A very powerful story told with clarity and compassion. Hilgers' prose is a perfect blend of a journalist's objectivity and a writer's emotional pull. The story itself weaves between factual reporting and personal stories, a unique brand of nonfiction writing which is increasing in popularity. For those who don't like non-fiction, this is a good blend to try and it highlights an incredibly important topic in the United States right now. I was repeatedly surprised by parts of their personal story and the events surrounding them. The fact that the story is true makes the agony of their long road to legal status and the suffering of the Wukan village that much more heartbreaking.

But there is so much hope and positivity in this book, and steadfast determination to see the reality of the American dream not just for themselves but others as well. Sometimes this positivity seems forced on the author's end but her personal connection to the story makes that expected. The main downside for me was the very slow start and points of lag toward the middle; however, the ending third was very well done. I connected mostly with the wife of the couple, Little Yan, while I actually found myself disliking Zhang multiple times. Though he is the 'protagonist' and I admire his freedom-fighting work, nonfiction does not shy away from showing real people as they are. All in all, it was a good read and I enjoyed it.

Note: I received a free Kindle edition of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher Crown Publishing, and the author Lauren Hilgers for the opportunity to do so.

Patriot Number One by Lauren Hilger is an Interesting and informative book about the Chinese culture and the tremendous challenges that the Chinese immigrants face when they come to the United States. .

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

I really enjoyed this book! At first I was uncertain whether this was fiction or a true story. The author does a good job of telling a memoir type of story while still keeping the reader as involved as if it were a novel. I really attached to the characters and their stories, and I want to know what's going on in their lives now since the book left off. This book is unique and informative and I would recommend it to others.

4.5 Stars

“And I've been searching for something
Taken out of my soul
Something I would never lose
Something somebody stole

“I don't know why I go walking at night
But now I'm tired and I don't want to walk anymore
I hope it doesn't take the rest of my life
Until I find what it is that I've been looking for”
--River of Dreams - Billy Joel, Songwriters, Billy Joel

”And during the Wukan protests in 2011, according to an interview with the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, Zhuang had learned an important lesson, he told the reporter: ‘The biggest fortune in life is not health but freedom.’”

Much of this is centered in Flushing, New York, but there is enough context of life in China to get a fairly thorough understanding of why this family, along with others, left another country for the American Dream. A picture of their life before, and a picture of their life after, and not only how different the lifestyles were from Wukan to Flushing, but most likely how far from reality their dream of life in America was – and yet, how grateful for the freedom.

I wanted to read this as, fairly recently, my brother married a woman (whom I adore) who had emigrated to America from China around the same time as this couple. She lived in Flushing with her then husband and their young daughter. I know how hard it was for her to leave family behind, and start a new life in America, and then again, alone with her children, to start again in a new place as a single mother.

For me, while their stories are very different, there is an element there that made this feel so honestly portrayed, and I loved that. Their frustrations, their day-in-day-out living as new immigrants, and their experiences getting documented, finding work, trying to work their way up an American ladder of dreams which were very slow to be fulfilled. And always parting with money that is so very difficult to come by, and so easily gone. Trying to learn American ways, the English language, a new neighborhood, and then another new neighborhood, followed by yet another.

Lauren Hilgers began writing this non-fiction account in 2012, thinking of it as a magazine story about Wukan Village in the time following the protests, but as life changed, so did this story. Beginning in China and ending up in New York City, while this is the story of two immigrants, it is also the story of the people of Wukan Village, some of those in person, and some obtained through the internet, as well as Zhuang’s collection of documentation.

This is truly an amazing glimpse of a life so different from one most of us have lived, the determination and drive to achieve a better life, and the heartbreaks they endure in search of this life, a life with freedom. This is nothing short of inspirational.

