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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
Really fascinating memoir. Some of the pacing/organization was slow for me, but still well-told.
WHAT A READ!!!! i love how this book completely humanised the historical events in china and really urged readers to see the country through a new perspective - having heard of the june 4th massacre and the great famine, i understood their place as events in history but the writer does such a wonderful job of framing them and the consequences of these events very realistically and honestly around the effects it had on herself and her loved ones. she covers many interesting topics, ranging from the one child policy to the practice of binding women’s feet for beauty, calling to attention the continued struggle for a woman to find her place in chinese society. she frames the contradictions of chinese society very well and discusses the clash between traditional chinese beliefs and western beliefs in a very nuanced and well-balanced manner, where her unique background of having had a foot in both places makes her writing shine
on a personal note, as a young chinese woman in singapore, i was struck by how much i continue to internalise traditional chinese beliefs. the attitude that she describes her college friends have towards taking action about june 4th is one that i realise i deeply (and understandably, yet problematically) resonate with and it made me realise how damaging and frustrating, and yet how helpless that feeling is with a government that tries its best to think for you. i realise that the journey to unlearn what you have grown up with is long and hard, and although i seem to embrace western values to a greater extent now, it is an ongoing struggle and clash where i have to learn how to think for myself and discern what i truly identify with.
i also resonated quite deeply with the chapter about dating and about the pressure to find a partner, the absurdity of being heavily discouraged to date when you’re young to being extremely pressurised to marry within the timeframe of like…. 5 years is so ridiculous and yet the fears she describes of being a “leftover woman” are fears that i feel creeping up on me with each passing year (and also in being the one who ended a “solid” relationship). i trust that the world is big and that life is unexpected, and i recognise my privilege in that my parents are more progressive and a lot of that pressure is societal rather than coming from people i love. at the same time, i also realise that i’m not alone in these fears and that these fears are partly due to the context i was raised in. so although i can work towards overcoming and unlearning these values, i can also be kind to myself in not beating myself up for even feeling this way in the first place. and i really admire the author for her unwavering belief in herself and her rights despite the heavy pressure she faced.
overall, this read was really poignant and invokes a great sense of gratitude for the privilege in my life, and i want to acknowledge that the freedom i have now is built on the backs of generations of chinese women who hoped to experience this. i am lucky enough that i can, and i would like to work towards overcoming even more stigma and prejudice for the next generation while unlearning some of the generational trauma i might be feeling - whether that comes to dating or beauty standards or the value of one’s self in productivity. i think as a society we’re getting better at moving towards working towards and prioritising our own individual happiness instead of optics but i also realise that we have a ways to go and the amount i resonate with this book is a reminder of that. i also love how this book celebrates and acknowledges some parts of chinese culture that i do enjoy - like the strong family bonds and identification with home
on a personal note, as a young chinese woman in singapore, i was struck by how much i continue to internalise traditional chinese beliefs. the attitude that she describes her college friends have towards taking action about june 4th is one that i realise i deeply (and understandably, yet problematically) resonate with and it made me realise how damaging and frustrating, and yet how helpless that feeling is with a government that tries its best to think for you. i realise that the journey to unlearn what you have grown up with is long and hard, and although i seem to embrace western values to a greater extent now, it is an ongoing struggle and clash where i have to learn how to think for myself and discern what i truly identify with.
i also resonated quite deeply with the chapter about dating and about the pressure to find a partner, the absurdity of being heavily discouraged to date when you’re young to being extremely pressurised to marry within the timeframe of like…. 5 years is so ridiculous and yet the fears she describes of being a “leftover woman” are fears that i feel creeping up on me with each passing year (and also in being the one who ended a “solid” relationship). i trust that the world is big and that life is unexpected, and i recognise my privilege in that my parents are more progressive and a lot of that pressure is societal rather than coming from people i love. at the same time, i also realise that i’m not alone in these fears and that these fears are partly due to the context i was raised in. so although i can work towards overcoming and unlearning these values, i can also be kind to myself in not beating myself up for even feeling this way in the first place. and i really admire the author for her unwavering belief in herself and her rights despite the heavy pressure she faced.
overall, this read was really poignant and invokes a great sense of gratitude for the privilege in my life, and i want to acknowledge that the freedom i have now is built on the backs of generations of chinese women who hoped to experience this. i am lucky enough that i can, and i would like to work towards overcoming even more stigma and prejudice for the next generation while unlearning some of the generational trauma i might be feeling - whether that comes to dating or beauty standards or the value of one’s self in productivity. i think as a society we’re getting better at moving towards working towards and prioritising our own individual happiness instead of optics but i also realise that we have a ways to go and the amount i resonate with this book is a reminder of that. i also love how this book celebrates and acknowledges some parts of chinese culture that i do enjoy - like the strong family bonds and identification with home
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
reflective
medium-paced
"lavoriamo sodo per tenerci al passo, senza mai riposare per la paura che, nell'attimo in cui dovessimo fermarci, perderemmo traccia del futuro e ancora sconosciuto obiettivo che stiamo tentando di raggiungere."
