Reviews - Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China

1.35k reviews for:

Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China

Jung Chang

4.32 AVERAGE

mniva21's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

liluzismurf's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad fast-paced

orlyr's review against another edition

4.25

challenging emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

themathomhouse's review against another edition

5.0

challenging emotional

I have been thinking about this book so much since I finished listening to the audio book. The narrator (Pik-Sen Lim) was wonderful, and her performance of the flowing prose held me captivated as I devoured it steadily over the course of a few days. It tells a social and political history of China in the 20th century through the lens of the author, her mother, and her grandmother - three women who were at once ordinary and extraordinary. Jung Chang deftly weaves vivid descriptions of scenery, emotions, politics, and social mores through the narrative of the women of her family, giving a picture of each person which feels imbued with life. Vignettes unfurl together which try to tell the story of how each person came to be where they were, and, where possible, why they responded the way they did. I was deeply moved through their highs and lows, feeling with the family the impact of such seismic political changes and a rapid shift in social codes. The portrait of Chang’s father in particular was drawn with such love and respect, even where his choices and principles only hurt the author, her mother, and the rest of her family along the way. I am excited to read the sequel coming out later this year, as this book stops in the 70s; and I felt as though I were saying goodbye to friends. This book has also been banned in China - presumably for the descriptions of Mao in particular as well as the events around the cultural revolution - and yet a sense of deep love for her country, its culture, and its people pervades the whole text.

One of the most beautifully written books I have read in years. I highly recommend it, and have found myself coming back to moments from it often since I finished it a few weeks ago. I will definitely re-read.