All That Matters

Set in Vancouver's Chinatown during the 1930s and 1940s, this novel is a companion to Wayson Choy's debut, *The Jade Peony*, telling the story of the Chen family through the eyes of the First Son and Oldest Brother, Kiam-Kim. The story begins when Kiam-Kim arrives at 'Gold Mountain' (Vancouver) at age three with his father and his grandmother, Poh-Poh, using 'ghost papers' to circumvent Canada's 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act and join a distant relative. The book is a coming-of-age story following Kiam-Kim as he grows up with the responsibility of maintaining his family's honor, balancing the ancient traditions and superstitions of his powerful grandmother with his desire to adapt to Canadian society, all set against the backdrop of the Great Depression and the Second World War.

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