gleaned a harvest rice plot for a few scraps, and then he is gone. What is remarkable that he survived at all, and in doing so we meet his two daughters.
Talk about the down trodden, we meet them and through Ernest we walk in their shoes, and from the shores of China to Seattle. He was born to Chinese mother and an English father, and as such was an outcast, in both China and America.
The Worlds Fairs in Seattle, yes the one in early 1900, and again in late 1950’s are the back drop for a lot of this story, along with a brothel, and what the two have to do with each other, you are on one amazing journey once you turn the first page.
It took me a little bit to figure out who Grace was, and then more surprises are about to fall. A book to tear your heart, and again warm it, and you will be quickly be absorbed in the lives of the people and events that follow young Ernest.
I received this book through Net Galley and Ballantine Books, and was not required to give a positive revie

Jamie Ford’s Love and Other Consolation Prizes is historical fiction with heart and hope. I felt like a time travel going back and forth 1962 to 1909 finding it a seamless journey. The entire premise seemed farfetched to me but the 1909 raffle event actually happened. Truth is always stranger than fiction. With some of the details switched around, the author brought this story to vivid life. Ernest’s story does not begin at the Seattle’s World’s Fair or as it is also known The Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition of 1909, it certainly is one of the tipping points in his life.

While the precarious life of Ernest is at the center of this book, it is also a book of the surviving with grace, the Post-Victorian times and society with the struggles of the people. With unforgettable characters, who lives are intertwined, I was sweep away in their story.

Best book, I have read in a long time. It is a powerful book sure to become a classic, that should be brought to the big screen. Love and Other Consolation Prizes does for the Chinese-American immigrants in the early 1900’s what Little Big Man did for the Native American perspective.

An ARC of the book was given to me by the publisher through Net Galley.

I received a free advance e-copy of this book and have chosen to write an honest and unbiased review. I have no personal affiliation with the author. This is an extremely well written piece of historical fiction based on something that really happened and is presented to us as a ‘what if’ story. In fact a 1-month-old orphaned boy was really raffled away as a prize at the 1909 Alaskan Yukon Pacific Exposition in Seattle. Apparently no one claimed the prize and no one seems to know what really happened to the boy. The author follows Ernest, a mixed race Chinese orphan, from his origins in China through the 1909 Expo and tells the story of his life through the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair. I was not aware that such things happened in our country. This is a tragic and shameful piece of American history that has been possibly covered up and forgotten. Jamie Ford is a true storyteller. This is a story about race, morality, culture, and the human condition. Once I began reading I couldn’t put it down. Wow! This is an incredible story that is well worth the read. I also found this book to be extremely thought provoking. I look forward to reading more from Jamie Ford in the future.

Jamie Ford’s latest and best (Sorry, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, but you’ve been surpassed)! It centers on Ernest Yung, the illegitimate offspring of a Chinese woman and white missionary, from his childhood to middle-age. The story is told in a “then” and “now” manner, with alternating chapters that seamlessly flow together and inform one another. In the “then” parts of the story, we see young Ernest in China living in poverty, then sold and sent to Seattle supposedly to work for a wealthy family. That isn’t exactly where he ends up, but saying more would give too much away. In the “now” parts of the story, the true nature of what happened to Ernest and his wife Gracie threatens to be exposed by one of their daughters who is a reporter. In both segments, there are World’s Fairs (1906 and 1962) which are almost characters themselves, though with very different outcomes. The “then” narrative, in particular, feels very authentic, and one of the core aspects of it is a derivation of a bizarre, apparently true, event at the 1906 World’s Fair. The writing, as always, is a delight and engaging. Well worth taking time to read.

Thanks to Random House/Ballentine Books and NetGallery for an ARC of this book.

In 1909, Seattle hosted a world’s fair known as the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition, The long forgotten extravaganza was featured in a 2009 DVD celebrating the fair’s 100 year anniversary. The narrator, Tom Skerritt, while discussing human oddities featured at the fair, mentioned that a one month-old baby boy, named Ernest, was donated by the Washington Children's Home Society, to be a prize at the world fair's highly publicized raffle. The ticket was drawn, but no one claimed the baby.

Gobsmacked by a society willing to use an orphan as a contest prize, Jamie Ford draws the winning numbers and does what didn't happen in reality - he hands over Ernest, as a 12 year-old, to the prize winning ticket holder.

The story unfolds in Seattle in 1962 as Ernest Young's daughter, Juju, a reporter, discovers a family secret about her father while researching the history of the 1909 world's fair, a past her father is very reluctant to share. Ernest begins to remember events and people he had submerged years ago. As his past comes flooding back, he realizes that sharing his secret would hurt his wife, Gracie, now sidelined with memory issues. Juju is relentless and the battle with her father to spill the beans is a backdrop to an extraordinary life filled with both pain and happiness in the most unusual of circumstances.

Ernest's memories take us back and forth from 1962 to 1909; his earlier years described so vividly they feel in technicolor compared to the muted colors of his older years.

Ernest Young, known then as Yung Kun-ai', was born in China around 1900. Yung Kun-ai's father, a white missionary, was murdered and his mother, near death from starvation, offered her son a chance to live selling him to smugglers. As a bi-racial child of a white missionary and a Chinese mother, Yung Kun-ai had no future in China; no matter how unpleasant his future would be in America, he would be alive.

His journey to America was fraught with peril dodging death along the way. After a very rough start, a wealth patron, Mrs. Irvine, sponsors Ernest, sending him to an expensive boarding school where he is discriminated against by staff and students. Ernest remains silent about his treatment but tells Mrs. Irvine he is ready for a change. She obliges. She surprises him with tickets to the world's fair to celebrate his twelfth birthday; traveling to the fair she tells him three things:
. . .that he would finally be given a good home, . . he would see the President of the United States and that his legal name was now Ernest Young.

Mrs. Irvine, ignoring his pleas to stop and look at the exhibits, walks him to the area where highly popular daily raffles are held. She whispers to him, they are all here for you! They've all come to see you and find out who has the special ticket. . . As she steps away from him she says gleefully, someone is taking you home with them. Ernest then realizes - he is today's prize.

Mrs. Irvine nearly dies of apoplexy when she discovers the winning ticket is held by Florence Nettleton, recognized in Seattle's prosperous brothel trade, as Madame Flora. The winner never in doubt, as Flora rigged the raffle; she wanted a house boy.

As Miss Maisie May, Madame Flora's little sister, welcomes him to the Tenderloin, Ernest stands in the doorway stunned; all his senses were on high alert. Whatever my life holds for me now, he thinks, it is not going to be like anything I have ever experienced. That felt like hope; an emotion foreign to him in the past. He asks himself, what goes on here?

The building's entrance was magnificent, with a glittering voltaic chandelier, the foyer accented with finely polished mill work. . . Everywhere he looked there were tapestries, lace-covered walls, plush French furniture in crimson and gold . . . There was a black man in blue tuxedo playing a piano. He smelled perfume, flowers and savory spices roasting in some unseen kitchen.

Fast friends are made, first kisses shared, and a true family develops supporting everyone when the moral crusaders and powerful community leaders reveal their hypocrisies and lust. Tears are shed and tragedy strikes, but Flora's family of misfits and outcasts endure together.

It would seem odd to describe a novel where teenage girls are auctioned off for their virginity or succumb to dangers of the trade as heart-warming but Jamie Ford pulls it off. Much like his previous novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, he scratches the surface and reveals their humanity and emotional needs. His descriptions of Seattle and its culture in the early 20th century- both good and bad - seem real and draw the reader into the novel.

You will not forget Ernest, Fahn, Maisie, and others.

Recommended reading.

Review source was an advanced reading copy provided via Netgalley.com

I received a copy of "Love and Other Consolation Prizes" from NetGalley for an honest review. I wish to thank NetGalley, Ballantine Books, and Jamie Ford for the opportunity to read this book.

There is just something about Jamie Ford's that move me and speak to me in deep and meaningful ways. I do not give 5 stars on Goodreads often, but this is the second book by this author that deserved this! Unbelievable!!

The story line of the book is really simple - a boy is auctioned off at the first Seattle World's Fair. It is told from his point of view during the first Seattle World's Fair and the second Seattle World's Fair. The juxtaposition of the time periods is beautiful and amazing.

The use of language, the time period, and the story were just spectacular! Please read this book if you like historical fiction, good writing, Asian-American history, Seattle, or just want to read a book - make it THIS one!!

This is a STRONG recommend!! I read this book within 24 hours and stayed up until 2:00am to finish it - it was THAT good!!

This book warmed my heart. It's a love story that lasts for decades. The book slipps back and forth from 1909-1911 and 1962, bookended by two World's Fairs in Seattle. It opens in China at the beginning of the 20 century when we meet 5 or 6 year old Ernest Young. He has just lost his mom and baby sister, and he's loaded on a boat with a number of other children enroute to Hawaii where he is to become an endentured servant. Ernest makes a number of friends on this interminable voyage, one of them being a young Japanese girl called Faun. Faun and her friends take the small boy under their wing down in the steerage on this terrible voyage. Ernest doesn't make it to Hawaii, as he's jettisoned just off the Washington state coast with many other young boys. He manages to make it to shore, but so many other children don't. After he is rescued, he's put in a parochial residential school until he's 12 years old. Ernest is very lonely there, and he never feels that he fits in. Then at the 1909 Seattle World's Fair, he is auctioned off as part of the festivities. The rest of the book is about young Ernest as he grows up in the home that won him in the raffle at the fair. There he finally finds himself a home and a family. It doesn't matter to young Ernest that he's in a brothel. He is treated well, receives a wage, and finally gets to eat enough. And he meets Faun again, who is also working there. The story goes on with Ernest's life at the brothel, with the only family he's ever known. We skip back and forth in the story to 50 years later when we see Ernest still living in Seattle. He has two grown daughters who are very successful in their careers, and he has a wife who is suffering from the same illness as a resulf ot an ocuupational hazard that her mom suffered from 50 years before. We see Ernest's past through his 60 year-old eyes as he reminisces about his colourful life. This is a story about human resilience and enduring love. It's a coming-of-age story and a heartwarming story of young love that will break your heart, but it will also make you rejoice as we watch Ernest grow up and finally achieve his hard-won happiness. Even that comes at a price as he deals with his wife's terrible illness. Through it all we have beautiful, real and very human characters. The book is based on a true story, but Jamie Ford has done something really special with this moving and poignant story about the resilience of human nature, and the strength of enduring love. Highly recommended.

To be honest, I'd probably never have picked any of Ford's work up had a friend not mentioned how much she enjoyed it and that he was a local author. I just lean considerably more toward genre fiction so stepping outside my reading comfort zone requires a hearty rec from a trusted source. I'm so glad that my friend suggested him, he has a marvelous voice and the ability to make a setting an essential character within a story—something I especially enjoy. What made this a read I loved was how a somewhat obscure event grew from a plot seed into a rich, strange, and emotive story.

As a native Washingtonian I delight in seeing some of the darker, uglier sides of the state's history being thrust to light, layers peeled back to reveal truth (even if told in a fictional version) that has been hidden away. If you've ever visited Seattle I think you'll find this novel particularly surprising. At it's core though, it's very much a tale of loyalty, class, race, loss, and love.

Ernest Young has had many hardships in his young life. He and his mother lived in dire poverty. He saw his infant sister die and his mother starving. When his mother, having no other choice, finally sent him away on a ship, he wondered what his future held.

For a time, he was the ward of a wealthy woman, until she took him to the world’s fair one day. What a surprise it was to learn that he was being raffled off as a prize! Who held the winning ticket? He discovered that the madam of a thriving brothel won him. His life was about to change.

This wonderful story of Ernest takes place in the 1960’s. Little-by-little, Ernest flashes back to his childhood, sharing his story with the reader. Tender and authentic, this is a beautiful story about life and its often very unexpected twists and turns. It is about survival, love and life and the surprising way that things often turn out.

