Asian History Month – The Riveter by Jack Wang

May is Asian History Month in Canada, and I have a few days left to share my book review of Jack Wang’s The Riveter.¹ Wang grew up in Vancouver, BC, and teaches creative writing at Ithaca University, Ithaca, New York.

I heard about The Riveter when a friend said, “There’s a new book about a Chinese Canadian man in the Second World War,” and almost as soon as the words were out of her mouth, I was on my way to the bookstore. ²

The Riveter, by Jack Wang

The Riveter is many stories. At its heart it’s a love story between its two main characters – Josiah Chang and Poppy Miller – and their fight to be together against overwhelming odds. It’s a love letter to Canada, filled with venues and places that insiders know, like the Commodore Ballroom. It’s a war story and takes Josiah on a journey that begins in Vancouver and sees him at training barracks (Toronto, Orillia, and Fort Benning) before going overseas. And it’s a Gold Mountain story: the struggle for the sons and daughters of early Chinese immigrants to gain civil rights under the twin Chinese Exclusion Acts in Canada and the U.S.

I should tell you a bit about myself, to give you some perspective on my approach to fiction. I read fiction in my downtime, and it needs to be compelling enough to draw me away from the other distractions in life. I enjoy the kind of historical fiction where the author spent a decade in dusty archives before putting a storyline together – ahem Hilary Mantel – and I’m looking for authentic detail. I’m highly sensitive to the dynamics of Chinese exclusion, interracial relationships, and character development. As you can probably guess, I start a lot of books but I finish only a handful.

I knew within two chapters that The Riveter checked all the boxes. If you’ve read this far, haven’t yet read the book, and are intrigued, stop reading me immediately and go get the book. I’m going to be talking about details, and you don’t want me to ruin the surprises.

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[INTERLUDE WHILE FOLKS GO READ THE BOOK]

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Josiah Chang is a fourth-generation Canadian lumberjack born in the British Columbia interior. He is of Chinese descent. Despite three generations of settlement, Josiah – along with every man, woman, and child of Chinese ancestry – were subjected to the Chinese Immigration Act. Penelope “Poppy” Miller is a strong-willed blonde singer who defies conventional thinking, including those observed by her upper class parents. When Josiah and Poppy meet, they’ve already noticed one another’s qualities from beauty to strength. They also understand all the unspoken rules against them, and it’s Poppy who tells Josiah they’ll figure it out.

It was subtle, the way Wang introduced the state of citizenship for Canadian born Chinese during the war. When Josiah met Poppy’s father, Mr. Miller, Miller said his main argument against Josiah was not personal but that if Poppy were to marry a Chinese man, she would lose her citizenship. By this neat entwining of storylines – the lovers and their desire to be together versus the Canadian government’s disenfranchising of its Chinese population – the reader is informed while being entertained. Josiah’s quest to be with Poppy was the quest of all Chinese in Canada to gain their civil rights.

Josiah’s task is nearly impossible but he says, “It’s the only way things will change.” He faces innumerable barriers, but in the style of a romantic hero, overcomes them. The stranglehold of anti-Chinese racism eases as Josiah proves his value. He survives the war in Belgium and returns, but things are the not the same as they have been. Will the lovers reunite?

I enjoyed this book. My critiques of the story are mild. It’s an easy, feel-good read and the emphasis is on romance against all odds. Both Josiah and Poppy are imbued with the kinds of physical characteristics that appeal to modelling agencies. They have few flaws, in the style of Superman and Lois. Like Superman, Josiah is an orphan, free of family ties and obligations, and thanks to an inheritance, also free of the worst struggles of poverty. All of these characteristics enhance the story and keep it moving as Josiah undergoes his hero’s journey from Vancouver to Europe and back again.

The Riveter rings with historical truth. Serving in the Second World War did provide a compelling argument for Chinese to win the franchise but it wasn’t easy or straightforward. Josiah, along with the men and women who served, were granted the vote. It was two years before the Chinese communities in British Columbia and Saskatchewan could vote. Canada and the provinces released civil rights reluctantly, slowly, and under duress. For more on this, see my three part series beginning with An uncertain homecoming, Part I: WWII, the Chinese, and the fight for civil rights 1939-1967.

I enjoyed The Riveter. It’s rare to read fiction about the Second World War which centres an Asian Canadian perspective. A writer tackling that subject cannot avoid discussing heavy issues such as exclusion, history, and racism. These themes are the background noise to my work, and I appreciate every writer who tackles them in a story with universal themes of identity, love, and struggle. Also, I should mention that I thought enough of this novel to expend the time to write this review, entirely without any form of compensation.

Thank yous

To my friend Lil who suggested the book. To Jack Wang, for writing the book. To Col. (ret’d) Chris Weicker, for sharing his military history expertise with me. And to my friends at the Chinese Canadian Military Museum Society, for your support in my work about the Chinese Canadians in Special Operations Executive (S.O.E.).

References

1. Jack Wang, The Riveter, 2025. House of Anansi. ↩︎
2. Please always support your local indie bookstore. My favourite is McNally Robinson in Saskatoon, SK at https://www.mcnallyrobinson.com/home. ↩︎