Thanks to my goodreads friends Jennifer and Fran for getting my attention for this one with their stellar reviews:

Fran’s review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Jennifer’s review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


Published: 20 MAR 2018


Many thanks for the ARC provided by Crown Publishing

5 bold stars to Patriot Number One, a nonfiction masterpiece! 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

Lauren Hilgers is an American journalist who met a man named Zhuang while reporting on site in his village in China. Zhuang, a free-thinker, had been arrested for staging protests and was labeled a dissident. He called Lauren one day to say he would be traveling to America and had plans to abandon his tour group, along with his wife, and live in Chinatown in Flushing, New York.

I found the build-up of what would happen with Zhuang and Little Yan in America completely enthralling, centered around the underground, secret world of immigrants, both documented and undocumented, including language schools, dormitories, off-the-record banks, and employment agencies, all put in place for mere survival of people trying their best to live the American Dream.

Even with the ingenuity of these supports, it continues to be a challenge to survive for Zhuang and his family. The jobs are few and far between, and what is available is low paying. The housing is abysmal and unsafe. After their arduous work to get to the United States, will they achieve their dreams? Will Zhuang and Little Yan qualify for political asylum, allowing them access to better jobs and an improved way of life?

Hilgers presents this nonfiction story in a way as compelling as any fictional character study. Zhuang and his wife, Little Yan, are endearing, engaging people, and Hilgers’ writing is silky smooth.

I never tire of books on the immigrant experience. It’s an often heated debate in this country, and stories such as Patriot Number One offer opportunities for discussion and understanding at a deeper level.

Patriot Number One came highly recommended by my Goodreads’ friend, Fran. Thanks, Fran, for an unforgettable read!

Thank you to Lauren Hilgers, Crown Publishing, and Netgalley for the copy to read and review. Patriot Number One releases on March 20, 2018.

New Yorker Lauren Hilgers was somewhat surprised when an acquaintance from her time working in Shanghai showed up on her Brooklyn doorstep one evening. The man, Zhuang Lehong, was a Chinese activist-labeled-dissident who had traveled to the United States with his wife, Little Yan. Hilgers profiled their experience going through the asylum process in the US while living in the Chinese enclave of Flushing, Queens. She tells an immersive, detailed story of an immigration experience gone through by so many, including the undesirable work, living conditions, unusual economies, language barriers, politics, everyday anxiety, culture shock and homesickness that make up so much of their American lives.

Zhuang, son of a local fisherman, was a proud resident of the village of Wukan in Guangdong province. He became an activist to protest against corruption in his village, culminating in 2011 with a major protest after local government officials sold villagers' land to developers, promising lucrative real estate, but failed to pay the villagers. Zhuang had started a network on Chinese social media app QQ, helping to network and mobilize dissatisfied residents. His activism had dangerous repercussions. One of the village's representatives died in police custody under mysterious circumstances, and Zhuang, alias Patriot Number One in his QQ group, no longer felt safe in his homeland.

They left and entered legally, although Hilgers explains that now, even a few years later, it's no longer a viable option for dissidents wanting to leave China. Leaving their baby son with family members in another village, believing it to be the best option in the long term, Zhuang and Little Yan carefully arranged to visit the US on tourist visas as part of a tour group, later separating from the group to visit New York City on their own. There, they would begin the long bureaucratic process of claiming asylum against political persecution and eventually, hopefully, the road to green cards.

Hilgers follows their story in well told, extensive detail, alongside those of many of the Chinese residents they come to know and interact with in Flushing, Queens - one of New York's Chinatown neighborhoods. Flushing is the neighborhood Zhuang chose as their starting point in America after researching Chinese immigrant communities online. He had the feeling that he could get by there with his family - it's slightly less dense than Manhattan's more well known former immigrant enclave, now more touristy Chinatown district. Most importantly, he felt reassured by so many signs and businesses in Mandarin. Both he and Little Yan spoke next to no English when they arrived.

