Love and Other Consolation Prizes, Jamie Ford
Love and Other Consolation Prizes, Jamie Ford
6 Rating(s)
List: $22.50 | Sale: $15.75
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Love and Other Consolation Prizes

Author: Jamie Ford

Narrator: Emily Woo Zeller, Jamie Ford

Unabridged: 11 hr 29 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/12/2017


Synopsis

From the bestselling author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet comes a powerful novel, inspired by a true story, about a boy whose life is transformed at Seattle’s epic 1909 World’s Fair.

“An evocative, heartfelt, beautifully crafted story that shines a light on a fascinating, tragic bit of forgotten history.”—Kristin Hannah, author of The Nightingale

For twelve-year-old Ernest Young, a charity student at a boarding school, the chance to go to the World’s Fair feels like a gift. But only once he’s there, amid the exotic exhibits, fireworks, and Ferris wheels, does he discover that he is the one who is actually the prize. The half-Chinese orphan is astounded to learn he will be raffled off—a healthy boy “to a good home.”

The winning ticket belongs to the flamboyant madam of a high-class brothel, famous for educating her girls. There, Ernest becomes the new houseboy and befriends Maisie, the madam’s precocious daughter, and a bold scullery maid named Fahn. Their friendship and affection form the first real family Ernest has ever known—and against all odds, this new sporting life gives him the sense of home he’s always desired.

But as the grande dame succumbs to an occupational hazard and their world of finery begins to crumble, all three must grapple with hope, ambition, and first love.

Fifty years later, in the shadow of Seattle’s second World’s Fair, Ernest struggles to help his ailing wife reconcile who she once was with who she wanted to be, while trying to keep family secrets hidden from their grown-up daughters.

Against a rich backdrop of post-Victorian vice, suffrage, and celebration, Love and Other Consolations is an enchanting tale about innocence and devotion—in a world where everything, and everyone, is for sale.

Read by Emily Woo Zeller, with a note read by the Author

Advance praise for Love and Other Consolation Prizes

“Ford is a master at shining light into dark, forgotten corners of history and revealing the most unexpected and relatable human threads. . . . A beautiful and enthralling story of resilience and the many permutations of love.”—Jessica Shattuck, author of The Women in the Castle

“All the charm and heartbreak of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet . . . Based on a true story, Love and Other Consolation Prizes will warm your soul.”—Martha Hall Kelly, author of Lilac Girls

About Jamie Ford

Jamie Ford is the great-grandson of Nevada mining pioneer Min Chung, who emigrated from Hoiping, China, to San Francisco in 1865, where he adopted the western name Ford, thus confusing countless generations. His debut novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, spent two years on the New York Times bestseller list and went on to win the 2010 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature. His work has been translated into thirty-five languages. Having grown up in Seattle, he now lives in Montana with his wife and a one-eyed pug.


Reviews

AudiobooksNow review by Kim Woo-Zeller on 2021-05-28 11:14:33

An absorbing story narrated with characters who clenched my heart - I had to take a trip to old Seattle to look up the Panama Hotel and to tour the underground garment district

Goodreads review by Lisa of Troy on October 13, 2023

In 1909, the World’s Fair was held in Seattle. There was a raffle where the prize was a one-month-old baby boy named Ernest. Love and Other Consolation Prizes is a historical fiction about Ernest who falls into a love triangle with two young women. The novel had dual timelines—one in 1909 and one ba......more

Goodreads review by Angela M on June 19, 2017

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......more

Goodreads review by Holly on August 02, 2017

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 s......more

Goodreads review by Karen on August 15, 2017

This was a beautiful heartfelt novel based on the true story of a 12 year old boy who was raffled off as the prize at the 1909 Seattle World's Fair. This story starts with the boys beginning, in China, his journey and arrival to America, and his growing up in a brothel where he fell in love with two......more


Quotes

“Exciting . . . [Jamie] Ford captures the thrill of first kisses and the shock of revealing long-hidden affairs.”Kirkus Reviews

“Strong . . . A laudable effort that shines light on little known histories.”—Library Journal

“Poignant . . . Vibrantly rendered.”Booklist

“Combining rich narrative and literary qualities, the book achieves a multi-faceted emotional resonance. It is by turns heart-rending, tragic, disturbing, sanguine, warm, and life-affirming. Perceptive themes that run throughout culminate at the end. A true story . . . inspired this very absorbing and moving novel. Highly recommended.”Historical Novel Society (Editors’ choice)

“Another winner . . . Ford has a wonderful gift. He nimbly takes the reader into forgotten pieces of history . . . with characters so real they will stay with you for some time to come.”Fredericksburg Free Lance–Star

“An evocative, heartfelt, beautifully crafted story that shines a light on a fascinating, tragic bit of forgotten history, this is Ford at his storytelling best.”—Kristin Hannah, author of The Nightingale

“In this sweeping, bighearted novel—inspired by the true story of a twelve-year-old boy raffled off as a prize at the 1909 Seattle World Fair—we encounter a cast of colorful characters, fascinating historical details, and insights about morality, race, and culture that deepen and expand the story. . . . Utterly charming.”—Christina Baker Kline, author of A Piece of the World and Orphan Train

“Ford is a master at shining light into dark, forgotten corners of history and revealing the most unexpected and relatable human threads. . . . A beautiful and enthralling story of resilience and the many permutations of love.”—Jessica Shattuck, author of The Women in the Castle

“All the charm and heartbreak of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet . . . Based on a true story, Love and Other Consolation Prizes will warm your soul.”—Martha Hall Kelly, author of Lilac Girls

“A gripping story about the unpredictability of life and, above all, the incredible power of love to heal even the most shameful wounds . . . Ford has created a fascinating world, bookended by Seattle’s two world’s fairs, and peopled it with colorful, brave characters we care deeply about in this masterful job of storytelling.”—Melanie Benjamin, author of The Swans of Fifth Avenue

“Irresistibly magnificent . . . How does a novel genius top himself? Jamie Ford’s newest takes an extraordinary moment in history, where vice lives alongside innocence, and transforms it into a dazzling, hold-your-breath story about the families we make and the ones we are thrust into, about who we are and who we dreamed we could be.”—Caroline Leavitt, author of Pictures of You and Cruel Beautiful World

“Soaring, heart-wrenching, troubling, funny . . . Ford has masterfully used a strange, tragic footnote from history to transport the reader back in time.”—Karen Abbott, author of Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy