A review by aman757
Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin

adventurous emotional funny informative reflective fast-paced

4.0

I found this to be a very insightful book about the author and narrator, Li Cunxin, and the way his many artistic achievements in the discipline of ballet were so firmly rooted in his personal character, instilled by his parents in the small, rural village in which he was raised. Cunxin does a very good job developing the narrative of the book too, beginning with a detailed exposition of his upbringing, moving to the time he spent at the ballet conservatory in Beijing, and then using the rest of the book to illustrate his experience in the United States and other parts of "the Western world." I believe the first section of the book likely provided the most details about what life entailed growing up in Mao's communist China, particularly in the "peasant" class, While many of the conditions described were undeniably harsh and demanding, the type of love and joy Cunxin relates in his stories of everyday living are almost as equally undeniable.

Near the end of this first section of the book, Cunxin is selected to be a part of Mao's ballet program

, which is a part I enjoyed for the fortuity of this event that had such a major influence on the development of Cunxin's life and his story. In the next section, Cunxin discusses his adaptation to the new challenges of moving to a major city and training in an artform with which he had no previous experience. I started to think in some early parts of this section that some of the conditions in Cunxin's village I felt at first may have been harsh but necessary for Mao's communist plan were moreso cruel practices to serve a class of instructors and government officials.

Particularly, I was shocked by the way that in the first class Cunxin attended at the conservatory, his instructor forced him to straighten his leg all the way on a high beam and pushed his head down to the leg, so much so that it lead to hamstring tears /spoiler>. I couldn't help but have sympathy for Cunxin while reading passages like this, but I was also amazed by his resilience through these tests of will. And then, in the third and final part of the book, Cunxin receives the opportunity to travel to the United States to continue learning in and developing his artistry. Some of his descriptions of early experiences he had in the U.S. read as if he perceived aspects of the country as a sort of epitome of opulence and even excess that he had never before seen in China. And from some of the experiences he relates, I couldn't help but think that this may have actually been somewhat of a true reality. I admittedly do not understand enough of the international politics that were happening at this time, particularly between China and the United States, to be able to comprehend why these dynamics were occurring, but regardless, it was interesting to read about Cunxin's perspective on the change in lifestyle he faced upon his move to the United States. And I think one of the most insightful aspects of the challenges and adjustments he describes would have to do with his continued desire for connection with his family and friends back home, which most anyone would be able to relate to but which involved unique barriers because of continued distrust and propaganda in China toward the U.S., and almost certainly vice versa. However, after years of establishing himself in the new country on his own, with only occasional correspondence with his family, Cunxin was finally able to convince the Chinese consulate to permit his family to travel to see him. And later, he was also able to return to China to see many of his old friends from the ballet conservatory there. These were definitely some of the most satisfying, full-circle moments of the story, one which I was able to consistently root for the narrator's success. I would say that my one major critique of the book would have to do with the title. There is one passage later in the book in which Cunxin describes himself as "Mao's last dancer," and while I do get many of the ways in which Cunxin and his peers had to submit to Mao and his ideas during their upbringing, the fact that Cunxin spent a sizable portion of his ballet career in countries with leaders other than Mao made me feel as though there may have been a better title to be found. That said, I still thoroughly enjoyed this book, and commend Cunxin on his well-earned artistic achievements.