I received this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

LOVE AND OTHER CONSOLATION PRIZES by Jamie Ford is as beautiful narrative. The story alternates between early 1900s and 1960s and is told through the viewpoint of Ernest, a Chinese boy brought to America when he was 5 years old and who is raffled off at the Alaska Yukon Pacific Expo in Seattle. The description of the places he goes and the people he meets are very well written, as are the emotions of a young boy becoming a man and an old man remembering when he was a boy. Ford has the ability to put the reader on the crowded streets and reveals the twists in perfectly timed intervals. It was a beautiful reading experience with the perfect ending. I would recommend this novel to anyone who likes a good historical novel and to anyone that has read and enjoyed his other novel, HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET.

I received an ARC of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this novel. As I read, I was completely infatuated with the story that was occurring in the early 1900’s. I looked forward to reading about the life that encircled the Tenderloin and the individuals surrounding it. I felt an attachment and a passion towards Ernest and the girls as each one of them was vital, vital to the Tenderloin and crucial to me. Life outside the house was hostile, the controversies were splitting the town, some of them running deeper than what met the eye. As the stories began to twist together more, the story that was developing in the 1960’s tore at my heart and stole the show. Reflecting upon the past, it brought it to the forefront and tried to make it shine. With this sunshine, it also brought the truth.

I fell in love with the historical element of this story. Yung Kun-ai talked about being rounded up with other small children in a cemetery as his mother was no longer able to care for him. Placed inside a ship and held below for a month in the cargo area, he talks of cutting his way out of a burlap bag after being thrown overboard. He is a survivor but for what? Yung’s name is now changed to Ernest and he is attending boarding school, thanks to a Mrs. Irvine. She thinks she is doing him a favor but in reality, Ernest is living it and he wants more. His wanting lands him at the World’s Fair. Exciting! It’s opening day at the fair and it’s time for the raffle. An opening day tradition. As the crowd gathers, Ernest wonders what they are raffling off. Ernest begins to notice that everyone is staring at him. As the questions storm through this head, Mrs. Irvine informs Ernest that he is the raffle. He will be going home with one of the 30,000 attendees. Ernest minds wanders farther, what purpose will he serve them?

Ernest got lucky as his new home is with Madam Flora at the Tenderloin. I liked Ernest’s confidence as he sizes up his new home. He has no idea what he is walking into but he welcomes anything with a positive and firm attitude. Ms. Flora changes Ernest’s life. What she and her business provide for him is far more than he could have obtained elsewhere. It wasn’t all roses for Ernest as he reflects back over the years. It’s a sentimental and reflective time as Ernest thinks about the choices he has made throughout the years. I enjoyed everything about this novel including the relationships and my emotional journey through it. I highly recommend this novel.

4.5 stars

Inspired by a true story, Jamie Ford has written a wonderfully moving historical novel about a boy who is auctioned off during Seattle's 1909 World Fair. Ernest was born in China to a Chinese Mother and Western Missionary Father. His Mother, unable to care for him, sells him to a man who places him on a ship with other sold or unwanted children. Eventually he reaches American and is extremely lucky to be alive - not all children survived the trip. Through a course of events, Ernest is enrolled at a charity school and is very excited at the opportunity to attend the World Fair where he will get to see and experience many new and exciting things. Imagine his surprise when he learns that he is to be auctioned off as the main prize. The winning ticket goes to a madam of a high class brothel. He is to be the house boy at the brothel- running errands and basically doing any chores that are needed. In the brothel, he eventually makes friend's with the Madam's daughter Masie and is re-connected with Fahn - a Japanese girl he met on the boat to America. Life in the brothel is not bad for Ernest; in face he is treated quite well. Ernest gets a sense of family for the first time in his life. He is eating real meals, has a purpose and has made friends.

This book goes back in forth in time. We see Ernest as a young boy but we also see Ernest 50 years later as an older man with grown daughters and a wife who needs special care. Ernest is content with his life until one day, his daughter who is an investigative reporter begins asking him questions about a boy who was auctioned off at the World Fair so long ago. That her Mother, who is not always coherent, told her about the boy. Ernest's daughter puts two and two together and asks Ernest if he is the boy in question. Ernest then looks back on his life and realizes that he can't keep the family's secrets a secret any longer. But his secrets are not his own. There are also things about his wife that their daughters do not know about.

Jamie Ford has written a beautiful historical novel touching on so many subjects: poverty, first love, human trafficking, prostitution, culture, belonging, family, family secrets, loyalty and devotion. I could gush for a long time about this book. Jamie Ford has painted a very vivid (and sometimes heartbreaking) picture of one boy's/man's life. This book oozes with history and atmosphere. There are certain things a reader can depend upon, one of them is that Jamie Ford will write books that cause one to think, feel, and learn. He has a gift for writing characters that readers care about. He transports us to another time and other cultures. Not only does he dazzles us with his writing skills, he educates us on culture and history. Ernest goes on a journey in this book and I felt like I went on that journey with him.

I highly recommend this book!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When I finished reading Jamie Ford’s newest novel Love and Other Consolation Prizes, the first words that came into my mind were “heartbreaking” and “heartwarming.” I felt both emotions strongly throughout the time I was immersed in the story of Ernest Young, an elderly man in his 60s when the story begins in 1962, and his beloved wife Gracie, who is suffering from memory loss and barely remembers who her husband is. As Ernest stands outside the gates of Seattle’s newest world’s fair, the Century 21 Expo, his memories flow back to the city’s very first world’s fair, the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (AYP), back in 1909 – a day that changed his life forever. That was the day that, at 12 years old, he was “auctioned off” at the fair, given away as the grand prize in a raffle, technically for the second time. Prior to that, at 5 years old, when he was still a little boy named Yung Kun-ai living in poverty with his mother in China, he was sent away with an “uncle” who would supposedly take him to America so he could live a better life free from starvation. Little Yung does make it to America and eventually becomes a ward of the state of Washington, but not before suffering various hardships and discrimination due to his status as a ‘half-breed’ – the “bastard son of a white missionary and a Chinese girl, he was an outcast in both of their worlds.” Later, he is taken in by Madam Flora, the “winner” of the raffle at the 1909 world’s fair, who also happens to be the owner of a notorious brothel named the Tenderloin, located in the red-light district in the seediest part of town. Ernest becomes a houseboy helping out with various chores at the brothel and it is there that he meets Maisie, the secret daughter of Madam Flora, and Fahn, a young Japanese maid who works in the kitchen -- together with the other women who live and work at the Tenderloin, they become the first real “family” – albeit an unconventional one – that Ernest ever had.

By now, I believe most already know that this story was inspired by a real event – the raffle that truly did take place in real-life, at the 1909 AYP World’s Fair where an infant boy, also named Ernest, was put up as the “grand prize”. That raffle did not result in a winner and it is not known what eventually happened to the infant boy, but with the seed of that event, Ford turns it into a story that imagines what might have happened to that boy, with the difference being that the Ernest in Ford’s story is a 12-year-old boy rather than an infant. Ford also incorporates some of his own heritage into his stories, as anyone who is familiar with Ford’s background will probably know that he is also of mixed-race, with a Chinese father and an “adopted” American last name (Ford) that came about when his 100% Chinese great-grandfather decided to adopt the name William Ford when he immigrated to America back in the late 1800s. I love the personal touch that Ford incorporates into his stories and the fact that he pays tribute to his heritage, all done in a way that is seamless yet meaningful.

There was so much to love about this book, as it truly combined the best of everything I normally look for in historical fiction: a well-written, captivating story that pulled me in from the start; a good dose of historical content that was obviously thoroughly researched yet did not take away from the flow of the fictional part of the story; a non-typical love story that tugged at the heartstrings without diving into “overly saccharine” territory; endearing characters who, despite being deeply flawed, you can’t help but care about personally and eventually grow to love; wonderful writing that transported me to the time and place that the characters lived in and made the experience feel like a personal one. Ford is known for crafting tender, moving stories that incorporate aspects of hope and redemption and this was definitely the case here with Ernest’s story and the love he had for both Maisie and Fahn. The ending to their story moved me to tears yet it was not sad or depressing but rather a scene filled with hope that made me feel good inside – I love the way the story came full circle, bookended by the two world’s fairs that also played such important roles in Ernest’s story.

I also liked the fact that this wasn’t a typical love story, but rather a story with substance that also dealt with important societal issues – questions of right and wrong, moral versus immoral and who has the right to judge. Also topics such as equality, social justice, class issues, women’s rights, slavery, etc. – all heavy subjects that were dealt with in a way that didn’t make light of their existence but at the same time did not weigh down the story with gloom or despair and also did not try to “preach” or attempt to provide any answers, instead letting the reader go with the story and see where it leads.

This is my first time reading Jamie Ford and it certainly won’t be my last! While I wait patiently to get my hands on whatever Ford decides to write next, for sure I will be moving up the two previous novels he wrote (Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet and Songs of Willow Frost) from my TBR so I can get to both of them before the end of the year. If you haven’t read Love and Consolation Prizes yet, all I can say is – READ IT! Wonderful book, highly recommended!

Received advance reader’s copy from Ballantine Books via NetGalley.

What a beautiful love story. But it is also a heart wrenching tale, a tale of a young boy who is shipped off to America, all alone. But somehow he makes it and finds love and friendship.

There is always so much depth to Ford's stories as he weaves his wonderful imagination into the stories he has heard growing up. He creates such interesting page turners, full of amazing and memorable characters. His stories show us the hardships of Chinese-Americans and give us a glimpse into their lives.

Love and Other Consolation Prizes is based on a true story and it's hard to imagine one person going through all that Ernest had to go through. I loved him from the beginning and marveled at his strength as he went from day to day. This is a story that will stay with me for a long time as I think of that little boy and the journey he takes to find love and friendship.

Mr. Ford weaves a fascinating historical fiction, based upon a true story, around the Seattle World Fairs of 1909 and 1962. If you liked "The Devil and the White City," the descriptions of each of the Seattle World Fairs will delight you as it places you the reader in the midst of the festivities. The smells of the food, the sights of the exhibits will resound with you yet Mr. Ford can quickly make one gasp with horror as one of the main characters, Ernst (Ernest), finds himself part of the main show in 1909. Luckily Ernest finds himself in the best situation of his life and matures quickly to become a valuable employee of Madam Flora who held the winning ticket to the ownership of Ernest. I loved the contrasts this book revealed and the surprises of circumstances of the main characters Maisie, Ernest and Fahn; but also the other characters in the book. The last paragraph alone is worth the read. I received this ebook for free and voluntarily reviewed this book.

Jamie Ford certainly has another winner with this one! Beautifully written historical novel tells the story of Ernest, a Chinese orphan who is raffled off at the Seattle World's Fair in 1909 to the Madame of a well-know brothel as a house boy. While living and working there, Ernest meets and falls for two women - Maisie, the Madame's daughter, and Fahn, one of the servants.

The story is not only a historical fiction romance, it is a commentary on the times. Morality, religion, lifestyles, are all wrapped up with this story reflecting on the period and shading the characters. The characters are lovely and well-developed. It's a great story!

Thanks to Jamie Ford and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine through Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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When the World's Fair comes to Seattle in 1962, Ernest Young's reporter daughter JuJu wants to know more about Ernest's connection to the first World's Fair (then called the Alaskan Yukon Pacific Expo) held in Seattle in 1909. As he faces his daughter's questions, as well as dealing with his wife's health issues, Ernest reflects on his early life--when he, a half-Chinese, half-white immigrant, was a raffle prize at the fair. When the winner--the owner of a brothel--claims him, Ernest finds himself with a family of sorts for the first time and in love with two girls--Maisie, the daughter of the brothel owner, and Fahn, a Japanese servant.

This book was absolutely engrossing. In some ways it's not an easy read, seeing the heartache and hardship in Ernest's life, as well as the experiences of Fahn and Maisie. It's a sobering look at the way Americans essentially kidnapped Asian people and auctioned them to the highest bidder and at racism, hypocrisy, and more. However, it's also so much more than that, with a collection of unforgettable characters and relationships. It looks at human nature, and at survival, and at love, and it's so well-written, alternating between Ernest's early life and his life in 1962. I was a little nervous about how it was going to end--but I loved it. Ernest is one of those characters you just fall in love with, and his story is definitely worth reading.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for allowing me to read an ARC. All opinions are my own.

Love And Other Consolation Prizes is a historically rich fictional tale inspired by the true story of an infant that was raffled off at Seattle’s World Fair. In reality, the winner never claimed the infant and this child’s whereabouts is still a mystery. In this novel, the raffle is for a mixed race older child called Ernest, who is twelve years old. Jamie Ford works wonders as he spins a fabulous telling of this child’s fictionalized life.

