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A Hundred Flowers
A powerful new novel about an ordinary family facing extraordinary times at the start of the Chinese Cultural Revolution.
China, 1957. Chairman Mao has declared a new openness in society: “Let a hundred flowers bloom; let a hundred schools of thought contend.” Many intellectuals fear it is only a trick, and Kai Ying’s husband, Sheng, a teacher, has promised not to jeopardiz...more
China, 1957. Chairman Mao has declared a new openness in society: “Let a hundred flowers bloom; let a hundred schools of thought contend.” Many intellectuals fear it is only a trick, and Kai Ying’s husband, Sheng, a teacher, has promised not to jeopardiz...more
Hardcover, 288 pages
Published
August 7th 2012
by St. Martin's Press
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Gail Tsukiyama, whose heritage is a Japanese father and a Chinese mother, has penned many novels capturing these cultures. Rather than give a complete description of this book, I will attempt to further discuss some salient points.
This tale is set in 1955, during the Chinese "Cultural Revolution". I have purposely added quotation marks here to stress the farcical/traumatic nature of this period. It is illustrated well when Wei, the elderly grandfather of the family highlighted in this story, ser...more
This tale is set in 1955, during the Chinese "Cultural Revolution". I have purposely added quotation marks here to stress the farcical/traumatic nature of this period. It is illustrated well when Wei, the elderly grandfather of the family highlighted in this story, ser...more
13 likes · like · see review
view all 8 comments
Sep 03, 2012
Lex
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
history lovers
Shelves:
goodreads-first-reads
I won this novel from a Goodreads giveaway and am so happy that I did.
What a beautiful, moving story that flowed and ebbed at the perfect times.
In Communist China, we read about a family who is suffering from losing the husband of the home to a "reeducation" camp. They say he wrote a letter during the Hundred Letters campaign that condemed Mao and the Communist Party. However, Kai Ying, his wife, cannot imagine why her husband would ever write such a letter or put his family is jeopardy. Who wr...more
What a beautiful, moving story that flowed and ebbed at the perfect times.
In Communist China, we read about a family who is suffering from losing the husband of the home to a "reeducation" camp. They say he wrote a letter during the Hundred Letters campaign that condemed Mao and the Communist Party. However, Kai Ying, his wife, cannot imagine why her husband would ever write such a letter or put his family is jeopardy. Who wr...more
I received a copy of the e-galley of this book through Shelf Awareness. I historic fiction and especially am excited about this title. I will review it on GoodReads.
I really enjoyed this story. Its real appeal is that it is about an ordinary family. The time is 1958 and Chairman Mao and his army are in charge of China. The China of the past is gone and a much more stark and dismal one remains. The father of the family has been taken away to a re-education camp because of political crimes. His ab...more
I really enjoyed this story. Its real appeal is that it is about an ordinary family. The time is 1958 and Chairman Mao and his army are in charge of China. The China of the past is gone and a much more stark and dismal one remains. The father of the family has been taken away to a re-education camp because of political crimes. His ab...more
China, 1957. Chairman Mao has declared a new openness in society: “Let a hundred flowers bloom; let a hundred schools of thought contend.” Many intellectuals fear it is only a trick, and Kai Ying’s husband, Sheng, a teacher, has promised not to jeopardize their safety or that of their young son, Tao. But one July morning, just before his sixth birthday, Tao watches helplessly as Sheng is dragged away for writing a letter criticizing the Communist Party and sent to a labor camp for “reeducation.”...more
Every novel I have read of Gail Tsukiyama is a small gift, a reminder to look closely at life, absorb the details, and live deliberately, however difficult that might be.
The story begins in 1958, one year after Kai Ying's husband, Sheng, has been sent to be "re-educated" in a Chinese work camp. This sentence follows his arrest for writing a letter critical of the Communist Party. That year has been devastating to the small family, mother, 7 year old son, elderly father-in-law, Wei, and Aunt Song...more
The story begins in 1958, one year after Kai Ying's husband, Sheng, has been sent to be "re-educated" in a Chinese work camp. This sentence follows his arrest for writing a letter critical of the Communist Party. That year has been devastating to the small family, mother, 7 year old son, elderly father-in-law, Wei, and Aunt Song...more
This is a profound family saga about relationships in a contemporary Chinese family. I would have given it five stars but several of the events did not grow organically out of the nature of the characters. Nevertheless, it is well worth reading as each character is fully defined and grows in insight. The plot centers around a letter the grandfather wrote criticizing the government which results in his son's being taken for "reeducation" at a far-away prison as the son convinces the authorities t...more
I have been a fan of Gail Tsukiyama's for many years, so when I saw this book at the library, I was eager to read it. I appreciate her simple yet beautifully descriptive writing style, and I usually enjoy the slower pace that is common in her books. This book, however, fell a little short.