Questa frase penso descriva in maniera precisa la sensazione che trasmette la società cinese. Attraverso la descrizione di Karoline Kan ho ritrovato molte delle sensazioni che ho provato quando sono stata in Cina, soprattutto perché la sua storia e quella della sua famiglia si svolge tra Pechino e Tientsin, due città che ho avuto la fortuna di visitare.
Durante i viaggi in Cina non avevo riscontrato problemi a socializzare con le persone, anche senza l'ausilio di una lingua comune tutti sono estremamente gentili e vogliosi di aiutare un turista ma avevo trovato una barriera più o meno velata riguardo i temi sociali e soprattutto politici (la ragazza che ho avuto come traduttrice e con cui discorrevo tranquillamente in inglese mi ha chiesto proprio di evitare con lei certi argomenti).
Karoline Kan è la guida che tutti dovrebbero avere nel momento in cui entrano in contatto con questo paese, non evita di parlare di temi spinosi, non si tira indietro sulle critiche al governo cinese ma lo fa sempre in maniera ragionata e senza perdere un briciolo del suo orgoglio nazionale. Rispecchia una generazione che vive in bilico tra una cultura millenaria e una modernità travolgente, per fare un paragone con la realtà italiana la generazione dei millennial cinesi sembra la generazione che ha fatto il 68. Una rottura a livello di costume che la mia generazione (anche io come la Kan sono nata a marzo del 1989) abbiamo ereditato dai nostri genitori invece di doverla vivere in prima persona.
Una lettura ideale per chi vuole capire certi meccanismi interni al paese, come per esempio la migrazione ma anche per chi cerca una storia famigliare appassionante.
Questa frase penso descriva in maniera precisa la sensazione che trasmette la società cinese. Attraverso la descrizione di Karoline Kan ho ritrovato molte delle sensazioni che ho provato quando sono stata in Cina, soprattutto perché la sua storia e quella della sua famiglia si svolge tra Pechino e Tientsin, due città che ho avuto la fortuna di visitare.
Durante i viaggi in Cina non avevo riscontrato problemi a socializzare con le persone, anche senza l'ausilio di una lingua comune tutti sono estremamente gentili e vogliosi di aiutare un turista ma avevo trovato una barriera più o meno velata riguardo i temi sociali e soprattutto politici (la ragazza che ho avuto come traduttrice e con cui discorrevo tranquillamente in inglese mi ha chiesto proprio di evitare con lei certi argomenti).
Karoline Kan è la guida che tutti dovrebbero avere nel momento in cui entrano in contatto con questo paese, non evita di parlare di temi spinosi, non si tira indietro sulle critiche al governo cinese ma lo fa sempre in maniera ragionata e senza perdere un briciolo del suo orgoglio nazionale. Rispecchia una generazione che vive in bilico tra una cultura millenaria e una modernità travolgente, per fare un paragone con la realtà italiana la generazione dei millennial cinesi sembra la generazione che ha fatto il 68. Una rottura a livello di costume che la mia generazione (anche io come la Kan sono nata a marzo del 1989) abbiamo ereditato dai nostri genitori invece di doverla vivere in prima persona.
Una lettura ideale per chi vuole capire certi meccanismi interni al paese, come per esempio la migrazione ma anche per chi cerca una storia famigliare appassionante.
Under Red Skies by Karoline Kan is a free NetGalley ebook that I read in mid-March.
Kan is inspired by tales told to her as a child in China, so she writes short stories that take place within real events that occur in China during the 1980s-2000s (One Child Policy, land reforms, restrictions on immigration within and outside of China, industrialization and economic prosperity through imports and exports, primary school and college education, cram studying, matchmaking/courtship/marriage, prowess during the Beijing Olympic games, gradual influx of American culture in the 2000s, technology, and homes being demolished in favor of high-rises) with callbacks to times even earlier than that.
Kan is inspired by tales told to her as a child in China, so she writes short stories that take place within real events that occur in China during the 1980s-2000s (One Child Policy, land reforms, restrictions on immigration within and outside of China, industrialization and economic prosperity through imports and exports, primary school and college education, cram studying, matchmaking/courtship/marriage, prowess during the Beijing Olympic games, gradual influx of American culture in the 2000s, technology, and homes being demolished in favor of high-rises) with callbacks to times even earlier than that.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Im now qualified to engage in heated discussions of Maoism on X, the everything app
informative
reflective
medium-paced