This book starts in the early 1960s and alternates back in time to the early 1900s as Ernest’s story unfolds. So much history is shared about Seattle and the living and social conditions of the Chinese immigrants. After recently reading The Girl Who Wrote in Silk, I was introduced to the immigration from China to Seattle and how hard it could be. It was no different for Ernest as he is orphaned many times over and his strength and character are tested multiple times. He is a character that the reader will both ache for and cheer for as he makes his way in the world.

The other characters in the book are so well formed. Their descriptions and personalities allowed this book to truly be a movie in my mind. Fahn, Masie, Flora, Miss. Amber and The Professor were a few that became etched in my imagination, all flawed yet all doing the best they could. Through these characters, we see compassion, manners, honesty, love, loneliness, loss, madness, bravery, mortality and vulnerability.

Ernest’s life as an adult gives him much time to reflect, especially because his daughter is an investigative reporter who is researching the 1909 World’s Fair, aka the Alaskan-Yukon-Pacific Exposition. Additionally, Ernest’s wife Gracie, who is suffering from syphilis related (unknown to family and friends) dementia, is having sudden memories pop into her head and right out her mouth. Ernest is sharing the story his way, on his own terms, before Gracie says something that could damage his girls’ opinions or feelings for their parents.

I’m grateful that I had an early opportunity to read this wonderful tale of what it means to have a family. Thanks to Ballantine Books and Netgalley.

Love and Other Consolation Prizes by Jamie Ford

This exquisitely written epic story follows the life Yung Kun-ai, who helplessly watches his newborn baby sister mei mei, at only two days old, born half Chinese on his mother's side, without a father, as she gets buried alive. His mother dug the burial hole with her bare hands. A helpless child of only five years old, his mother places the last of their worldly possessions, a filigreed hairpin in his hands. His mother tells him "Only two kinds of people in China, the too rich and the too poor." Yung is told by his mother that an uncle is going to take him to America. This was her gift to him.

The next morning a man who was not his uncle came for Yung Kun-ai and they boarded a ship to America. As the ship is entering the port the boys are placed in burlap sacks, tied and thrown overboard. As good fortune Ynng Kun-ai uses the pin to tear apart a whole in his sack and is rescued by a man named Ernest and that becomes his name.

The novel opens in 1962 with Yung Kun-ai who has lived for over fifty years by the name Ernest in 1962. Ernest is now in his mid sixties as he stands outside the gates on opening day of the new world's fair in Seattle. Yung has been living as Ernest Young and can smell the cotton candy and can see the space needle. Ernest has no motivation to visit this fair and is married to a woman named Gracie with two adult daughters. Gracie lives with his daughter Judy because she has some form of dementia and gets easily agitated by men. Ernest has been living in a run down apartment building alone for the past three years and misses his wife profoundly.

Ernest's daughter Judy is a reporter and during a visit to her father she guesses that he could be the infant that was raffled off. Judy tells her father that her mother has had some lucid moments and had begun telling her the story. Ernest wanting to protect Gracie tells Judy that it was a boy of twelve who was raffled off at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition back in 1909. He tells Judy that he will tell her more about the story after his visit to her home to visit Gracie.

The narrative moves back in forth in time from the present day in 1962 and Ernest's betrayal by the home he was living at offering him as the prize for the winning ticket holder at the 1909 world's fair. Ernest is won by Madam Flora who owns a brothel in the tenderloin district. When Ernest arrives at the brothel he is amazed at the beauty and grandeur of his new living quarters as the houseboy. He has never been surrounded by so much finery or been so well fed, and he has never before had a room of his own to sleep in.

Madame Flora has given Ernest the winning raffle ticket as a souvenir and he is reunited with Fahn the Japanese girl who works as a scullery maid. Fahn reminds Ernest of his proposal of marriage while they were passengers aboard the ship that brought them both to America. Maisie while showing Ernest around admits that she is not Madam Flora's sister she is the secret daughter.

This is a beautiful story written with imagery and vivid descriptions of both time and place so real I felt like I could see the sights and smell the scents of every vivid detail. This multi-faceted story is about many different themes. Besides the historical setting there are themes of love, prejudice, and exactly who makes up our families. I loved the characters and will miss spending time with them as I savored reading this wonderful novel. I enjoyed this novel so much I can't wait to read this author's other work. I highly recommend this novel for all who enjoy historical fiction and sparkling prose.

Thank you to Net Galley, Jamie Ford and Ballantine Random House Publishing for my digital copy in exchange for an honest and fair review

Told in a dual-timeline style, the story begins with a five year old Yung Kun and the horrific events that led to his mother’s leaving him with a hairpin as she sent him off to emigrate to America. On the boat, we see the emergence of Ernest Young, a child in 1902, half-Chinese, in scary circumstances that his young mind can’t quite process. Instantly Ford draws readers in, giving a sense of the confusion and sorrow buried in this child, and shows us the true heart of the man to come: kindly, smart, observant and above all, his instinct to survive. Throughout the book, we follow the young boy through the arrival (and survival) at Dead Man’s Bay where his life in the Pacific Northwest begins. Shuffled off to a boarding school as a charity student, his loney and isolated life begins: a child desperate for a home and a place to belong, in a strange land and just different enough to not be accepted by either the white or Chinese community. As much as Ernest is changing, the world around him is too: technological advances unlike any of the previous years, the boon years at the turn of the century bring the world’s fair to Seattle – and the descriptions of the amazing sights the boy saw as he waited to become a prize in a raffle for a “Healthy boy to a good home for the winning ticket holder.” Here is where the young Ernest shows both that strength that was hard won in a life full of challenges, and the heart that was so open and giving. Purchased by a brothel madam to be the houseboy, he’s quick to befriend the madam’s daughter and a Japanese kitchen girl, giving him the sense of family he has so longed for.

Mixed with this tale of survival, growth and the sheer power of overcoming every obstacle, many unknown or forgotten in this modern era, we are treated to the older Ernest’s story in 1962 comes full circle with another world’s fair, and the stories he remembers that made him the man he is with his own family, friends and life. Presenting us with an interesting perspective on the impact of decisions made or forgone, the undefinable impact of family made or born to, and the survival of the human spirit the presence of Ernest is palpable and genuine.

It’s difficult to make this book sound just as special as it is: from the history that is learned to the descriptions of the atmosphere, the surprising (and sadly not) racism and discrimination, and the hope found from one woman determined to educate her ‘girls’, those destined for lives that can only be described as soul-draining, the strength of the characters sings loudly. Based on a true history of the author’s grandfather, there truly could be no better way to express his appreciation, nor to honor those who brought you to life than this. From quiet moments of reflection to the more diverse and wonder-filled descriptions of events, places and discoveries, the story keeps the reader engaged and wanting more: more for Ernest as he struggled to find a family even as he never truly lost hope or the memories of what was.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

This book is very cleverly organized to bookend one man’s story between two world fairs, Seattle in 1909 and 1962. It has something I love to find in a novel, a history of true events within a very readable story.

The history is one that you might reject as too far-fetched had not author Jamie Ford done his homework to present it accurately. Ernest is sold/given by his mother to a human trafficker to save him from slow starvation in turn-of-the-century China. The buyer expects to make a nice profit selling children acquired like this, the boys and homely girls as plantation workers in Hawaii, the lucky pretty girls to picture-bride purchasers in the United States, and the less lucky ones to brothels. Due to an outbreak of illness on board, however, Ernest’s ship is refused entry in Hawaii. They sail on for Seattle, where Ernest manages to escape the gruesome death that awaits the other boys but is left to a poor orphan’s life until a “kindly” reformer takes an interest in him and decides to offer him as her group’s prize in a raffle to be held at the world fair. Whatever the woman thought might be Ernest’s fate as a human raffle prize, it surely wasn’t that he would be won by the very brothel her social reform group rails against.

By 1962, Ernest still lives in Seattle and has raised two talented daughters, one a journalist who wants to use Ernest’s experience of the two world fairs as the basis of a feature article. How much does Ernest want his daughters to know of the life he and their mother lived? Especially now that their mother’s mind is failing and she cannot participate in the choice to tell her story?

Writer Jamie Ford does a good job with his material, although he tends to fall prey to overwrought metaphors and clichés: “Ernest, who was drifting in the barrel of his imagination, toward the lip of his own emotional Niagara Falls….” Points for trying to work in a reference to the early century’s fascination with Niagara Falls daredevils, but as a stand-alone analogy, it doesn’t work. “The…women gasped, clutching their pearls.” Sorry, nothing but points off for this hoary chestnut. Ford also tends to be a bit too repetitive, as if the reader might have missed the point to begin with…and again…and again, or maybe over-indulging in a telling instead of showing approach.

Still, although you may stumble and snort once in a while at Ford’s sometimes overwrought and redundant prose, the story is a good one, well told. In the Author’s Note (don’t miss it!), Ford talks about his muse being his need to “…turn over rocks and look at the squishy things underneath,” this one happening to be an old article referring to someone winning a baby at the world’s fair. I’ll be looking forward to hearing about the next squishy thing he finds.

I just had to read this as soon as I was approved for the ARC. I read “Songs of Willow Frost” and “Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet” and really enjoyed both of them, I was hoping this book was another winner. It is!!

One of the first really good historical fiction reads of 2017, the characters that Mr. Ford creates are so well developed, they are unique and yet relatable and believable. The novel is written between dual timelines.

The first introduction into the book starts with Ernest’s life and how his mother sold him because she couldn’t take care of him. He is boarded on a large ship destined for Seattle with many other boys and girls. Many of them ended up as servants or other unpaid help. The time is 1909 and Ernest ends up being raffled off at the Seattle World’s Fair, hard to believe but the author states this is true. The winning ticket holder is a Madame from the most well known house of ill repute and Ernest is treated very well. He gets to know the downstairs women, those that do the cleaning, cooking, etc. as well as the upstairs girls, those who are selling their sexual favors. He is very young and is very much influenced by this early life. Without giving away the plot I’ll just say that you should pay close attention to all of the characters because they may appear much later in the book.

The other viewpoint is once again in Seattle during the 1962 World’s Fair. Ernest is with “Gracie” and they have two daughters. Lately Gracie has been forgetful and somewhat remorseful and suffering bouts of melancholy. Ernest and the girls are trying to find out what they can do to help her through this. Again there is a lot going on here, one of their daughters is writing an article for a paper comparing the two World Fairs and she knows her parents met around that time. What she discovers as she researches and talks with her father is a revelation that neither of the girls saw coming.

The story unfolds at a steady pace and I enjoyed all of the details that were included about the World’s Fair which at that time was actually called “The Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition of 1909”. There was so much new at the fair, incubators for premature babies, wireless phones and electricity used for so many new devices and an entire village with people from the Philippines.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys well written historical fiction with some wonderful romance woven into it. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher and Edelweiss.

A friend of mine who also goes to a lot of events here in Atlanta said that I should really come and meet Jamie Ford. I decided to go and see Jamie Ford at the Margaret Mitchell House. The author is very kind and personable, and I highly recommend meeting him. He was on tour for his book Love and Other Consolation Prizes.
Synopsis:
The story begins with Ernest standing by his car watching the events of the 1962 World’s Fair in Seattle. His memories take him back to the 1909 World’s Fair in the very same location. His life changed that day, because he was the boy who was auctioned during the fair. The results were a permanent home for the first time since coming to this country. His daughter Juju has plans for a story for her paper, where she is employed. Juju wants to know her father’s story. It is what she does not know about the story and her origins that might change the story. Will she want to share it with the world, once Ernest shares his story?
My Thoughts:
I liked this book. It is well written. I was not a fan of the setting, which is a brothel. I felt that the author handled the setting marvelously and it did not take away from the story. The story is told from Ernest’s point of view. Readers can easily follow Ernest’s experiences of his life. Also how the people he came in contact with shaped his character and how he wanted to be remembered.
I really enjoyed Jamie Ford’s talent at storytelling!.

What an unexpected delight this book was!

At the age of five, Yung, embarks on a ship from China to the United States. His life, and now this journey, has not been an easy one. He is very fortunate to be alive. In the U.S., after years of living in orphanages and boarding schools, at age 12 he is raffled off at the World Fair in Seattle in 1909. His life is forever changed when the Madame from a brothel wins him.