This story, of a family living in China in the 1950s under the rule of Chairman Mao, helped me understand the difficulties that ordinary people faced at that time with food, shelter and health. But I found the...more
This story, of a family living in China in the 1950s under the rule of Chairman Mao, helped me understand the difficulties that ordinary people faced at that time with food, shelter and health. But I found the...more
This is a quiet book where the larger events happening in China in the 50s intersect and impact three generations of a family trying to make their way in their world.
The "inciting event", the taking away of the father for re-education through hard labor, has already taken place. The story of "what happens then" unfolds layer by layer as seen and told from the viewpoints of the other family members - the young son, the mother, the grandfather, the aunt - a woman who has come to be part of the fam...more
The "inciting event", the taking away of the father for re-education through hard labor, has already taken place. The story of "what happens then" unfolds layer by layer as seen and told from the viewpoints of the other family members - the young son, the mother, the grandfather, the aunt - a woman who has come to be part of the fam...more
A wonderful heartwarming story of family, love and sacrifice.
The story is about the time when Chairman Mao declares that there is a new openness to China . Let the hundred flowers bloom, let hubndred schools of thought contend. Many intellectuals fear this is new plot by the government. Kai Ying husband, Sheng a headstrong teacher promises to keep out of it, but still was dragged away one morning for cruticising the Communist party much to the dismay of his wife Kai Ying, father Wei and the son...more
The story is about the time when Chairman Mao declares that there is a new openness to China . Let the hundred flowers bloom, let hubndred schools of thought contend. Many intellectuals fear this is new plot by the government. Kai Ying husband, Sheng a headstrong teacher promises to keep out of it, but still was dragged away one morning for cruticising the Communist party much to the dismay of his wife Kai Ying, father Wei and the son...more
This is such a quiet, subtle book that I don't quite know what to say about it. I think Kai Ying is the character I felt I knew the best. Though Tao and Wei tell their stories too, I felt like Tao's revolved around his injury, Wei's revolved around his journey and guilt, but Kai Ying's revolved around her lost husband, her herbal healing, and her relationships with every other character. But maybe I just identified with the female character more. I wish we learned more about Suyin, her family, h...more
A Hundred Flowers, by Gail Tsukiyama, Narrated by Simon Vance, produced by MacMillan Audio, downloaded from audible.com.
This is the story of a Chinese family whose father and grandfather were part of the educated class in 1957 when Mao Tse Tung said that there should be “a hundred flowers” meaning people should feel free to criticize constructively the Communist party. But when people did, he had them arrested and sent for “re-education to labor camps. They arrested Shenn for sending such a lett...more
This is the story of a Chinese family whose father and grandfather were part of the educated class in 1957 when Mao Tse Tung said that there should be “a hundred flowers” meaning people should feel free to criticize constructively the Communist party. But when people did, he had them arrested and sent for “re-education to labor camps. They arrested Shenn for sending such a lett...more
In 1956, Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-Tung) invited the people of China to speak up. “Let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools of though contend,” he said. It took a year until the people felt confident that he meant it. However when Mao did not like the negative reactions he heard, he abruptly shut down dissent in what became known as the Cultural Revolution. Anyone who bore the signs of being educated was suspect. Even if you just wore glasses you would be in danger. In A Hundred Flowers, Ga...more
Story Description:
St. Martin’s Press|August 7, 2012|Hardcover|ISBN: 978-0-312-27481-8
A powerful new novel about an ordinary family facing extraordinary times at the start of the Chinese Cultural Revolution China, 1957. Chairman Mao has declared a new openness in society. “Let a hundred flowers bloom; let a hundred schools of thought contend.” Many intellectuals fear it is only a trick, and Kai Ying’s husband, Sheng, a teacher has promised not to jeopardize their safety or that of their young son...more
St. Martin’s Press|August 7, 2012|Hardcover|ISBN: 978-0-312-27481-8
A powerful new novel about an ordinary family facing extraordinary times at the start of the Chinese Cultural Revolution China, 1957. Chairman Mao has declared a new openness in society. “Let a hundred flowers bloom; let a hundred schools of thought contend.” Many intellectuals fear it is only a trick, and Kai Ying’s husband, Sheng, a teacher has promised not to jeopardize their safety or that of their young son...more
“Let a hundred flowers bloom; let a hundred schools of thought contend.” – Mao Tse-Tung, 1956.
This quote serves as the backdrop for A Hundred Flowers, a tale of one family’s journey to survive Mao’s Communist China. While Mao seemingly encouraged scholars and academics to be open and honest about politics, government, and learning, it was a guise to catch rebels in the act.
Kai Ying’s husband, Sheng, is one of the individuals arrested by Communist soldiers who accuse him of writing an oppositio...more
This quote serves as the backdrop for A Hundred Flowers, a tale of one family’s journey to survive Mao’s Communist China. While Mao seemingly encouraged scholars and academics to be open and honest about politics, government, and learning, it was a guise to catch rebels in the act.
