"The beautiful, iron-willed Wild Ginger is only in elementary school when we first meet her, but already she has been singled out by the Red Guards...
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Jun 12, 2007
Brooke
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Set in Maoist China during the Cultural Revolution, Anchee Min's "Wild Ginger" begins with two young outcast girls who find friendship as a means of survival. They live in a hostile environment where anything different is considered "anti-Mao" and can be grounds for death. Despite their intense bond, as the novel progresses their friendship is torn apart as
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Dec 17, 2009
Rachal
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This book is similar to her other book, Kathrine, except it really goes more in depth into the world an psyche of what it was like to be a child/teenager during the cultural revolution. It was an amazing look at how a leader can create a following by influencing the children with rewards on one hand and severe punishment on the other. It was a great look at how and why leaders/dictators are able to gain and hold power over a large mass of people, even when those same people that supported them i
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Aug 28, 2010
Heather
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Sep 10, 2009
Barky
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Maple comes of age in the midst of Mao's red China. She is lonely and constantly harrassed by a group of girls at her elementary school who enjoy beating on her and use the excuse that she is an anti-Maoist in order to get away with it. Then, Wild Ginger, a new girl, begins attending school with them - and suddenly Maple has a new friend and a staunch ally. Wild Ginger is exotic looking because she is part French, but she wants more than anything else to show everyone what a good Maoist she is.
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Jul 05, 2011
Jo
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I read this book to try and learn more about China during the time of the Cultural Revolution. I learned a lot. I feel very sorry for these families who were manipulated by the government through no fault of their own. Hunger is a good way to control masses of people and these people were not only kept hungry for the food needed to nourish their bodies they were starved by ideological control and their inability to think for themselves or to reflect and express their own thoughts. Idealism and l
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Feb 13, 2010
Lisa
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This was intense. About two girls growing up in Maoist China. They are labled as outsiders by the party. One of them is desperate to become recognized as a true Maoist. She succeeds, and what follows is absolutely nuts. I read this book completely in one sitting (luckily my children decided to take a marathon nap that day) because it was just so intense. I can't say I was really enjoying it though, but I just couldn't put it down. But then the whole time I was kind of wishing that I had n
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Jan 30, 2012
Willem
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After the Cultural Revolution, Maple’s life in basic school becomes a hell. Her father has been sent away to a labor camp and the girl gets beaten daily by a classmate, Hot Pepper, who is the leader of the Red Guard at her school. Maple and her family are, according to the Guard, anti-Maoists and it's Hot Pepper’s job to beat the impure and bourgeois thoughts out of Maple’s head. That is, until Wild Ginger arrives at the school; a girl equally unaccepted by the Party. Having nothing to lose, the
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Jul 29, 2011
J
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Another Novel by Min that is based around a girl growing up in the midst of the Chinese Cultural revolution. This one investigates the various forms of love that one can possess - a love for one's country (or lack thereof), a love for one's family (or lack thereof) and a love for another person (or lack thereof). The story itself is basic, but displays well (so far as I can tell) what life was like growing up during the Chinese Cultural Revolution.
Apr 07, 2010
Susan
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Wild Ginger is the story of three teenagers during China's Cultural Revolution who find themselves embroiled in a dangerous love triangle in a time of lawlessness and chaos. If I hadn't read Red Azalea or Becoming Madame Mao before picking up Wild Ginger, I would have thought Wild Ginger a brilliant book. It is a quick read and perfect for when you're between books and need something to read for a few days. But if you haven't read Anchee Min, I suggest reading Red Azalea or Becoming Madame Mao f
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Jul 28, 2008
Ray
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Even better than a friend recommending a book is when a friend gives you a book. So thanks again Carrie! Every book you have sent has been a winner...and "Wild Ginger" was no exception.
This was a short novel. And it was plotted and paced like a short story, and at just 200 pages it went by fast. Although this work was steeped in details of a specific and unique period in time--China's Cultural Revolution--it managed to read quite naturally.
It's the story of More...