Now named Ernest Young, Ernest finds himself a family. And a bond with two totally different young girls, Fahn and Maisie. Thus begins an epic story of love and heartbreak, told between two eras—1909 to present day 1962.

This book is rich in history of a time not often told. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

*I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest opinion.*

I received a free electronic copy of this novel from Netgalley, Jamie Ford, and Random House Publishing - Ballantine Books in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.

Jamie Ford is an exceptional author. He writes with such clarity you are not just a bystander - you are there, at the World's Fair in Seattle in 1909, and again in 1962. You become a part of the family as Ernest and Gracie survive by hook or by crook, grow up, raise their girls, grow old. And you see the indignities suffered and privations borne in a country with whole generations lost to famine and war.

This is a book I can easily recommend to anyone who enjoys reading at all - it is a reminder that we are among the best fed, healthiest people the world has ever known - we are the lucky ones.

Ballantine Books and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Love and Other Consolation Prizes. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Five year old Yung Kun-ai was given away by his mother and taken to America. Seven years later, as a charity student in boarding school, Yung, now known as Ernest Young, has the opportunity to go to the World's Fair in Seattle. Little does Ernest know, but his life is about to change dramatically. Raffled off as a prize, Ernest soon embarks on a journey into a world previously hidden to him.

50 years later, as Seattle prepares for its second World's Fair, Ernest must try to help his ill wife, but also keep the secrets of their past from the couple's two daughters. Will ancient history destroy Ernest or bring him closer to his family?

Based on true events, Love and Other Consolation Prizes places fictional characters into the real world settings of 1902 through 1962. From rural China to a bustling Seattle, readers are transported to a time period where immigrants from Asian countries were seen as property. I was not really a fan of the shifting timelines, because the author deployed this method to build the mystery of Ernest's wife's identity. All this did was to ruin the continuity of the story and took away from my connection to the characters. Love and Other Consolation Prizes was a good historical fiction overall and is one that I would recommend to other readers.

I received early access to this book in exchange for sending honest feedback and I couldn't be more pleased. It was a pleasure to read this story of deep and lasting love.

In the early 1900s Seattle is a town full of vice where foreign-born children, sold or given away by impoverished parents, can wind up auctioned off as servants, as entertainment at a street fair. This is Ernest Young's origin story. Half-white, half-Chinese, Ernest passes through the hands of a moralistic do-gooder before he lands as a minimally paid servant in a house of prostitution. There he becomes friends with two girls. One is a Japanese born girl, another servant, and the second is the secret daughter of the establishment's Madam. Ernest falls in love with both.

The book ties together two stories. One is Ernest's life around 1909, when, as a child, he navigates the politics of a popular brothel with powerful patrons. The second story is Ernest, circa 1962, dealing with the illness of his wife, Gracie, with some help from two grown daughters. What ties the two tales together are two world fairs, both of which figure prominently in the lives of Ernest and his two childhood friends.

The book is beautififully evocative of the early 1900s, when Seattle is still a lawless place and there's much to be learned about hypocrisy and the moral war being fought by the wealthy against the downtrodden. But, above all this is a tender love story about love that can last a lifetime and the resiliency of human beings to heal from the most horrid experiences. A very powerful read.

This is another well done historical fiction by Jamie Ford. In 1962, the World's Fair is in Seattle. Earnest, in his mid 60s, is looking back on his life. His wife is suffering from a rare form of dementia. Like Ford’s other books, this one focuses on Americans of Chinese descent and employs a back and forth narrative between two different times.

Ford draws you into his story immediately. It's always a bit of a shock what was considered acceptable in the old days. Raffling off a child at the 1909 World’s Fair with the President pulling the winning ticket? No problem. And in case you doubt it could really happen, this episode is based on a true story.

Ford definitely has a gift. He manages to combine a winning story with amazing characters. This story describes how a family can be formed anywhere and love does triumph. Ford describes how limited the choices are for those in the Tenderloin and how necessity makes it easy to trump virtue. As Earnest says “he was caught up in the blatant, unrepentant honesty of the Tenderloin- as naked and bare as the girls upstairs”.

Ford tugs at your heartstrings. Earnest is determined to keep his wife’s background hidden, even from their prying reporter daughter. This, despite the fact his wife barely knows who he is most days.

It's been awhile since I've seen the movie, but a large part of the book put me in mind of Pretty Baby. And I could see this book being turned into a movie as well.

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Two World Fair's, 50 years apart becomes the backdrop for this poignant love triangle inspired by a true story. Yung, as he is originally named, is born to a Chinese mother and a Western Missionary father. His starving mother sends him to America with her last possession, a filigreed hairpin, with the hope that he will have a better life. Once in America, his name is changed to Ernest and he is sponsored, attending a private school but always feeling like an outcast. Eventually, his benefactor raffles him off at the 1909 Seattle World's Fair in hopes of finding the 12 year old a family. Unexpectedly, Ernest finds himself the errand boy of Florence Nettleton, who runs the popular Tenderloin Brothel. What constitutes a family means different things to different people and at the brothel he meets two girls who will change the trajectory of his life. Fahn, the Japanese "girl with an odd name and a quick temper" who works as a maid and Maisie, Florence's lovely daughter. Ernest initially wants to protect and eventually comes to love both of these girls.

In 1962, Ernest is devastated by the decline of his beloved wife "Gracie" who goes in and out of lucidity due to Dementia. When JuJu, their daughter, who is a reporter for a Seattle newspaper decides to write an article comparing the Two World Fair's...she is caught up in her parents secretive past.

The author has certainly done his research as he expertly brings to life both the events and culture of Seattle in 1909 and 1962. The relationships in the book are both realistic and tender. It is impossible not to care for Ernest, who no matter what adversity he faces, never loses his humanity and caring nature. Who exactly is "Gracie" the women who has won Ernest's heart and now broken it with her debilitating diagnosis, adds a mystery element to the compelling story. Despite the novel's sobering subject matter, it is actually a rather gentle story. Love and Other Consultation Prizes is a transporting piece of historical fiction with the right dose of drama, love and hope.

I loved "Hotel On the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" so I was excited to see a new novel by Jamie Ford and couldn't wait to read it. I certainly wasn't disappointed. Ford writes in a style that draws the reader into the world of the book so the sights and smells and feelings envelop you and seem almost real.

I loved that who Ernest chose from his two loves was kept a mystery until well towards the end of the book. The writing is excellent and it's interesting that the story is told from two time periods - both with the World's Fair as a backdrop.

The raw and shocking history shown in Ernest's early years was both sad and yet inspiring that people were able to overcome such horrible beginnings.

I didn't want this book to end.

This story is about a Chinese immigrant boy named Ernest who is sent to America by his starving mother as her final gift to him. At Seattle's World Fair in 1909, he is raffled off to a lady who shows him a world that most don't witness. He learns about love and devotion in a very unconventional setting at a very young age.

The story flashes back and forth from Ernest as a young boy and teenager to Ernest and his family, where one of his daughters is unraveling the truth on how her parents met. The love story was touching and drew me in quickly. It showed that love can be found instantly and after that first kiss. Ernest's loyalty to his chosen family and friends made you fall in love with his character from the start.

Have you ever loved 2 people and wondered which should be your destiny? "Love and Other Consolation Prizes" chronicles an immigrant boy's love of 2 women, another immigrant and a local beauty. Should he stay where society would guide him, or take that risk and go for another challenge? Ernest, a mixed-race boy from China is sold by his mother to traders who bring him to Seattle in the early 1900s. He lives an orphan life until he finds himself in a high class brothel that becomes his home. Two young ladies steal his heart and he struggles to decide where to declare his loyalty. This historical fiction is set in two Seattle world's fair eras, with wonderful descriptions of each fair. I felt like I was walking through the fairs, smelling and tasting their offerings.

I have read 2 other Jamie Ford novels about Asian-Americans in the Seattle area and enjoyed this as much as my favorite, "Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet". The variety of characters hooked my interest, their experiences kept me reading. I felt the joys and sorrows as they were shared.

I recommend this book to adults of all ages. For those who can remember the 1962 Seattle Fair, you will enjoy the comparison with the epic fair of 1909.

This was an absorbing story of a boy who was abandoned by his mother in China, put on a boat to Seattle, and eventually raffled off to the highest bidder at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in 1909. I really enjoyed the story of his experience as an indentured servant and his deep love for two young women. The story bounces back and forth between Ernest's life as a child in the early 1900s and his later life as an older man during the World's Fair in the 1960s. The two stories were skillfully intertwined. One of the mysteries in the book is which woman he ends up marrying. I hope no reviewer gives that away because the mystery added a level of intrigue that made the book more compelling.

I enjoyed learning a little about Seattle history and about a very different kind of life. I found the story interesting enough to keep me involved. My only criticism is that Ernest seemed like such a perfect person that it was hard for me to suspend disbelief. He seemed kind of two-dimensional. That said, I still recommend this book because it is dramatic, informative, entertaining, and ultimately kind of uplifting despite some terrible circumstances and evil people.

I particularly enjoyed the author's note at the end, and I kind of wish I had read that first, since it puts the story in context and provides an interesting perspective.

Jamie Ford knocked it out of the park once again! I absolutely loved "Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet", and really enjoyed "Songs of Willow Frost". I knew I was in for a treat with "Love and Other Consolation Prizes". But it surpassed my highest expectations.
His use of multi-generational stories adds a depth to his characters that draws you in.
Are there any words of praise that have not been used a hundredfold already to describe Jamie Ford's books?
Sorrowful and sentimental, you find yourself immersed in Seattle in 1909 alongside Ernest as his story unfolds as a 12 year and then also 50 years later. The length the author goes to researching, his novels is impressive.truly appreciate learning a bit of history while being entertained. Highly, highly recommend!

The heart, you can’t even rent, says Ernest. The Seattle World’s Fair in 1909 and 1962 are the anchoring points for Ernest, Masie’s, and Fahn’s story. he three of them were workers in 1909 at the Tenderloin, a high-class men’s entertainment establishment run by Madame Flora. This is the story of three survivors and their lives, the circumstances and the choices they made. Ernest lost his mother and sister in China at a very young age. Fahn came from Japan. Masie was born in Settle. The story weaves in the Women’s Suffrage Movement, politics, “social evils” and the oddities of the World Fair. It’s about the everyday life and its impacts. It’s also a love story and growing up story. It’s filled with excellent supporting characters that have their own interesting backstories. Mrs. Irvine is Ernest’s patron saint who was polite and stern and always reminded him of her charitable heart. Professor Troubadour, a black piano player, is the only other man at the Tenderloin. There’s many more characters, like Ernest’s children. They are in the 1962 time line, uncovering his and their mom’s hidden past. The end came too fast and seemed more abrupt then I would have liked it. The authors note was intriguing and funny at the end.

Having just visited and been immersed in the history of the Seattle area it made the local references come alive.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is one of my all time favorites, so I was very excited to get an Advanced Reader Copy via NetGalley of Jamie Ford's latest novel.

Love and Other Consolation Prizes follows the story of a young man and his two closest girl friends, as they grow up in the Tenderloin district of Seattle. Half of the story is anchored in the early 1900's at the time of the Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition World's Fair. The other half is set in the early '60s at the time of the Seattle World's Fair. Although there are some passages that are hard to read, they all read as very realistic and believable. The characters in the 'home' where the three grow-up are colorful and memorable.

This is another great read by Jamie Ford.

On one level, Jamie Ford's novels can be characterized as sweet, sad, tender love stories, where the main character is Chinese or half Chinese . If you've read anything at all about Ford, you know that his grandfather was Chinese. I love that he honors his heritage with his stories. But his stories are more than sweet love stories and tributes to his background; they are stories of substance. They reflect the history and society of the times of which he writes. Prejudice, the importance of identity, fitting in, what family means, no matter how unconventional it may be at times. I wanted to read his latest book because I was so taken with his storytelling in his first two novels. I also remember reading or hearing an interview with Ford who talked about the seed for this story - the image of an orphan up for raffle at the 1909 world's fair in Seattle , the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition . If you check it out, you'll find that an infant named Ernest was indeed on raffle and Ford has imagined what the life of this child would be like after he, the prize is redeemed. Ernest in the novel is not an infant, but a young boy.

