 |
 |
Sign in/joinLanguage: English [ others ]
Over forty million books on members' bookshelves.
|
Loading... Wild Swans : Three Daughters of Chinaby Jung Chang
LibraryThing recommendationsMember recommendationsLoading...
won't like
will probably not like
will probably like
will like
will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. I was assigned to read this book for my English class during our World History year. I usually loved what was assigned to me the four years of high school, but for some reason, I was skeptical about this book. It was thick and heavy and, because I was undergoing treatment for cancer my senior year, I was actually a little mad at my english teacher for assigning it to me. But I am incredibly glad he did. This book kept me engrossed for an entire month with its captivating story and amazing characters. . . I was literally upset when I finished it. I wanted it to go on. I've read it again twice since and recommended it to friends about 4 times (they all liked it as well). I'm not usually one for historical novels, but this was a major exception. My teacher actually let me keep this book and I'm glad for it! (  )Maggie_Rum | May 20, 2009 |   History is not a big reading interest of mine but I'm glad I made an exception in this case. This is such an interesting view of life in China during the major upheaval of Japanese occupation, the beginnings of Communist China, the insanity of Mao's Cultural Revolution, and the more modern expansion of freedoms. I learned so much about China that I hadn't known previously and the personal narrative of the author, based on the experiences of her family was inspiring and heartbreaking. I highly recommend this book. (  )tjsjohanna | Apr 11, 2009 | Of all the books written about China's Cultural Revolution, this is the classic. It's the book I recommend to anyone wanting to learn more about modern China. The author tells the story of 3 generations of women in her family, from the beginnings of the Republican Revolution through the end of the Cultural Revolution. BaoBao | Mar 8, 2009 | This is my third biographical novel of life in China during Mao's Cultural Revolution and it does not disappoint. My first novel was Red Azalea a story about a young girl of a middle class family. The next was "Life and Death in Shanghai" a story of a rich diplomat's wife who was accused of being a western spy during this period. Now "Wild Swans: Three Swans" a story of a senior party worker's family as the Chinese communist revolution went from humble beginnings through to the end of Mao's reign. I found this book fascinating in that no one was safe from Mao's evil sick tentacles. It confirmed the other stories in many ways as well as adding insight to another element of Chinese society. The suffering of even loyal party workers was unimaginable to me. Reading these three novels helps me understand the character of the Chinese today. An excellent read. (  )Lynxear | Feb 12, 2009 | click for review (  )benskinner | Feb 11, 2009 | 0.081 seconds to build listing  no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com (ISBN 0006374921, Paperback)In Wild Swans Jung Chang recounts the evocative, unsettling, and insistently gripping story of how three generations of women in her family fared in the political maelstrom of China during the 20th century. Chang's grandmother was a warlord's concubine. Her gently raised mother struggled with hardships in the early days of Mao's revolution and rose, like her husband, to a prominent position in the Communist Party before being denounced during the Cultural Revolution. Chang herself marched, worked, and breathed for Mao until doubt crept in over the excesses of his policies and purges. Born just a few decades apart, their lives overlap with the end of the warlords' regime and overthrow of the Japanese occupation, violent struggles between the Kuomintang and the Communists to carve up China, and, most poignant for the author, the vicious cycle of purges orchestrated by Chairman Mao that discredited and crushed millions of people, including her parents.(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:57:57 -0400) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
Abebooks |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