Kai Ying’s husband, Sheng, is one of the individuals arrested by Communist soldiers who accuse him of writing an oppositio...more
In 1957, Mao Zedong declared “Let a hundred flowers bloom; let a hundred schools of thoughts contend”, inviting the intellectuals to speak their thoughts for the good of the country. Of course it was a trap; those who spoke out against the regime were arrested and sent to work camps for ‘reeducation’. This is what has happened to Sheng, before the story starts.
The story is told from multiple points of view, switching between Kai Ying, Sheng’s wife, the herbal healer; Tao, their school age son;...more
The story is told from multiple points of view, switching between Kai Ying, Sheng’s wife, the herbal healer; Tao, their school age son;...more
I expected to really like this book and I wasn't disappointed. A Hundred Flowers takes place during 5 months of the repressive communist rule of Mao Tse-Tung. The title is derived by a statement he made:"let a hundred flowers bloom; let a hundred schools of thought contend." Though on the surface it would appear to encourage freedom of thinking, for Kai Ying's husband Sheng, it is a cruel trick as he is taken from the family to be " re- educated " as punishment for writing a letter seemingly cri...more
(Hardcover)
3.5 stars
I must be a little cranky today because I found this book a little jumpy. The story is told from five different characters including young Tao, his mother, his grandfather, his Aunt Song and a young fifteen year old homeless girl taken in by the family. This is like the third book in a row that I have read that tells the story from different perspectives. Is this the new trend? It seems like since "Olive Kitteridge" everyone is using that device and I am getting tired of it...more
3.5 stars
I must be a little cranky today because I found this book a little jumpy. The story is told from five different characters including young Tao, his mother, his grandfather, his Aunt Song and a young fifteen year old homeless girl taken in by the family. This is like the third book in a row that I have read that tells the story from different perspectives. Is this the new trend? It seems like since "Olive Kitteridge" everyone is using that device and I am getting tired of it...more
Jun 06, 2012
Eileen Granfors
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
coming-of-age,
families,
medical-issues,
marriage,
politics,
school-stories,
foreign-countries
Gail Tsukiyama has written books that I treasure, including "The Samurai's Garden" and "The Language of Threads."
Her new book, "A Hundred Flowers," begins with intensity but wavers in the middle chapters. Tao's father has been taken for re-education in Communist China. The boy feels lost without his father, although his mother, Kai Ying, and his grandfather, Wei, love him beyond measure. Both try to help Tao with this crisis in his life. When Tao falls out of a tree, breaking his leg, it seems a...more
Her new book, "A Hundred Flowers," begins with intensity but wavers in the middle chapters. Tao's father has been taken for re-education in Communist China. The boy feels lost without his father, although his mother, Kai Ying, and his grandfather, Wei, love him beyond measure. Both try to help Tao with this crisis in his life. When Tao falls out of a tree, breaking his leg, it seems a...more
A Hundred Flowers – Gail Tsukiyama
4 stars
“She marveled at nature's resiliency, its sheer stubbornness to survive.”
Those are the thoughts of Auntie Song, one of the characters in Gail Tsukiyama’s newest book. It is the story of an extended family told from five different perspectives through a year of many changes. Some of the challenges they face are common to many lives; a child’s accident, grief at the death of a spouse, the birth of a child. Other concerns are unique to the cataclysmic socia...more
4 stars
“She marveled at nature's resiliency, its sheer stubbornness to survive.”
Those are the thoughts of Auntie Song, one of the characters in Gail Tsukiyama’s newest book. It is the story of an extended family told from five different perspectives through a year of many changes. Some of the challenges they face are common to many lives; a child’s accident, grief at the death of a spouse, the birth of a child. Other concerns are unique to the cataclysmic socia...more
I selected this book because friends have been telling me for quite some time to try one of Gail Tsukiyama’s books because they are wonderful. As a result, I went into this one with very high expectations and I am afraid that I was disappointed.
I simply could not connect at all with any of the characters, and the book moved at an excruciatingly slow place. I have no problem with books where the action is limited, and the work is essentially a character study. Here, though, because the characters...more
I simply could not connect at all with any of the characters, and the book moved at an excruciatingly slow place. I have no problem with books where the action is limited, and the work is essentially a character study. Here, though, because the characters...more
3.5 stars; I really enjoyed this book about one's family experience in late 1950s China, just prior to the cultural revolution. The name of the book, A Hundred Flowers, is based upon a campaign that Mao developed to get the Chinese citizenry to provide their thoughts and ideas about the Chinese government. Of course, it's easy to foresee what would happen when anyone did so. The results of one's speaking freely is one of the themes in this book, but there is much more as well.