The novel begins in 1962 as Ernest is dealing with his wife's memory loss. The story moves seamlessly back and forth from the present to his past telling the story of how he and Gracie met. Ford has a way of taking you directly to where his characters are both in the time and place as well as easily connecting the reader with where there are emotionally. I felt as if I stepped inside the bowels of that ship with Yung in 1902 before he became Ernest, tasted the candy apple at the fair, and walked with him inside the parlor of The Temderloin brothel, feeling his grief as his mother gives him away not out of selfishness but out of love, and understanding his dilemma over the two girls he loves.

After arriving in the US , Ernest goes from being an orphan, sponsored in a private school to a house boy at a brothel, taken in by the Madame who won him in the raffle. You might not think a brothel is the best place for a young boy to be raised in, but for Ernest it's the best thing that could have happened to him after his harrowing young life when he was Yung and starving in China, before he became Ernest. It's here that he gets the safety and comfort that he hadn't known and here where he meets people who will change your definition of family and where his life changes . A benevolent Madam, the "Gibson Girls" of the house , a scullery maid who was the Japanese girl that Ernest met on the ship , Maisie , the secret daughter of Madame Flora and a cast of likable characters are part of Ernest's early story. Definitely recommended for fans of Jamie Ford's previous novels and to anyone who wants a glimpse of past times depicted by some wonderful characters I came to care about.

I received an advanced copy of this book from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine through NetGalley.

In 1909, Seattle was the time and place for the Alaskan-Yukon-Pacific Exposition. It brought more welcomed exposure of the area, a relatively unpopulated area still, following the 1905 Alaskan gold rush, and the 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition in Portland. For Seattle, 1909 was a chance to have the attention of the world on their city.

“Love and Other Consolation Prizes was inspired by the true story of an infant boy who was raffled off at the 1909 Seattle World’s Fair, as a prize, by the “Washington Children’s Home Society.” Surrounded by miracles of modern science such as a wireless telephone; a machine for butchering salmon; incubators holding premature babies – a human child, Ernest, was auctioned off.

In Jamie Ford’s story, the boy that is raffled off is a half-Chinese, half-American twelve year-old boy, Ernest is the name given to him on his arrival, but in China he was Yung Kun-ai. He’s been living at the Home for a while, a charity student, and believes that this chance to attend the World’s Fair is a dream come true, until he realizes that he is the child to be given to the one with the winning raffle ticket.

Before he has a chance to process this betrayal, he is working at a brothel, one with a madam who believes in educating her girls. He is to be their houseboy. Maisie, the daughter of Madam Flora, befriends him, as does Fahn, a scullery maid. Both vie for his affection, but his heart belongs to both – he can’t choose, will not choose. Or, as someone in my family used to say, he “willn’t” choose.

In 1962 Seattle, Ernest’s daughter is trying to capture the eye of her editor with a story about the opening of Seattle’s new World’s Fair, merging the “then” of the 1909 expo and some of the life experiences of those who attended the opening of the expo, against the opening of the new fair. Knowing her father had been there, the questions begin.

Judgements, innocence, devotion, love, losing those we love, as well as the loss of memories are at the heart of this novel. I loved the historic details, from the seedy tenderloin district to the hallowed halls of the Library; this was a world I disappeared into, even if it wasn’t all glitter and glam. I loved these characters, from the uppity judgemental Mothers of Virtue to the sassy Fahn, these characters felt so real, it was easy to get swept away into this story, to care about these people, and to read their stories about the cost of real love, and the cost of love bought and sold on the streets.

Those roads not taken, not chosen. One small moment in time that completely change the trajectory of one small life, but what a life!

Many thanks for the ARC provided by Ballantine Books / Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine

A beautiful story of love in an unlikely place, Love and Other Consolation Prizes by Jamie Ford had me entranced from the beginning.

The story takes place in two eras in a man's life and both are in years of the Seattle World's Fair: 1909 and 1962. In 1909, Ernest Young is a young boy who has had a hard life in his short twelve years. Being the child of a Chinese mother and Caucasian missionary father, Ernest is sold and shipped to America with other Chinese children. Once in America he becomes a charity student at a boarding school and realizes his dream of belonging and having a family is quickly slipping away.

When Ernest gets a chance to go to the 1909 World's Fair he is beside himself. This is a once in a lifetime event! Every day there is a huge raffle and Ernest is astonished to find out that the day he goes is the day that a person is going to be raffled off, and that someone is him - a healthy, young boy. The owner of the winning ticket is a madam of a high-class brothel. Ernest finds himself in an unknown world, in a brothel, surrounded by some colorful characters that you can't help but fall in love with, working as a houseboy.

Interwoven with Ernest's memories are his current life. In 1962 he is married to a woman who doesn't remember him and the father of two daughters, one of which who is trying to find out the truth about Ernest's past. The story see-saws back and forth between past and present and it is a wonderful balance. Your heart goes out to all of the characters and the story itself and the writing of certain scenes in the story were very tastefully done.

This was a wonderful read and one that I am glad I took a chance on. Love and friendship, despite your circumstances, can conquer all.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

What an unusual premise for a story: an orphan boy is raffled off as the prize in a lottery at a world's fair! Good grief! And believe it or not, that actually happened at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in Seattle, WA in 1909.

In real life, the child was a one-month-old baby boy named Ernest. The winning ticket was drawn but no one ever claimed the prize and it is not known what happened to the infant.

Jamie Ford uses this amazing true occurrence as the idea for his new book. His protagonist is Yung Kun-ai, a 5-year-old boy, part Chinese boy/part Caucasian, who is given away by his starving mother to a man who promises to bring him to America in the hopes of finding a better life. He is just one of several abandoned or orphaned children aboard ship. After arriving at a holding center in Seattle, he is made a ward of the state and goes on to live in a series of boarding schools and reformatories.

Now the boy is about to turn twelve and is known as Ernest Young. His sponsor, Mrs Ida Irvine, a wealthy do-gooder social reformer, is disappointed to learn that he wishes to leave his current school, the Holy Word Academy, and she is the one who comes up with the brilliant idea to make him the prize in a raffle at the upcoming world's fair, to aid a civic organization to which she belongs.

And so the big day arrives and Ernest doesn't know what to expect. When the winning number is drawn, it seems at first that no one will claim their prize, but then a beautiful woman comes forward. She is the infamous Madame Florence who runs the Tenderloin, a high-end Seattle brothel, and she is pleased to meet her new houseboy. Mrs Irvine, of course, is appalled--the rules say that he is to go 'to a good home' after all--but Florence Nettleton wins the argument and takes her 'raffle prize' home with her. There Ernest will meet the two young girls who will be the loves of his life: Maisie and Fahn.

But the story is bookended by another World's Fair in Seattle, The Century 21 Exposition that takes place in 1962. Ernest has made a life for himself with one of those two girls who stole his heart as a young boy and they have two grown daughters. But the woman he calls Gracie is now losing her memory, a consequence of the life they led as children in the Tenderloin. And now the past must be revealed to their daughters as Ernest tries to help Gracie remember their life together.

Jamie Ford has such an engaging writing style! It's so delightful to return to Seattle to see it in another era and experience a little known lifestyle. If you've enjoyed Jamie Ford's other books, I'm sure you'll enjoy this one just as much.

Based on a real life event and weaving back and forth in time, Love and Other Consolation Prizes by Jamie Ford is a bittersweet novel about a mixed race Chinese orphan who is raffled off during the 1909 World’s Fair.

The 1962 World’s Fair in Seattle proves to be quite illuminating to Ernest Young’s family. Much of Ernest and his wife’s Gracie’s history is unknown to their daughters, investigative reporter Judy and Las Vegas showgirl Hannah. At the age of five, young Ernest’s mother arranges for her son to travel to America where she hopes he will find a better future. Upon his arrival in Washington, he becomes a ward of the state and later comes to the attention of a wealthy benefactress who pays for him to attend a private boarding school. Unlike the wealthy children in attendance, Ernest and the other orphans experience racism and discrimination and when his answer to a question displeases his benefactress, she arranges to offer him as a prize for a raffle at the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific World Exposition. The holder of the winning ticket is Madame Flora, the proprietress of a notorious yet popular high class brothel. Life at The Tenderloin is a surprisingly positive experience for young Ernest and he quickly befriends Flora’s daughter Maisie and scullery maid, Fahn. Ernest’s feelings for both girls run deeper than friendship but there is not much room for love in a brothel. When Madame Flora’s health begins to deteriorate, what will the future hold for Ernest, Fahn, Maisie and the rest of the staff at the brothel?

In 1962, Ernest is facing the harsh reality of Grace’s dementia and he is willing to make any sacrifice to protect her. With memories of the past already stirred up as Seattle prepares for the upcoming Century 21 Exposition, he is concerned when Judy begins an investigation into the orphan raffle in 1909 for an upcoming newspaper article. Fearing the effect the truth about his and Gracie’s history will have on their friends and daughters, Ernest tries to keep the secrets he and his wife have closely guarded for half a century. When Gracie becomes more cognizant of events occurring in the present, will she inadvertently reveal their hidden pasts?

In Love and Other Consolation Prizes, Jamie Ford presents a very poignant and realistic depiction of the hardships and prejudice that immigrants endured after arriving in the United States. Rich with historic elements, this incredible novel has a fascinating storyline that is heartbreaking yet ultimately uplifting. A moving novel which keeps readers waiting with breathless anticipation to learn the identity of the young woman who finally wins Ernest’s heart.

I received a complimentary copy for review.

Love and Other Consolation Prizes is a well-written and heartbreaking novel. It is also based on a true story. The author brings the reader deep into the heart and mind of Ernest Young, as a young boy in China, and then, again, as a young man, in America, and lastly, as a wise senior, humbled by life, but content in his soul.

Ernest was only five-years-old when his mother left him standing alone in a cold cemetery. He was told to wait for a man who would be coming for him. He was being sent to America. Ernest missed his mother and yearned for her touch, even after watching her do an unthinkable act. The months that he spent in the cold bowels of a ship, starving and frightened, were some of the most painful memories for Ernest.

A raffle that took place at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, in Seattle, when Ernest was twelve-years-old, shocked him, because, Ernest discovered, much to his dismay, and embarrassment, that he was the raffled-off prize. The winner was a Madam of a high-class brothel, the Tenderloin. It was, there, at the Tenderloin, where Ernest, would learn about love, be accepted as a young man and be changed forever. Maise and Fahn would become his closest companions and shape his future.

When Ernest was in his sixties, one of his daughters, a journalist by profession asked to write his story. He was reluctant, though, because his daughters knew very little about his childhood. They also didn’t know about their mother’s sordid past, but those secrets were not his to tell. His daughter, however, was persistent, so Ernest began to relive for her, the poignant tale of his youth.

Love and Other Consolation Prizes is a fascinating and compelling read. The story is well-crafted, rich in detail, raw emotion, and realistic dialogue. The characters are fully developed and likable. Love and Other Consolation Prizes stayed with me long after I’d turned the last page.

Thank you, Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine and NetGalley, for my advanced review copy.

Fans of Jamie Ford’s previous novels will not be disappointed with his most recent work, Love and Other Consolation Prizes. Based on a true story, Ford weaves the tale of Yung, a young boy born into extreme poverty, who is also an outcast because he is half-Chinese, half-American.

In desperation, his starving mother sends him away on a ship, hoping that he will have a better life. She gives him one parting gift--a hairpin. This gift becomes his good luck charm and he carries it with him throughout his life.

After arriving in America, he is renamed Earnest Young and is bounced around from one orphanage to another until one “benefactor” has the idea of raffling him off at the first Seattle World’s Fair in 1909. Much to the benefactor’s dismay, the winning ticket holder is the madame of the classiest brothel in town.

Ernest begins his life in the brothel by running errands and other miscellaneous tasks for the women who work there. It is here he meets the two loves of his life -- Maisie, the precocious daughter of the owner, and Fahn, a girl who came over from China on the same ship with him.

The story moves back and forth in a dual timeline as Ernest tells his daughters the story of his life and the life of their mother, Gracie, who is ill with a form of dementia. Even though much of the story takes place in a brothel, readers are not privy to the closed door activities of the working girls.

