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4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
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.
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Turned far too much into a critique of China and its political party than the biography of the author’s family
dark
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
A real treat. I loved the female perspectives, the historical contexts given, and i could feel the effort and research put into giving the reader a real perspective of 20th century china
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
I felt quite daunted by this book because of the size. I am quite a slow reader so I feared I would have this book going on for months and forget the previous chapters when I picked the book up again. However, I was pleasantly surprised, not only did I finish this book in 10 days but it was also aware of it's size and ensured the reader remembered where the story had started throughout the book. Moreover, I had never read a memoir before and was concerned it would lack strong characters often present with novels. Again this book quickly dispelled these concerns and I was hooked from the first chapter!
One of the reasons I wanted to read this book was to better understand the history of Communist China and the book exceeded my expectations, covering all the major CCP history from the 1920's-1975.
With the book ending as the author begin her flight to Britain, I would have liked the book to have covered post-Mao china such as the prosecution of the Gang of four, but this is understandable given the author would have started their new life which would have shifted the authors narrative as described in the books Epilogue.
The author acknowledges that her experiences are somewhat Middle-class, strange for communist China I know, but I felt somehow relieved the author recognised this and we can only assume the experience of others living in China at this time with fewer connections to those in power fared far worse!
One of the reasons I wanted to read this book was to better understand the history of Communist China and the book exceeded my expectations, covering all the major CCP history from the 1920's-1975.
With the book ending as the author begin her flight to Britain, I would have liked the book to have covered post-Mao china such as the prosecution of the Gang of four, but this is understandable given the author would have started their new life which would have shifted the authors narrative as described in the books Epilogue.
The author acknowledges that her experiences are somewhat Middle-class, strange for communist China I know, but I felt somehow relieved the author recognised this and we can only assume the experience of others living in China at this time with fewer connections to those in power fared far worse!
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Mental illness, Sexism, Suicide, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Suicide attempt
Great story, read it while taking Chinese geography/history class in college.