Reviews

Well-written memoir of the author's life in the early days of Communist China, as well as her mother and grandmother as they went through the turmoil of the early 20th century. It's definitely not an unbiased account, but the author is genuine, and the imagery is great. Her writing is very readable.

leenu's review against another edition

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dark informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

gepetto's review against another edition

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challenging dark inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.0

winniewonders's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad tense medium-paced

5.0

laurennmiller's review against another edition

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4.25

I’m really glad I read this - it increased my understanding of China immeasurably and gave me enormous respect for the things we take for granted in a democracy. It’s long (500+ pages) and especially dense at the beginning, but worth your time!

tomweevil's review against another edition

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5.0

It took me a long time to read but it was very much worth it. The rise of communism in China, Mao’s deification, and the cultural revolution were things I really wanted to learn about, and doing so in the form of deeply personal stories of real people with incredible lived experiences was probably the best way. I found I had become very attached to Jung Chang and her family, and was crushed by the seemingly unending immense hardships they endured, and inspired by their collective ability to retain humility in the face of extreme condemnation.
Absolutely worth a read!

kr_coe's review against another edition

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challenging informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

3.75

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