Set amidst the backdrop of amusement parks and social upheaval, Ford successfully gives readers a sweet story of love and hope in spite of difficult circumstances. I enjoyed the characters, loved the ending and found this a pleasure to read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for allowing me to read an advance copy and give my honest review.

This story is excellent for YA and anyone who wants a sad but warm story. It begins with a story within the story and continues to use stories as the vehicle to move the main character through his life. I enjoyed reading the character's inside voice as well as the dialogue with others especially his granddaughter. Many themes within that are just as relevant today: "mixed-blood", illegitimate, uneducated, and sold as a slave.
Read it for the excellent story and give it to someone who needs to how one person managed to overcome great adversity.

[I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]

Rating: 4/5 stars
Genre: Diversity/Historical Fiction/General
Features: Chinese heritage, romance, older couples

This book pleasantly surprised me. I wasn't sure what to expect, but the perfect mix of historical events, cultural diversity, sorrow and joy, solid writing, and a touching love story made this book a winner. The characters were well-developed; I really connected with them and rooted for them. I wanted to know that they had happy endings, that the dark times created something beautiful. The plot was well-paced too, and I found myself easily devouring the pages. I loved that the story affirmed that all things happen for a reason, that people and loving others are what matters most, and that good things can come out of bad situations and rock-bottom circumstances.

There were some great quotes too:

"We all have things we don't talk about . . . Even though more often than not, those are the things that make us who we are."

"There are people in our lives whom we love, and lose, and forever long for. They orbit our lives like Halley's Comet, crossing into our universe only once, or if we're lucky, twice in a lifetime. And when they do, they affect our gravity."

"My theory . . . is that the best, worse, happiest, saddest, scariest, and most memorable moments are all connected. Those are the important times, good and bad. The rest is just filler."

The book didn't earn a 5-star in my opinion because some of the situations seemed a little extreme or not realistic, as if the author forced the plot unnaturally to evoke an emotional response. I also felt like the ending was wrapped up a little too neatly and wasn't too realistic.

Overall, this novel wasn't easy to read (some of the content is mature and tragic), but I was glad I read it and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a touching story with a multicultural and historical slant.

Things I liked:

1. It was unclear for at least two-thirds of the book who Ernest would end up with. We knew that he loved both Fahn and Maisie/Mayflower, but their lives were so entangled that we couldn't tell who he ended up marrying. Ford really makes you wonder, and that was clever writing.
2. Starting in the present, then telling the backstory from way back when, that always works for me. I thought the 1909-1911 story was more involving, but I'm a history buff. I loved loved loved the descriptions of the fair.
3. Consolation Prizes will make you feel like you're at that brothel seeing those banner-waving marchers coming down the street, at first watching gleefully and in later months peeking through the windows.
4. Issues of the day like mixed race children, prohibition marches, and drowned orphans are addressed in a practical voice that sounds natural to the times.

Things I didn't like as much:

1. Like books where a lot of things HAPPEN? You may be disappointed. This is contemplative, the story unfolding at its own pace. At times it feels a little slow, and it's mostly about relationships (a century ago, but still).
2. Maisie's story felt a little unfinished, and without giving away the plot I can't say more than that.

All in all, I liked it a lot and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it. Waffled between 4 and 5 stars but the writing was polished and that always tips me over.

*ARC via netgalley*

Earnest, (not his given name) is Eurasian and looked down on in China where he lives with his very poor single mother. When he is 5, she takes him to a cemetery and tells him to wait for his Uncle who will take him on a ship to America. He winds up in Seattle, WA and in an orphanage where after a few years, he is raffled off at the state fair. But the ticket holder is the Madame of a brothel.

Thus starts the life and loves of Earnest. Ford does an excellent job of researching the history behind this story and keeps you turning the pages. I was very immersed in this story and can't wait for his next book.

This sweeping historical novel revolves around two World’s Fairs that take place in Seattle, fifty years apart. The narrator goes back and forth in time from his life during the 1909 and the 1959 World’s Fair. We first meet our male protagonist in China at the age of five in the year 1902. He watches his mother burying his infant sister alive (horrible to read). The baby is already near death from starvation. His destitute mother, who is near death herself, has him shipped off to America to save his life. Aboard the ship he and other Chinese children, and some Japanese children, are kept captive in the cargo and treated like animals. However, they manage to remain children even in such horrendous conditions. They played, teased, had a bully and formed bonds with each other. This reminded me of stories about German Jewish children in concentration camps who managed to play together before they were worked to death. On the ship, he meets a beautiful Japanese girl a few years older than himself. During the journey, he survives a body of water known as Dead Man’s Bay. Here the ill children that cannot be sold are put into a sack and thrown overboard (I need to google this to learn if it is true, but I am afraid of what I will find).

In America, he ends up as a charity student in a boarding school in Seattle. Though it’s a lucky break, the boy is very lonely and makes no friends and has no family. (Think young Ebenezer Scrooge being left alone in his boarding school when all the other kids went home for Christmas). But our boy does not grow up to be a bitter man as Scrooge did for the strangest of reasons. As a healthy preteen, he is raffled off in the 1909 Seattle World’s Fair. (Hard to believe that was legal but it was). He is won by a famous Madam in Seattle’s Red Light District. This is not an ordinary brothel. It’s is a high-class establishment, where the grand dame owner is famous for educating and caring for her girls. Instead of living in another horrible place where people treat him terribly, here for the first time, he has a family. He has a job he enjoys, first as a houseboy and later as the house’s chauffeur. His occupation as a man will remain a chauffeur. He is lucky to learn a trade because one day the house will eventually close. This happens when the famous Madam will succumb to an occupational hazard. The sexual disease is never mentioned in the book. Saying without saying that this house would never use such vulgar language, but the writing makes it apparent. In the interim, he discovers the Japanese girl he befriended on the boat to America also works in this establishment. And to his delight, he meets the Madam’s pretty daughter who is his age. The three of them become great pals and our young house boy falls in love with both. Even though the three live in a brothel the author beautifully captures the sweetness of a first kiss.

I should have gobbled up this novel. It has all the elements of good historical fiction. It is interesting as well as educating. The reader will meet crooked police, suffragettes, and learn about the politics of the times. Reading about the brothel was a hoot, but with enough sadness to keep it real. I giggled when the adult chauffeur’s grown daughters were shocked to learn that their ordinary parents have some unordinary and rather scandalous secrets. My issue is that from the time the boy is still a boy until he becomes a young man, he could not choose between the Japanese girl or the Madam’s daughter. The premise of the plot, which is supposed to be inspired by a true story, is a good read. But the love-story triangle (which remained innocent) went on and on, dragging out the pages. I didn’t appreciate trying to guess which girl he would end up with, because the guessing became tiresome. I wanted to jump into the book, grab the young man, and sing to him the Loving Spoonful’s lyrics “You better go home, son, and make up your mind.” However, even with my issues, I have to recommend the novel. It is rich in history and I personally got a kick out of learning that political morals haven’t changed one bit.

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Some authors are great storytellers. Some can skillfully transport you to a time and place in history. Jamie Ford does both in Love and Other Consolation Prizes. His research is impeccable. The backdrop of his tale is the 1909 World's Fair in Seattle, Washington. He describes many specific attractions at the fair - hot air balloon rides, babies in incubators, and the controversial queen of the fair who was (gasp!) of Inuit descent. He draws a picture of 1909 Seattle making it seem you can walk down every street, see every building. He even uses language of the time like "bumbershoot" and "octoroon." Characters in the story were often reading the newspaper or discussing the latest news. I kept my phone handy so I could find the meaning of these old-time words or verify that a news story mentioned was authentic. I learned so much! (Who knew 11 year old boys were allowed to drive automobiles in the early 1900's?!)

The story involves Asian immigrants and is one of belonging, friendship, and love. The writing is beautiful and the journey into the past is fascinating.

Half-Chinese orphan boy (Yung/Ernest) raffled off at Seattle's 1909 World Fair.

“Healthy boy to a good home for the winning ticket holder.”

The author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, which I loved, has done it again! Loosely based on the true story of a baby being raffled off at Seattle's World Fair, this story, set in the early 1900s, explores a young boy's quest for family after leaving China and traveling to Washington state. Why was he auctioned off at the fair? And, how will he respond once he realizes the woman (Flora) who "won" him is a madam of a brothel? But, it's not all bad... While living there, he falls in love with two teenage girls, Fahn and Maisie, and must choose between them.

The story alternates between Ernest's childhood in the early 1900s and 60 years later as Ernest's journalist daughter (Judy/Juju) delves into his past, discovering secrets about both her parents and the United States' history.

Excerpt from Wikipedia: "A month-old orphaned boy named Ernest was raffled away as a prize. Although a winning ticket was drawn, nobody claimed the prize. The ultimate destiny of the child was still being investigated in 2009."

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Location: Seattle, Washington

When we first meet Ernest Young, it is 1962 and he has been married to Gracie for 42 years. Love and Other Consolation Prizes is the story of their life together that started when they were young kids.

I am always amazed when an author can take such a sad story and turn it into something beautiful. This is a perfect example. A tale that starts with unthinkable horror changes into one of redemption, love and those people we come to call family.

This is the first book I've read by Mr. Ford. It was the last book I read in 2017 and it ties for top spot of my favorite book of the year.

ARC from Ballantine Publishers via Netgalley.

4.5 Stars! Another engrossing and heartfelt story by Jamie Ford!

It's 1902 China when we first meet Yung Kun-ai aka Ernest Young who at age five has just witnessed an (OMG!) horrific act by his starving, destitute mother before leaving him with her only possession....a metal hairpin....to meet up with a stranger and be shipped off to America.

Aboard ship in the cargo hold, we learn the caring way's of young Ernest, witness his soft-hearted soul, and see his smart-as-a-whip brain in action as it saves his life and gives him a name at Dead Man's Bay......and that's just the beginning of his tumultuous life......before his lonely life in boarding school....before his shocking surprise of being raffled off at the 1909 Seattle World's Fair....and before meeting his unusual new family.

As LOVE AND OTHER CONSOLATION PRIZES shifts storylines between a young Ernest in the early 1900's and a grown Ernest in the 1960's, we get to meet all the very special....and colorful....people in his life who make this novel so memorable.

Inspired by true events, Jamie Ford once again brings to life the struggles of Chinese-American immigrants in a new world and gives the reader a chance to experience an atmospheric world's fair of the past.

I really enjoyed this book that was inspired by a true story involving an orphaned half-Chinese boy. I've always been drawn to stories involving orphans and their unique perspectives on life. One of the settings is the World's Fair in Seattle and I can't resist anything involving ferris wheels and space needles!

Ernest Young clings to his mother's hairpin, the only remnant he has to remind him of his mother who has given him away. He endures a horrific boat ride to America where he finds himself bounced from the poor house to a boarding school and eventually "the prize" in a raffle at the World's Fair. It sounds so sad and it is, but Ernest is someone who makes lemonade out of lemons (and he has plenty of lemons).

He only twelve years old, when he realizes that once again his life is in jeopardy as the winning raffle ticket number is called out at the fair. He had lost hope in being adopted long ago and felt he wasn't Chinese or White enough to be wanted by either group. He is told "the raffle winner is taking you home with them."

This is a wonderful story involving loss, morality, self-identity and survival. The dual story line follows Ernest from a young boy to an older adult.

I was very excited to have the opportunity to read Jamie Ford's newest book as I loved his first book, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. And this book didn't disappoint! This is going to be a book everyone reads and I am already looking forward to his next book - I hope he is working on one! As an FYI I only give 5 stars to about 10-15% of the books I read each year.

From the very beginning it was an intense and engaging tale. I learned history and culture from the early 20th century that I had never heard before about Seattle and early Chinese immigrants. It created a colorful depiction of the early 1900s while telling a fascinating story. It is a fast read, entertaining and even contains some intrigue. I highly recommend this book and I thank NetGalley for providing me with an early copy of this book.

Like others, my first Jamie Ford book was "Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet." He's always a solid read so it didn't take much push to select "Love and Other Consolation Prizes."

