PAUL YEE is a writer and archivist who grew up around Vancouvers. Making matters worse was open and accepted prejudice.įast paced and easy reading, Yee has combined mystery and history to create an entertaining and, I dare say, enlightening novel for pre- and early teens. The Curses of the Third Uncle is the story of a courageous young womans fight to hold.

Then, as today, the children of immigrant parents are torn between two cultures. We see that what happens thousands of miles away can have deadly consequences for immigrant Canadians. With the family business in a shambles, Lillian sacrifices her education to take a servant job and then, defying her mother’s wishes even further, acts as a companion and interpreter for a young widowed mother travelling to Revelstoke.Īs the mystery unravels, the reader is given a subtle history lesson. The Chinese community, Chinatown, and very probably through Dr. His younger brother, the third uncle, threatens to send her pregnant mother and children to China to face an uncertain fate.Ī hidden letter post-marked Revelstoke provides Lillian with a clue to her father’s whereabouts. In The Curses of Third Uncle, Yee’s most developed novel featuring female protagonists to date, the acknowledgement and affirmation of the heroine’s talents and militant strategies reaches its maximum degree. Five months pass without any letters or money from Jin (the father).

Snippets of conversation heard in Stanley Park on a warm July afternoon set the stage for the mystery that follows.įourteen-year-old Lillian (Ah-Lai), the spunky protagonist, takes charge when her father’s disappearance threatens the family’s survival. The year is 1909 and intrigue is sweeping through the Chinese community. much of this story takes place in Vancouver’s Chinatown. Like his 1983 stories for pre-teens, Teach Me to Fly Skyfighter.

The Curses of Third Uncle by Paul Yee