Overall, I think t...more
Overall, I think t...more
1 like · like · see review
I chose to read this book because reviewed was on N.P.R. I had just finished a great Young Adult book," The Fault In Our Stars " because of an interview with the author on N.P.R. I was excited and motivated to read other books that had either been an "Interview Book" or reviewed by the staff of N.P.R.'s . I looked up their Summer Books 2012 and made a list. I really wanted to read this book and thought that I would like it a lot. I've read a number of books,that were set in China,and enjoyed the...more
Sep 02, 2012
Henrietta
marked it as to-read
A powerful new novel about an ordinary family facing extraordinary times at the start of the Chinese Cultural Revolution.
China, 1957. Chairman Mao has declared a new openness in society: “Let a hundred flowers bloom; let a hundred schools of thought contend.” Many intellectuals fear it is only a trick, and Kai Ying’s husband, Sheng, a teacher, has promised not to jeopardize their safety or that of their young son, Tao. But one July morning, just before his sixth birthday, Tao watches helplessly...more
China, 1957. Chairman Mao has declared a new openness in society: “Let a hundred flowers bloom; let a hundred schools of thought contend.” Many intellectuals fear it is only a trick, and Kai Ying’s husband, Sheng, a teacher, has promised not to jeopardize their safety or that of their young son, Tao. But one July morning, just before his sixth birthday, Tao watches helplessly...more
The simplicity of this narrative may not appeal to readers who want action-driven plots, but I enjoyed the way Tsukiyama meandered through the 5 months that the novel took place. This was very character driven, often switching third person perspectives between 7 year-old Tao, his mother Kai Ying, his grandfather Wei, his Aunty Song, and pregnant beggar Suyin. Their lives revolve around their family, but since Tao’s father Sheng was taken by the Communist Party for reeducation, there is an empty...more
I received this book through Goodreads First Reads.
In 1957 Chairman Mao issued an order for all the intellectuals and artists in the community to come forward so that China could become a stronger country. "Let a hundred flowers bloom; let a hundred schools of thought contend." While this was seen as cautious good news, Sheng was arrested for sending a letter speaking out against the Communist Party and was sent to a reeducation facility. He leaves behind his professor father, Wei, his herb heal...more
In 1957 Chairman Mao issued an order for all the intellectuals and artists in the community to come forward so that China could become a stronger country. "Let a hundred flowers bloom; let a hundred schools of thought contend." While this was seen as cautious good news, Sheng was arrested for sending a letter speaking out against the Communist Party and was sent to a reeducation facility. He leaves behind his professor father, Wei, his herb heal...more
The opening pages of this book are enough to hold you in its powerful grip since the atmosphere of Mao's china emanates from them, making it impossible for you not to turn to the next page and read on. The novel takes place during the time of Mao Zedung. The Lee family has lived through the brutal rule of the Kuomintang and the Nationalists only to be subjected to the brutality of the Communists. With the elimination of the extravagant lifestyle of the gentry, there was supposed to be a time of...more
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Story is a year in China during the Mao re-education period - 1958. Hard to believe this was happening in China when I was small!The story is much more complex than the synopsis below would indicate. Sheng is not the writer of the letter but his father (who's name is cloce to the son's and the police think it is the son not the father that has written it). The father carries the guilt of bringing this hardship on the family. Other people living in the "vila" (Mao has moved many families into wha...more
Chairman Mao declared “let a hundred flowers bloom; let a hundred schools of thought contend” to encourage Chinese citizens with viable criticisms to open their thoughts of change to the government. Unfortunately for most of the outspoken population, this then turned into a motion for the re-education of Chinese citizens in 1957. This story follows a family whose patriarch has been forcibly removed for writing a letter to Chairman Mao describing changes that must be made and the way this effects...more
I am a huge fan of Gail Tsukiyama, she has written a number of my favorite books, including The Samurai’s Garden; when I learned she had a new book coming out it immediately went on my wish list. Sadly this book did not live up to my expectations.
The book is set in China, 1957 when Chairman Mao had been in power roughly ten years. The book is told from the viewpoint of five people; Wei, patriarch of the family; Kai Ying, Wei’s daughter in law and wife of Sheng; Tao son of Kai Ying and Sheng; Au...more
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Born to a Chinese mother and a Japanese father in San Francisco, Gail Tsukiyama now lives in El Cerrito, California. Her novels include Women of the Silk (1991), The Samurai's Garden (1995), Night of Many Dreams (1998), The Language of Threads (1999), Dreaming Water (2002), and The Street of a Thousand Blossoms (2007).
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“Wei cleared his throat and said, “Have you heard the saying `The wise adapt themselves to circumstances, as water molds itself to the pitcher’? It seems I’ve been the pitcher most of my life. I’ve forgotten how to be fluid. It feels as if I’m finally learning now,” he said.”
—
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