Many of the Chinese immigrants profiled are seeking or have obtained asylum, but all of their stories are different. Chapters alternate between their lives in Flushing - sometimes allowing them to show how different those lives are from what they'd imagined or aim aim for - and their former lives in China. Both sides of these stories are so telling, and I felt humbled to see how others are living and the choices they make with the options they're given. Hilgers shows how lucky Zhuang and Little Yan are, in the big scheme of things. Karen, a younger immigrant Little Yan meets in adult education classes at the Long Island Business Institute, arrived in the US under very different circumstances than the couple, with little autonomy.

She had to work hard for little pay, like them, and pay off a debt to a family friend who'd allowed her to stay in her home but tried to profit off her unfairly. Karen eventually escaped to Flushing, but she wasn't free yet - even under the admittedly shaky circumstances of others like Zhuang and Little Yan, who share apartments and live under constant worry and pressure.

The style and tone of this book reminded me a lot of one of my narrative nonfiction favorites, Random Family. And like that book, this one also deals with a New York City neighborhood and group of people who don't get much consideration from outsiders gushing about how wonderful New York is. Many of the diverse population groups and complex communities of the outer borough remain invisible even while in plain sight, hardly a part of the New York that visitors, and even many residents, know. The stories told her are so important, if for that reason alone. Immigrants aren't some faceless other hellbent on undermining democracy, stealing our jobs and living on benefits. We should consider ourselves lucky to have people who do what they're doing.

It's the old concept of walking a mile in someone else's shoes, to understand and appreciate what challenges they've overcome. These are not only bureaucratic for Zhuang, his family, and their neighbors, but outright dangerous. It's incredible how hard they work in order to make better lives for themselves and their families, while being railed against by many who don't understand what immigrants are willing and able to contribute to American society. Little Yan, for example, is a hard, pragmatic worker - she takes every job she can, even when Zhuang espouses some old-fashioned ideas about women staying home and men being breadwinners. She works in nail salons, home healthcare, and takes adult education courses, always in forward motion.

The Flushing residents' response to Trump's candidacy and presidency were a completely fascinating, often surprising aspect of this story. At one point, Zhuang is continuing his activism and protesting Chinese human rights outside of Trump Tower in hopes of attracting attention to the cause at this high profile location when someone shouts about why they should care about their problems in China. Patriot Number One doesn't leave any ambiguity about that, a book-length underscoring of this ignorance.

My complaint was that beyond seeing these detailed, nuanced portraits of the people profiled, I felt uncertain about what I was intended to take from it all. That may be on me, some inability to read deeper, but I felt it nonetheless. There was little commentary placing all of this in a wider context. I can read that on my own, but I would've been interested to see some perspective here.

What it does remarkably well is create sympathetic portraits and shed light on communities that are integral in American ways of life, particularly in the big cities (laundromats, Uber, hotels, restaurants, nail salons) while emphasizing how much that has cost those people emotionally, mentally, physically, financially. Compelling, excellent writing makes this must-read narrative nonfiction on a topical issue.

The author spends time in China and while there, befriends a man, Zhuang, who is involved in the politics of Wukan, his hometown, and is labeled as a dissident. He is jailed and once released, finds his way to the U.S. where he hopes to be successful. The account of his life, and that of his wife's, take place in Wukan, China, Flushing, NY, and NYC, as they both take on endless jobs and move to countless apartments, in order to make a good life for their son and themselves.

There is a lot going on in this book. The author follows the political career of Zhuang as he meets up with other Chinese dissidents and continues to protest against Chinese officials. The author writes about the lives of Chinese immigrants and the difficulties they have in getting visas, green cards, finding meaningful work, and learning English. Lastly, Hilgers gives us an account of Zhuang's wife, Little Yan, and how she acclimates to the American lifestyle and pursues various employment, while getting a business degree that she hopes will someday get her a nice desk job.

Hilgers' writing has an easy flow that made me feel as though she was sitting across from me telling me the story of Zhuang and Little Yan's life. Her knowledge of the Chinese people, the food, language, and history of China showed itself throughout the book giving me a sense of her loyalty, compassion, and expertise regarding China.

