Banned in China, this book is the "autobiographical novel" that tells the story of Chun Sue, a young woman coming of age right at the turn of the millennium. The book's cover purports that it is "uncensored, raw, and bloody," and that the narrator/protagonist seemingly holds nothing back. Maybe it's because I'm jaded, having come of age at roughly the same time as the author, but nothing in this book really shocked me all that much. Of course, China's society is far stricter than my own, so this book may well be more of a shocker there, but nothing that Chun Sue describes in this book is really all that different from the lives of so many American teenagers. If anything, I'd say she got off pretty light, as adolescences go.

I have a number of problems with this book, some of them purely technical. For one thing, the "autobiographical novel" designation doesn't make any sense to me. If it's autobiographical, wouldn't that make it a memoir? Also, the lack of cohesive story line and ultimate lack of resolution got tiresome. None of the "characters" are part of the story long enough for readers to come to care about them, and the story, such as it is, doesn't seem to arrive at any sort of conclusion. The book reads more like a teenager's diary than a real narrative, which I would be far more accepting of if there seemed to be an element of depth or even intrigue. No such luck.

On the other hand, this book might actually be good material for mothers looking to better understand their teenage daughters' angst and hormonal passion. Such topics are so much more palatable when they concern a third party rather than one's own daughter, so a reader might be able to examine Chun Sue's erratic behavior with somewhat more objective detachment. This isn't to say that Chun Sue's behavior really makes sense -- rather, her behavior seems rather typical of many girls her age, and might provide a window (albeit a narrow and somewhat hazy one) into the lives of adolescent Millennials (or whatever kids are called these days).

Overall, this book is highly forgettable, even when one is in the middle of it. Don't bother reading through to the end -- I assure you there is no reward or hidden gem in its conclusion, as I had hoped there might be.

Chun Sue is a spoiled middle school student who'd rather drop out of school to screw random college guys than much else. She claims to be a great rock and roll expert but can't tell the difference between punk and grunge. Basically, this book was written when she was in her late teens, and it painfully shows. I think Chun Sue will look back on this book in five years and cringe. It also has this odd quality I can't define that really reminds me of Miss Sophie's Diary. That also really irked me about the author/protagonist's attitude-- she claims she's all rebellious and the only person to do these wild and crazy things but OH WAIT! Ding Ling was writing essentially this same story (but an oh so much better one) 80 years ago!

see all my reviews at www.tushuguan.blogspot.com ( )