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readingfastandslow's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.0
trishayye's review against another edition
3.0
i'm not a fan of reading diaries, but i think this is a good book to understand better what was happening in Wuhan in the beginning of the pandemic.
cynthiaqi123's review against another edition
3.0
I admire Fang Fang's courage to speak her truth. As she was locked in her house, like everyone else in Wuhan during those devastating initial months of the COVID-19 outbreak, her decision to chronicle the personal, the mundane, and all moments in between show us what life was like for the majority of those trapped by this virus. Although quite repetitive at times, this was an important read, as I was brought back to the initial inklings of the pandemic while sitting comfortably in my own home during our province's third "lockdown", and with hope that our vaccination campaign will bring back life as we knew it. Our lockdowns were very different than Wuhan's, and as a result, so were our infection curves. Fang Fang's story is also interesting because of the pandemonium that ensued--at first overwhelmingly positive, then suddenly, her followers turned on her. My mom explained that this switch was brought on as soon as readers in China found out her diary was being translated for Western readers to enjoy. Suddenly, she was criticized for being too harsh on the Chinese government's response to the pandemic. Although there was some criticism, I feel like this is only normal, and in fact, the overall tone from her diary was optimistic. Fang Fang's voice remained hopeful because she was inspired by the tenacity of Wuhan's residents, and the efficient response by the government despite their initial blunders. Every organization can benefit from criticism. We don't expect the perfect response, but it's reasonable to demand accountability from our leaders. Those who lost their lives to this virus deserve it, and those who's lives have been irreversibly altered, deserve it as well.
egoenner's review against another edition
3.0
An averaged rating-- 4 stars for timeliness and interesting view of life within Wuhan's quarantine; 2 stars for tedium, tangentsm and just wanting it to end already, a little like the pandemic.
ehop's review against another edition
4.0
Very repetitive, but times in quarantine are like that. It was great to get a first-hand look at what life was like in Wuhan during the lockdown and what the government’s response (or lack there of) was in leading up to it. There are reasons why this book is hard to find and why Fang Fang was criticized so much while writing her diary. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t because of its repetitive nature and definitely was because of her frank criticism of the Chinese government.
sariggs's review against another edition
2.0
It's interesting to read about the similarities and differences in lockdown, but it's a diary and I could only force myself to read the first half. Maybe I'll finish at some later date.
eralon's review against another edition
3.0
I've been aggressively socially-distanced for almost a year. For no particular reason, I might add. There is a concern that someone in my family might be especially unlucky, as it has been a long time since I felt lucky about matters of life and death. But mostly, it comes from a desire not to participate in this horror. If I stay home, I can't give covid to 1 person who becomes 2, who becomes 4, becomes 8, and so on increasing exponentially until I'm the mother of untold horrors. So maybe it's a knowledge of exponentially increasing numbers that keeps me home. I'm up to 331 days so far. That said, Fang Fang's couple of months in quarantine seem very small for her drama about isolation. But the main thing I found riveting about it is the careful dance of censorship she plays with the Chinese government. It's a horror within a horror, and truly the source and origin of all the covid deaths and sorror.
readingrara's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
3.0
Initially this reads as a rather excellent, tension-building, dystopian novel; as a reader I had to remind myself this was real. However, as Fang Fang's diary continues, the nature of lockdown means that the narrative is rather sluggish. It is only at the end, as the author contemplates where blame lies that it becomes more interesting again. Ultimately, this is an important primary historical source, a witness record and should be read as such. Interesting as a westerner to realise the political party control in China and that censorship is still prevalent.