I highly recommend this book.

I don't know about you, but I don't think that I could master reading Chinese characters or even do a credible communication in even one of the many dialects. The reverse of this is true for each of the many Chinese immigrants in New York and elsewhere in the English speaking world.
This book gives the rest of us a view into Wukan village life and indignities, the government reaction to low level rebellion, the need and process of political asylum seeking, the incredible monetary and emotional costs, and the harsh realities for one courageous man and his wife, their families, friends and neighbors in the years from 2012 to 2017. It is written by an English speaking magazine reporter fluent in Chinese and able to transliterate names, and this chronicling is also documented and footnoted.
Follow along with the poorlt educated young man who became Patriot Number One in an effort to dissolve corruption in local and provincial government and work for social justice. He married an educated but introverted young woman, spent time in jail, had a son, and became too problematic for the government. Then began the process of leaving the small son with the grandparents, consolidating his funds, borrowing money from family and friends, planning and executing the move from China (without alerting the government), and then coming as just another immigrant to the Chinese community in Flushing, Queens, New York.
Follow along with the tribulations of their living in one small room (which cost as much as a one room apartment in the Midwest), finding trustworthy contacts among the countless strangers, finding employment when unable to understand the language, obtaining political asylum status, working 60 to 70 hours per week, paying taxes and Social Security, and still sending money back to both her parents and his. There are good people and good luck in their lives as well, making this a fascinating but exhausting reading experience. It's also a good insight and reminder to those of us who have parents and grandparents who had similar experiences and also overcame it all.
I requested and received a prepublication copy from Net Galley.
Don't miss this gem.



Will post to retailers on publication date

Chinatown, in Flushing, Queens, has one of the largest Chinese populations outside Asia. Having lived in Flushing in the 1980's, I traveled on the #7 subway line and shopped on Main Street. Ethnically, the population was mostly of European descent. I was curious about the restructuring and changing ethnicity of my old haunts. "Patriot Number One" is a dual story, a story of a Chinese immigrant family and a recounting of the dwindling size of Wukan Village, Lufeng local government, in Guangdong Province.

In 2012, Zhuang Liehong opened a tea shop in Wukan Village. Zhuang possessed a clear sense of right and wrong. This instinct made him a village leader, one who inspired others to action when, without village approval, local officials requisitioned collective land to be sold to developers. This requisition caused Wukan to disappear in size as the city of Lufeng continued to expand. Zhuang and fellow villagers decided to petition the government, drafting a letter of complaint. In 2014, journalist Lauren Hilgers, visited Wukan Village to do research for a magazine article about the Wukan Village Protests. She happened upon Zhuang's tea shop.

Author Hilgers documents the journey of Zhuang and wife Little Yan in their attempt to escape to the United States and file for political asylum. Zhuang envisions a welcoming reception. Instead, the plight of undocumented immigrants is replete with menial, low paying jobs and inadequate housing. First things first, Zhuang and Little Yan must apply for asylum. Little Yan secures a grueling job at a nail salon while Zhuang stays tethered to his friends and connections in Wukan. The bottom line, everyone has to eat bitter. (suck it up)

Lauren Hilgers follows Zhuang, Little Yan and others in Flushing and Wukan Village over the course of over three years documenting an immigrant experience as well as the Wukan villagers attempts to reclaim over 10,000 mu or approximately 1,650 acres of collective land, especially land used for farming. "Patriot Number One: American Dreams in Chinatown" by Lauren Hilgers is definitely an eye-opening must read.

Thank you Crown Publishing and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review "Patriot Number One".

I don’t usually read non fiction, but was intrigued after hearing the author speak. Following the story of a Chinese family of immigrants coming to Flushing is relevant to the immigration debate going on today. Very detailed, the book gives insight into what these immigrants go through to make it in this country.