This is another historical with an Asian as a lead. It takes place in the early 20th century. Ernest Young is a 12 year old mixed race Chinese orphan who ends up as a houseboy at a brothel. He has already had a dicey life so while being a houseboy at a brothel may not be the best circumstance, it is better than he'd had and actually provides a certain stability for him. There too he meets two young girls, Maisie and Fahn, although with Fahn, it is actually the second meeting as they met each other on the ship to America.

The story is Ernest's and it jumps from early 1900s to the 1960s which has some challenging moments. The pacing too is slow, especially the last third. That said, it is a lovely and undemanding read with likable characters and compelling plot line.

This is Ford’s third historical novel, this time set in Seattle during the 1909 Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition. Ford opens on the better remembered 1962 fair, and uses it to echo and reflect the main action of 1909. The plot was inspired by a fascinating newspaper clipping from the AYP Expo, advertising the fact that an orphan boy was one of the raffle prizes at the fair. The fate of the real boy is unknown, but in his novel, Ford imagines what might have become of a young half-Chinese boy named Ernest, whose winning ticket is sold to the madam of an infamous brothel. Raised in a Catholic orphanage, Ernest comes to the red light district as the temperance movement is surging in the city, and finds himself caught between the Japanese house girl, Fahn, and Madam Flora’s stubborn daughter, Maisie. As usual with Jamie Ford, I was most fascinated by the carefully incorporated local history. This seems to be his passion, and I often wonder what would happen if he tried his hand at non-fiction. (Disclaimer: I received access to an Advance Reader’s Copy of this book)

Wow. This book was not what I expected. Not sure what I expected from the blurb but it wasn't this book. This is not a bad thing at all.

The book alternates between time periods of Earnest's life. The first is him as a young boy through his teenage years and then as an older man. For the longest time, I was not sure who Grace was. Was Grace Fahn or Maisie? I thought this was a great idea on Ford's part to keep the reader in suspense. I was sure that I knew then I would change my mind.

This was the first of Ford's books that I have read and it won't be the last.

I received this book from NetGalley for an unbiased review.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for my review. I have previously read Jamie Ford's novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, so I was eager to read his latest story. Ford's novels are not the type of stories that you plunge into and read quickly. His stories are full of details and plot twists, and the story unfolds intentionally and slowly builds to a terrific ending. This story is bookended by the World's Fair which took place in Seattle. The first time the fair takes place we meet Ernest Young, who is about to be auctioned off to the owner of a locally famous brothel. At this brothel, Ernest meets the owner's daughter Maisey, and the kitchen help, Fahn. This story tells the relationship of these three lives as they grow together and apart over the next fifty years, finally reaching the powerful climax during the second time the World's Fair came to Seattle. This is a powerful story, with many diverse themes, which makes it a perfect book club selection.

It's so hard to find a novel nowadays that is not a run of the mill kind of story. You know the one that continues on and on. The one you forget about the next day because you moved on. This book, this story is so well thought out and researched to include pieces of the past that will shock and enthrall you!!! Normally I will skip ahead to the ending of a book to satisfy my curiosity, but not here. This story grabbed me from its start and kept me going until the end. This is a story I will remember to the end of my days and I will certainly come back to read it again. Awesome work Jamie Ford!

Jamie Ford has a wonderful ability to combine historical facts with fictional drama to produce a memorable tale centered on events surrounding the 1909 World's Fair in Seattle. The protagonist, Ernest Young, is an immigrant from China who ends up being auctioned off - yes auctioned off - at the fair. Although we don't really know what happened to the actual boy, Ford is able to spin a wonderfully detailed saga of a young man who must overcome amazing obstacles to survive in the land of opportunity. Throughout the novel, the reader is given frequent historical references to make the narrative compelling for its seeming reality. Mr. Ford, who is the son of a Chinese American father, has created an enchanting tale whose memorable characters will stay with readers for years to come.

If I were to give a one-word description of the feel of this book, I'd probably say "nostalgic". We follow Ernest Young back to his past, as he is sent from China to America on basically a slave ship, rescued, and eventually auctioned to a brothel. Several times I looked up some of the historical events on Google and learned that they (or something very similar) really happened - incredible. Seattle at the turn of the century was quite an interesting place! Ernest was a great character. He was tender and kind, and his friendships and family will stick with me. 4.5 stars.

Love and Other Consolation Prizes blew me away. I grew up outside Seattle and considered myself, before I read this book, fairly knowledgeable about Seattle history. Time and time again I found myself googling to either find out more or to see if something had actually occured in Seattle's history. I think this book would make a good book discussion selection, and I definitely think it would make a great movie. Love and Other Consolation Prizes will stick with me for a long time.

I received an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley.

4 1/2 Stars

Jamie Ford has written another wonderful Historical novel set in Seattle between the years of the 1909 Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition World's Fair and the 1962 World's Fair. The early years take place in the Tenderloin District and Ford does a remarkable job of bringing that era to life with a colorful cast of characters and his accurate accounting of history. The story of the later years revolves around his wife and the loss of her memory. Ford weaves these two time frames together seamlessly, while breathing life into a history most of us know little about. A poignant love story is in the midst of this novel, but there is so much more to this beautiful story. Thank you to Ballentine Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Have loved every one of Jamie Ford's books and this one was no exception. I adore how he finds a little bit of unknown history and weaves a completely plausible, beautiful story around it. Even his tragedies have some hope and do not leave you feeling sad. He is also awesome as a person (have followed him on Facebook for a long time) and I am always super excited to hear when he has another book on its way.

The novel centers around Ernest a young Chinese boy who was auctioned off at the Seattle World's Fare in 1909. His story is divided between two time periods 1909 and 1962. He was won by a Madam of a brothel who actually gave Ernest his first real "home". The story is well written and as each year passes you know Ernest and "his new family" do quite well for themselves.
There is a "twist" in the fact that Ernest has fallen in love with two of the girls....and the mystery is solved toward the end of the novel as to which girl he married.
The story is well written and the story takes the reader back in time.
A good read.

This is the third novel by Jamie Ford that I've read, and all three are coming-of-age stories featuring young Chinese American boys in Seattle in the early decades of the 20th century; it's the second which juxtaposes the young boy's narrative with that of his older self. So, did it work for a third time?

Well, the saving grace is that Ford manages to dig out fascinating details of Seattle's past and set his story against them. In this case, his characters' lives are led in turn-of-the-century (this would be early 20th century) Seattle's red-light district. When Ernest, a young half-Chinese boy (his father having been a missionary) who miraculously survives being smuggled from China into the United States in defiance of the country's immigration rules, he ultimately ends up being raffled off at Seattle's world's fair. The lucky ticket holder is a notorious madam, who wants him as her house boy. What the city's prim matrons view as disaster, Ernest sees as liberation: finally, his mixed blood doesn't make him a second-class citizen. He is an outsider among outsiders, and soon has two friends, one the daughter of the madam, another who works in the upscale brothel's kitchens but who aspire's to more and with whom he shares secrets of a past life. With one of them, he will share a future, we know from the "flash forwards", though it's not until midway or so through the book that it becomes clear -- as the civic authorities move to clean up the red light district and Ernest's new life starts to crumble -- how things will evolve.

This is all quite intriguing, but also a bit in the nature of a potboiler. Ford doesn't really pause for long to give us a sense of who his characters are; he skips back and forth in time to hammer home his points firmly but little more. It all felt rather perfunctory to me, especially having read two previous "feel alike" novels that differed significantly in plot details, but not in their themes, ideas or even in their types of characters. Ernest is the same kind of person as was Henry Lee in "Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet", for instance, however different the details of their lives and experiences may have been. They just sounded the same and thought the same way and approached life the same way.

I'd love to see Ford, who occasionally can be a descriptive novelist, tackle a different kind of novel. One that isn't set in Seattle in the early decades of the 20th century. One that doesn't have a young Chinese American teenager as its protagonist. Then I might get a sense of what he can do, other than write essentially the same kind of story, about the same type of character, over and over. I know a lot of people won't mind this, because they like this particular story, or they like predictability, but I like Ford's writing well enough to want to see him try something different. It's the same as seeing another legal thriller by John Grisham...

I was slow to start this book because I waited until I was in the right mood for it. (Not a reflection of the book, just my reading preferences at the moment.) Once I started it I easily got into the story, it was a unique story and well-written, especially the detail in the characters. I tend to stay away from historical fiction but I've enjoyed this author's book before so I was drawn into this one too and it was worth reading. I'd like to see the author tackle something completely different next time.

The rich development of characters and the enlightening way Jamie reveals the kinds of humiliation shown to ethnic and marginalized people is eye opening. His style draws you in and keeps you intrigued. This story is very timely considering the way our government is treating those that seek a better life. For many this book will linger in their minds and be pivital to their thinking and treatment of others. Must read!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I really enjoyed this book based on a true story about a 12 year old boy that was raffles off at the fair. That isn't even the beginning of Ernest's story! His mother makes the horrifying decision to smoother his two day old sister while he Ernest watches. He is then sent to America with his "uncle" because his mother is starving and unable to care for him.

Ernest's story continues after being raffled off and "won" by a madam. He meets Fahn (who he already has a connection with) and Maisie.

Their stories are mingled together through sadness, helplessness, determination and eventually redemption.

Author Jamie Ford once again brings to life historical facts from the Seattle area and Asian culture with an easy-to-read story involving very believable characters. This was an absorbing story of a boy traded by his Chinese mother, sent by boat to the US then eventually raffled off at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in 1909. The winner was a Madam at an exclusive brothel. The story switches from the early 1900’s to when Ernest is older in the 1960’s and tells of his love for two young women. I enjoyed the setting taking place in the Garment District of Seattle before prohibition with its ‘cribs’ and brothels. This was a good one.

I didn't expect I would like this as much as I had 'Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet'. But Jamie Ford has done it again. He has crafted a novel with sympathetic and believable characters, and a compelling story line that covers over 50 years. I had a hard time putting this down. Some of the scenes are simply wonderful and the characters resonate with you long after you have read the final page.

As I came to my last days of vacation, Love and Other Consolation Prizes was the perfect book to end with. This is a tender story of relationships and heritage, self worth and dignity, community and identity... in the midst of vulnerability, illness, and human trafficking. As he also illustrated in Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Ford has a gift for exploring the heart and soul of his characters. . . People who others might dismiss, ignore, judge, and/or stereotype. I really enjoyed this book and expect to continue processing it in the coming days.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy for review.

Having read and enjoyed Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford, I knew I had to read Love and Other Consolation Prizes. Just as with the previous novel, this one is also a beautifully told story of love. Switching between telling in present day and going back in time is done seamlessly. Jamie Ford's descriptions of Seattle and the World's Fair made me feel I was there, experiencing the auction, the first cars on the road, the poverty, and the "over the top" ways of the brothel. This is not a fast story, rather it is told slowly in a way that will draw you in and make you not want to put the book down.

I really enjoyed reading Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, so I was looking forward to reading Jamie Ford’s second novel, Love and other Consolation Prizes. I was not disappointed. This is a story about a young boy named Ernest, who was raffled off as a prize at the 1909 Seattle Worlds Fair. His life as a child growing up and being employed in a brothel alternates with his life as an elderly man in 1962. Ernest’s life story and his reflections back in time as a senior held my interest as a reader.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC. This is my unbiased review.

This story is compelling and interesting. It's a good read, well worth your time. This is one of those books you don't want to just rush right through. The characters are interesting and you come to really care what happens to the them; especially our main characters: Ernest, a young Chinese/American boy who grows up to tell his story and the two girls he falls in love with. This was our book club pick for January and it was really good. We had read Hotel...several years back, but I like this one better.

Love and Other Consolation Prizes, Jamie Ford, Author; Emily Woo Zeller, Narrator
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.

I received this ARC from netgalley.com in exchange for a review.

ETA: 2nd read through was as good as the 1st

Set in the early 1900's, 12 yr old Ernest is raffled off at the fair and won by a madam. We follow him as he grows up in the infamous madam's house. He is befriended by the daughter of the madam and a Japanese kitchen servant. Their friendship is the first love that Ernest has ever known.

I loved the way Ford weaves fact with fiction. I would definitely recommend this book. Must Read.

Jamie Ford is an amazing storyteller, weaving tales and connecting you to the characters with such ease that you have to force yourself to slow down so you don't devour the book in one reading. I love the settings and time periods that Mr. Ford uses, how he brings to the forefront times in our history that truly need more light shed on them. I will continue to be on the lookout for future novels by Mr. Ford as they are always outstanding reads.

