Landed

Sun is about to set out from his village in China toward America, the land his family calls Gum Saan, or Gold Mountain. Before he leaves, his father cautions him that the journey ahead will be hard. Under the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, newcomers such as Sun are held on Angel Island until they pass a demanding oral examination that allows them to step onto shore.

During the voyage, Sun pored over maps of his home village and committed his ancestors' history to memory. As days stretch into weeks of waiting, those remembered compass directions begin to blur, and he fears he will get confused and be sent back. The story is drawn from the author's father-in-law's experiences and presented through detailed oil paintings that capture a troubling period in Chinese American history.