Reviews

Becoming Madame Mao by Anchee Min

camscornerbooks's review

3.0

Written in an interesting way convincing first and third person POV from know history to personal experience this book was ok at what it tried to do but not great.

I don’t know nearly enough about China or Mao Tse-tung or Jiang Ching or any of the history here to comment on whether it was factual or well written as historical fiction. But judged as a boo assuming it to be mostly fiction it was fine. Nothing special and certainly not Anchee Min’s best work or anything close to it.

emigarcia's review

informative medium-paced

3.0

daggerheart's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

xolaris_12's review

5.0

Admittedly, I wasn't too educated on Jiang Qing and her impacts in the Cultural Revolution in China prior to reading, but alongside doing my research with this book, I feel like I have a much better understanding of who she was as a leader and where her motives stemmed from. The author sites one of her goals being to create a more sympathetic portrayal of the controversial leader through turning personal writings and letters into a complete historical fiction novel, and I truly believe that the author succeeded. I wouldn't extend as much sympathy as to excuse her actions, but I would say that the author's attention to detail and beautiful portrayal of emotions (especially betrayal and disappointment), definitely helped me see how Madame Mao came to be. The author's writing is so immaculate, to the point where I felt myself visualizing each word on the page. Would definitely recommend this book to fans of historical fiction.

rnmcfarlane's review

informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

cg612's review

3.0

This is a tough book to rate. I'd say it's just shy of 3.5 stars. An interesting tale woven with fact and fiction about a complicated and ambitious woman and an excellent introduction to China's cultural revolution.

jeremyhornik's review

3.0

Interesting subject, well written, but it never totally took off for me.

magshugs's review

2.0

I didn't love this book. The story was interesting, but it was written in a sort of stream of consciousness way and jumped from first person to third person all over the place... I liked Empress Orchid better...

mpurdy's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

lala_tour's review against another edition

1.0

Okay, I tried to read something more substantial...but I just couldn't get into this one. I don't think it was the book...I think it was me. Oh well, moving on.