Love and Other Consolation Prizes: A Novel Jamie Ford has again written a story that draws you in to time and place. This time the backdrop is Seattle during the 1909 and 1962 Worlds Fairs. Ernest Young is a 12 year old half-Chinese orphan who is 'won' in a raffle by a brothel madam. Here he finally experiences the security of family and love. Years later he looks back on that time and what he did to protect his wife and family from the secrets they have kept.

This was a nice, interesting, well written piece of historical fiction. At first, I did not like that the story started in 1962, then bounced back and forth between the early 1900s and the 60s. Toward the end, that made some sense (I think). I did take one issue with the "Author's Notes" where he seemed to compare the story's raffle of a child with the Orphan Train ("where children were given away with aplomb."). I suggest that the author do some research on the Orphan Train.

“...our lives were wonderful and they were horrible and everything was painful and true, the good, the bad, together.”

This book takes you to extremes of human emotion where a moral compass can be reset in a heartbeat because of a person’s circumstance that they may or may not have had a hand in creating. This story is beautifully written, and moving but the conditions of Ernest And Gracie’s lives where horrible. The characters were very well developed. I enjoyed Jamie Ford’s other novels as well, so I was ready for another moving story. This one did not disappoint.

From the author of The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet (a book I absolutely loved), Ford has written another book that I enjoyed reading. If you enjoy historical fiction mixed in with a sweet romance, you would enjoy this book. Although I would not recommend this book to my middle school students because of its content, I would recommend it to my friends. The story goes back and forth between 1909 and the 1960s and revolves around the 1909 World's Fair. The characters are believable and you become engrossed in their lives.

I was given this book for my honest review.

“There are people in our lives whom we love, and lose, and forever long for. They orbit our hearts like Halley’s Comet, crossing into our universe only once, or if we’re lucky, twice in a lifetime. And when they do, they affect our gravity.”

I loved The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet and Songs of Willow Frost’, so I was thrilled to snag an ARC Jaime Ford’s latest novel Love and Other Consolation Prizes. Once again Seattle is the vivid backdrop for the tale that travels between the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific exposition in 1909 and the World's Fair of 1962. Three rich characters take the reader on a journey that pulls at your heartstrings. How coming-of-age choices impact a lifetime. Complete with love and intrigue, this expertly written historical fiction shines light on a little-known period in time. Read this book - your heart will thank you.

The book has stuck with me, thinking that although it's not a true story, it's based on the reality of the China immigrants stories. The madam treated her girls be very well and Ernest was treated better than he had in his whole life. The girls on the ship, the girls in the house and Ernest make an unforgettable story

Jamie Ford's books tell stories of other times and places with very compelling true events behind them. I could not read it fast enough and it has stolen my heart. These are characters I want to know and have a cup of tea with right now. This story will not let you go.

The Story: Ernest is a young bi-racial Chinese boy of about 12 who is given away in a raffle at the 1909 Seattle World’s Fair. He is “won” by a “fancy” woman and enters the world of the red light district. Earnest’s story goes back-and-forth between 1909–1911 and 1962 when Seattle is again hosting a World’s Fair.
What I Loved: The writing of course! it’s Jamie Ford after all! I adored sweet, sweet Ernest. He was wonderful. And Professor True. I really liked him as well.
While this book is set in a “Sporting House” it does not contain graphic sex or graphic language. As I said, it is beautifully written.
What I Did Not Like: The story. I just didn’t like it much. The only character I really felt for was Ernest. I felt the others were cardboard and cliched. I sympathized with Masie and Fahn. The plight of girls and women in those days often left them no choice but to sell themselves in such places as the Tender Loin or worse.
I got really, Really, REALLY tired of being beaten over the head with the Big-Hearted Whore and the Frigid, Bigoted Christian Do-Gooder. We get it. Really. We get it. Funny, but even today a lot of folks don’t see prostitution in a romantic light. Whatever. That got so old, in fact, that I nearly quit reading. I’m glad I didn’t though. But, yes, I saw it coming a mile away that the “bad” woman would try to do “good” for the widows and orphans and the “Good, Christian Lady” would blow their cover and spoil it. What a cliche. That was really not worthy of such an outstanding story teller as Jamie Ford.
I also thought the reporter-daughter was a bit out-of-sync with her time. 1962 was very much the 1950s (I was born that year). It was not part of what we think of as the ’60s. It was conservative. (Oh, and Liquid Paper wasn’t on the market yet. I found a few other picky things that don’t impact the story. It wouldn’t work well on thin, onion skin paper anyway. I know. I’ve used both.)
Overall: That I didn’t like the subject of the story does not mean it isn’t an excellent book. I just do not find prostitution romantic, though I understand the difference between being well treated and viewed as valuable in a place like Madame Flora’s compared to being kept drug-addicted at the “other” sort of establishment. I love Jamie Ford’s writing though and am already anxiously looking forward to his next book.

Imagine that you are an orphan, half Chinese, 12 years old and a charity student at a boarding school You get a chance to attend the 1909 WORLD'S FAIR in Seattle!!
Wow, you are blown away. Then you go on to find out that there is a contest and YOU are the prize. The winning ticket is held by a madam of a high class brothel. You become the new houseboy in the brothel, you make friends there and your life changes completely. You learn the meaning of the word "family." Although it does have a different connotation here. But for you it's everything you wanted, with people who care for you and that you care about.
In September of 2017 this book will be released to the public. Be sure you take the opportunity at that time to read this book.
This is an "enchanting tale of innocence and devotion in a world where everything and everyone is for sale."

'Love and Other Consolation Prizes' by Jamie Ford is another historical fiction book that takes place in the Seattle area.

The story spans the two world's fairs that took place in Seattle. When the story opens, Ernest Young is dropping people off at the 1962 fair. His daughter, a reporter, wants to do a story about Ernest, which causes him to remember what happened at the Alaskan - Yukon - Pacific Exposition of 1909.

Ernest Young was forced to leave China when he was very young. Surviving the ocean crossing was just the beginning. Once he has lived in Seattle a while, he is auctioned off at the fair to the highest bidder. He ends up in a high end brothel working as a servant. His life there is better, and he ends up befriending a Japanese girl named Fahn, and the brothel owner's daughter Maisie. Their lives will change in the short years ahead.

I felt like this was a pretty by-the-numbers story. I didn't feel particularly surprised by anything that happened. Seattle names and landmarks are liberally sprinkled throughout the story to the point where it felt like a bit too much. This author has written better characters and stories before this one.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Ballantine Books, Random House Publishing Group, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

For a few afternoons, I was swept back into Seattle’s past, at the time of both of its World Fairs, in 1962 and 1911. “Love” wonderfully evokes the red light district of 1911, and the lives of its inhabitants both in the long past, and the near past. I really enjoyed this book. I loved its characters and was sorry to see the book end.

This is such a reader-friendly story. The title had me from the start and it keeps you interested until the end. I love the way Jamie Ford tells this story. My favorite part was the "seeing" the ship with all of the kids staying in the hull. That would be scary for me to imagine myself in that hull! Awesome workJamie Ford!

Jamie Ford has an amazing gift for “filling in the blank” spaces of our culture. The book spans the first half of the twentieth century with its peculiar racism, misuse of women, birth of equal rights. He has made this sad era come alive vividly in the struggles, joys and determination of his characters.

A wonderful story of love, loss, humanity, morality, and so much more. The story of Ernest was fascinating and although I kept speculating who he would end up, I think I always knew who it would be in the end. To make a story about a brothel and all the characters involved one I didn't want to put down is quite a feat. Congrats to the author!

I received a copy from netgalley.

Jamie Ford is a great writer. He takes actual historical events and crafts fictional stories that are engaging and entertaining. I cared about the characters and what happened to them and was sad to see the book end. I look forward to reading more of his work.

I loved living through young Ernest. He always found the courage to preserver and to show compassion in difficult times.His abiding love for Gracie never faltered. The Seattle World's Fair was made real for every reader.

Such a sweet and tender story told by "young Ernest"! I loved all the characters (except for Miss Amber) and kept turning pages to see how life would unfold for Ernest.
Advanced reader copy provided by the publishers at Netgalley for review.

Jamie Ford has again done what he does best. In Love and Other Consolation Prizes, he beautifully evokes Seattle's past; creates realistic and compelling characters; explores the complexity of human relationships, and delivers a lyrical and engaging read. I will thinking about Ernest and his young loves for a long time.

As a young boy, Ernest's mother put him on a boat bound for the united states. After surviving the journey, Ernest is taken on as a charity student at an elite boarding school. When twelve year old Ernest he tells his benefactress that he wants, he is taken to the World's Fair and auctioned off. He is won by a madam of a brothel, whose women are known for both their beauty and their brains.

The book alternated between a young Ernest and Ernest fifty years later. I thought the elder Ernest storyline was unnecessary. It made the book move slowly and took away from the shocks and growth young Ernest experienced. Despite this criticism, the book was well written and mostly entertaining. Overall, worth picking up.

Such a disappointing novel. Although I liked learning the history of Seattle and the World Fairs, I found the characters to be completely unbelievable and under-developed. Ernest is about 12 when he goes to the Tenderloin, but behaves as if he is much older, with the love and insight that is not believable for a 12-year old boy. It is simply not believable that he developed such impeccable manners and became a chauffeur at such a young age. None of the female characters were particularly likable, again, due to a lack of development. I found the story of older Ernest and Gracie to be tender, but again, really unbelievable. Gracie seemed to come and go from her confused state, which was not credible based on her diagnosis. I would not read anything else by Ford.

It starts out pretty slow and took a little to get engaged in. Lovers of historical fiction will enjoy all the many details in this of the era and world's fair. I think Ford is a wonderful writer and I liked how he laid out the story of Ernest, Fahn and Maisie. But, had this story taken place without the background of the (what do I call it? Bordello?) it wouldn't have had as much appeal. It really is a solid book, yet I wanted a little less history and a little more of the trio's interactions. I wanted Ernest to stand up and fight for what he wanted rather than always just be resigned to his fate. Perhaps there is wisdom in that. Rarely do we get what we really want, yet we must learn to adapt to what do have.

The historical background was very interesting. The writing was a bit drawn out in my opinion, and I found myself skimming at times to get to something a bit more interesting. The love story aspect was tepid.

An interesting premise, the plot goes back and forth between Seattle in the early 1900’s and 1962. The book is well written and the characters were interesting, especially the protagonist when he was a child. Nevertheless, the book was easy to put down and not compelling enough for me to pick it back up again. I craved more action, more tension, something to grab me. I found myself skimming paragraphs and then pages. Just not for me.

I would love to say I enjoyed the story or found it interesting but I can't. I had a difficult time keeping the characters straight. Also many of the characters had some kind of background that was never fully explained. I really wanted to like this story but I gave up. I thought the synopsis of the story sounded interesting which is why I requested it. However the story was a disappointment.

The main character thinks, early on in the narrative, "We all have things we don't talk about. . .Even though, more often than not, those are the things that make us who we are." Those are certainly true words, and give foundation to the story of a man's life marked by terrible childhood circumstances. Being an orphan does not begin to describe it. He does prevail, but the tale is so sordid and sad, that I cannot rate it better than three stars--it never redeems itself, in spite making me care deeply for the protagonists.

I won Love and Other Consolation Prizes by Jamie Ford in the 2017 Bookreporter.com End-of-the-Year Contest.

I enjoyed the book. I read Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by J Ford several years ago. Ford does an excellent job of plot and character development. Interesting book.

I would recommend Love and Other Consolation Prizes to readers who like: well written fiction stories.

I love the author's writing in the Corner of .......(I think his first book). This book had an interesting potential of a story. What will happen to Ernst? I found that the book was VERY boring about half way through. Too dragged out. That's as far as I could stand it. Disappointing.

This enjoyable read is set in 1900's Seattle and tells the story of a Chinese- born little boy who after living in deplorable conditions as an unwanted orphan is raffled off to a brothel madam at the Seattle World's Fair.

This enjoyable read is set in 1900's Seattle and tells the story of a Chinese- born little boy who after living in deplorable conditions as an unwanted orphan is raffled off to a brothel madam at the Seattle World's Fair.