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A review by banana_hutch
Confessions: An Innocent Life in Communist China by Kang Zhengguo
3.0
This is one of the longest, most detailed set of Chinese memoirs I've read thus far. Much of Kang Zhengguo's story mirrors that of other Chinese citizens who were labelled as landlords or reactionaries, only this book has more meat to it than some others that I've read. It took me much longer to finish than others have.
His family class and his desire to learn (particularly literature and foreign languages) made him a perpetual target for the Communist party. He spent time in labor camps doing jobs of varying difficulty, was run out of school and his town, changed his name, was adopted as an adult by a peasant in the hopes it would make his life a bit easier, and experienced numerous other bizarre and horrifying setbacks even after his exodus to the United States.
Kang's story provides a glimpse into the life that ordinary Chinese led during Mao's leadership of the Communist Party.
His family class and his desire to learn (particularly literature and foreign languages) made him a perpetual target for the Communist party. He spent time in labor camps doing jobs of varying difficulty, was run out of school and his town, changed his name, was adopted as an adult by a peasant in the hopes it would make his life a bit easier, and experienced numerous other bizarre and horrifying setbacks even after his exodus to the United States.
Kang's story provides a glimpse into the life that ordinary Chinese led during Mao's leadership of the Communist Party.