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A review by thebobsphere
I Am China by Xiaolu Guo
5.0
After reading two books about genocide ( Rwanda and Serbia respectively) I thought I was in for another round of senseless killing when I pulled out the title I am China from the jar (trust me my jar has a cruel sense of humour - whenever I'm totally busy the 500 pagers crop up, last july it thought that it would be a good idea for me to read all my non fiction books in one consecutive month etc) anyway this book was marvelous. Multi layered, well written and one excellent plot.
Iona translates Chinese documents, however one day her publisher mails a diary and series of letters, hoping that she can translate them so that they could be published. Once she starts to work on it she unravels a story about two lovers who must battle Chinese politics, Western attitudes and their own personal problems. As Iona reaches the end of the translating job she discovers that she has problems that must be faced as well.
What can I say? One of those surprises that crop up. Go read it ASAP. Trust me.
Iona translates Chinese documents, however one day her publisher mails a diary and series of letters, hoping that she can translate them so that they could be published. Once she starts to work on it she unravels a story about two lovers who must battle Chinese politics, Western attitudes and their own personal problems. As Iona reaches the end of the translating job she discovers that she has problems that must be faced as well.
What can I say? One of those surprises that crop up. Go read it ASAP. Trust me.