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4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
I couldn’t get through it. The first 1/3 of the book was very interesting and then the names and places in China were very confusing and hard to remember. I finally gave up.
This was interesting, but written in such a way as to make it difficult to read. I found myself slogging through it and probably wouldn't have finished it had it not been for book group.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
I cannot say enough about this book. I learned more from this book than any other book I've ever read. I've also heard it is the highest selling nonfiction novel in history. For good reason! Wild Swans is INCREDIBLE. It will grip your heart from the very beginning and leave you wondering if there will ever be hope for these three women and their families. I never thought I would know so much about Communist China and its brutal leader Mao Zedong. I'm glad I do, though. My only complaint is that I wish Jung Chang (the author) had gone more in depth about her new life in the West. I guess she figured after 500 pages she had written enough about herself :). A+++ Amazing book.
Rating memoirs is always a tricky business, especially when the author's mother tongue is not English.
Wild Swans is a sweeping family saga deeply embedded in the history of China in the twentieth century. Jung Chang tells the story of her family through three generations, focusing on the women. It is harrowing, shocking and hopeful at the same time.
Some of the explanations of what was happening politically seemed a bit rushed, but seeing as the book is already a chunker, I am not sure adding more explanations would have helped.
Wild Swans is a sweeping family saga deeply embedded in the history of China in the twentieth century. Jung Chang tells the story of her family through three generations, focusing on the women. It is harrowing, shocking and hopeful at the same time.
Some of the explanations of what was happening politically seemed a bit rushed, but seeing as the book is already a chunker, I am not sure adding more explanations would have helped.
challenging
dark
informative
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Death of parent
Fascinating book about 3 generations of women in 20th century China.
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Every time I think of this book I get chills and tears in my eyes. It was beautifully written and I felt every emotion in it.
Rating 5 out of 5*. This book stunned me and I am still reeling with shock over my own ignorance. I knew almost nothing about China's early communist day or the terror regime of Mao before this. The lives of three generations of women, the last one being the author herself, is tightly intertwined with historical events.
The main historical events being how the communists attained power. Then came the so-called "Great Leap Forward" - which caused millions to starve to death by having people produce steel rather than food. Finally came "the Cultural Revolution" which persecuted millions of teachers, intellectuals and anyone else who had ever uttered a word against the regime, regardless of how slight.
Through all this, the lives of Jung, her mother, grandmother and the family itself are described. There is dedication to the Party, love, loyalty and misery. There is success and failure - most of it caused by the capricious communist leadership. The story of the rise and fall of Jung's father is particularly heartbreaking and brought tears to my eyes.
This was not an easy book to read, but it would be far more difficult to forget. This is one of those astonishingly rare books which have permanently changed my view of the world. Highly recommended.
The main historical events being how the communists attained power. Then came the so-called "Great Leap Forward" - which caused millions to starve to death by having people produce steel rather than food. Finally came "the Cultural Revolution" which persecuted millions of teachers, intellectuals and anyone else who had ever uttered a word against the regime, regardless of how slight.
Through all this, the lives of Jung, her mother, grandmother and the family itself are described. There is dedication to the Party, love, loyalty and misery. There is success and failure - most of it caused by the capricious communist leadership. The story of the rise and fall of Jung's father is particularly heartbreaking and brought tears to my eyes.
This was not an easy book to read, but it would be far more difficult to forget. This is one of those astonishingly rare books which have permanently changed my view of the world. Highly recommended.