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A review by thebobsphere
Once Upon A Time in the East: A Story of Growing up by Xiaolu Guo
4.0
Xiaolu Guo is one of my favourite authors so when I found out that she had written her autobiography, I HAD to have it. Now I finally got round to reading it and it is everything I could want.
The book is divided into different phases in Xiaolu Guo’s life; The first part is about how her parents gave her to her grandparents and details her life in a fishing village. The second part is about her return to her parents and life in a different area of China, the third part is her move to Beijing as a film student and the final part is about her scholarship to study film in London, where she still resides.
One cannot deny that Xiaolu Guo had an interesting life. Starting out illiterate until her return to her parents and subsequent schooling, the first part mentions the tough childhood trials she had to face and the slow realisation that China is a communist country and it did things differently. As she grows up the details become more sordid, with tales of abuse and grooming – although the western stereotype is that Chinese are mild mannered people, Xiaolu Guo proves otherwise. During her film school years there’s her discovery of underground art and her attempts to create and yet being stopped by the government. As for the London years we see her developing into the writer we know.
Family, politics, language, immigration and culture clashes all feature in Xiaolu Guo’s novels and one can clearly see that they reflect her life. Despite authors saying that authors do not put their lives in their books, Once Upon a Time in the East shows that the above statement is a myth.
The book is divided into different phases in Xiaolu Guo’s life; The first part is about how her parents gave her to her grandparents and details her life in a fishing village. The second part is about her return to her parents and life in a different area of China, the third part is her move to Beijing as a film student and the final part is about her scholarship to study film in London, where she still resides.
One cannot deny that Xiaolu Guo had an interesting life. Starting out illiterate until her return to her parents and subsequent schooling, the first part mentions the tough childhood trials she had to face and the slow realisation that China is a communist country and it did things differently. As she grows up the details become more sordid, with tales of abuse and grooming – although the western stereotype is that Chinese are mild mannered people, Xiaolu Guo proves otherwise. During her film school years there’s her discovery of underground art and her attempts to create and yet being stopped by the government. As for the London years we see her developing into the writer we know.
Family, politics, language, immigration and culture clashes all feature in Xiaolu Guo’s novels and one can clearly see that they reflect her life. Despite authors saying that authors do not put their lives in their books, Once Upon a Time in the East shows that the above statement is a myth.