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4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
dark
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
challenging
dark
informative
medium-paced
A mammoth biography of a family that also doubles up as a primer to the 20th Century China, this really is one of the most ambitious and almost surreal recap by a single person with nary a doubt raised on the fallacy of memory. June Chang pulls off the near impossible, enmeshing the personal and the political dextrously where she is willing to patiently explain all the facets of life under Mao at the grassroots level while taking her reader through the tragedies and challenges of her family.
The single long run through the decades is almost too neatly edited and sanitized in its sequential narrative to wholly register, starched stiff by the author's reserved, aloof manner that almost makes continuous reading a chore. But the fount of resilience and moral fibre on display did leave me aghast, slightly awestruck and terminally grateful for my own fate at not being born or lived under such a regime.
The bleak portrait of the 20th century’s People’s Republic from this people’s history-of-sorts could be coloured thematically in gradually fading greys as we see the Changs and the people around them snuffed into gradual and ultimately total disillusionment after braving ill-thought ideology and ego driven nationmaking through the decades. It’s remarkable how swiftly the same ideology that made possible the overnight switch from feudal to modern was not able to ameliorate the disorder emanating from basic human hubris which morphed all good intentions and promises of egalitarianism devolve into arbitrary violence and sanction to execute personal grievances on a national scale ruining lives of millions.
It is a humbling read that offers a glimpse at the origins of the state-sponsored charade that continues unabated in this now-unrecognizable nation with only the faintest, stifled echoes of its past and where the powers-to-be continue to hem the rights, freedoms, memories and histories of its people as they embroider away in defiance to stitch this century’s world order.
The single long run through the decades is almost too neatly edited and sanitized in its sequential narrative to wholly register, starched stiff by the author's reserved, aloof manner that almost makes continuous reading a chore. But the fount of resilience and moral fibre on display did leave me aghast, slightly awestruck and terminally grateful for my own fate at not being born or lived under such a regime.
The bleak portrait of the 20th century’s People’s Republic from this people’s history-of-sorts could be coloured thematically in gradually fading greys as we see the Changs and the people around them snuffed into gradual and ultimately total disillusionment after braving ill-thought ideology and ego driven nationmaking through the decades. It’s remarkable how swiftly the same ideology that made possible the overnight switch from feudal to modern was not able to ameliorate the disorder emanating from basic human hubris which morphed all good intentions and promises of egalitarianism devolve into arbitrary violence and sanction to execute personal grievances on a national scale ruining lives of millions.
It is a humbling read that offers a glimpse at the origins of the state-sponsored charade that continues unabated in this now-unrecognizable nation with only the faintest, stifled echoes of its past and where the powers-to-be continue to hem the rights, freedoms, memories and histories of its people as they embroider away in defiance to stitch this century’s world order.
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
A very eye opening look into a part of history I knew little about. Very well told through the eyes of one family.
emotional
medium-paced
dark
sad
slow-paced
What an incredible tale of a century of China. I especially loved following Jung's grandmother and mother, and their journeys navigating a China built for men.
When we caught up to Jung herself, I must say I lost some connection. Jung could see her grandmother and mother in full, offering reflection and introspection that I don't think she quite reached when telling her own story.
Regardless, the tale of China in the twentieth century through the eyes of three generations of women is inspired, and this is a deserved best seller.
When we caught up to Jung herself, I must say I lost some connection. Jung could see her grandmother and mother in full, offering reflection and introspection that I don't think she quite reached when telling her own story.
Regardless, the tale of China in the twentieth century through the eyes of three generations of women is inspired, and this is a deserved best seller.