This was a short novel. And it was plotted and paced like a short story, and at just 200 pages it went by fast. Although this work was steeped in details of a specific and unique period in time--China's Cultural Revolution--it managed to read quite naturally.
It's the story of More...
Mar 29, 2009
Larry
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I am a sucker for books about China and this one was a good read. The life of Ginger and her cohorts in the Cultural Revolution is fascinating and the story well told. It amazes me what people go through in this period. The book is also an interesting coming of age story. I think there are better Anchee Min books but this one is worth reading.
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Nov 02, 2009
Eva
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This is a coming of age story set during the Cultural Revolution in China. I didn't know that much about Mao teachings and the Cultural Revolution but then again I'm sure China did not want the world to really know what was happening during that time. This is a very quick, easy read and definitely historical fiction of the first order.
Sep 04, 2009
Rosemary
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Quick Read...interesting story of a young girl during the Cultural Revolution in CVhina in the 1960's. It appears to be based on her own true experience.
Anchee Min is a fabulous writer. This is one of her earlier books...two others that are excellent books by this author are: Becoming Madame Mao and The Last Empress
Anchee Min is a fabulous writer. This is one of her earlier books...two others that are excellent books by this author are: Becoming Madame Mao and The Last Empress
Aug 02, 2011
Found a real vitality within this novel. It's been a few years since I've read Min, and really enjoyed a return to her storytelling and perspective. The struggle within Maoist China of the individual versus the communal resonates in the self-discovery of the main character. Really enjoyed this book.
Mar 07, 2009
tib
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Mao's Little Red Book being used as whip-it-up-dirty-talk was not what I was expecting:)
I liked the simple writing style she used for this book - it read a bit like a very tragic fairy tale. The use of Mao quotations (for erotic purposes and otherwise) was really interesting, particularly when the sayings were being used to justify seemingly unrelated actions.
I liked the simple writing style she used for this book - it read a bit like a very tragic fairy tale. The use of Mao quotations (for erotic purposes and otherwise) was really interesting, particularly when the sayings were being used to justify seemingly unrelated actions.
May 27, 2009
FrumpBurger
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Anchee Min is such a great writer, and her books about Mao-era China are always great. Not much to say, really, except that this book was awesome. Sad, intense, and, I have a feeling, all too close to the experience of many Chinese people coming of age during the Cultural Revolution. It's at once the story of childhood friends, of love, and of growing up, and also about the dangers of rigid, controlling, dogmatic belief systems.
Jan 24, 2009
Catherine
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Quick and compelling. It takes you into the thick of the cultural revolution in China, which the author lived through. Part love story, part political drama. The dialogue is somewhat stiff, which may be a result of the translation.
Nov 29, 2008
Vicky
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It's hard to know what to make of this book. It gives vivid, horrifying glimpses into the era of the "cultural revolution" in China and has a love-triangle plot that is well integrated into its theme of how totalitarian ideology destroys our humanity. But the style was puzzling. The book is written almost entirely in short, simple sentences, which gives it a halting, choppy (and to me, monotonous) quality.
Jul 07, 2011
Summer
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This was a page turner, but throughout the novel I couldn't help but start to dislike the novels namesake. I thought it was great how it was told from Maple's point of view, rather than an omniscient narrator.
Jul 12, 2009
Jennifer
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Anchee Min is a good writer. This was an interesting read as it was a good character study. Perhaps a good book club read. I am not sure I am happy with the way she chose to end the book, but overall it was an good read and look into the revolution, Maoism, and how someone can be so influenced by another person or concept(belief).
Jan 14, 2012
Kate
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I fully admit that I am a sucker for novels featuring illuminating Communist propaganda, and Min is lovely with that. I think I loved this book just for the final sentence.
Oct 21, 2011
Cindy
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I was a little disappointed. It took awhile to care about the charactors, but in the end it was an ok book. Not one I would readily recommend.
Aug 18, 2009
Myn
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Poignant, elegant, brutal, vicious. Set in the cultural revolution, this story follows two girls growing up. Thoroughly encouraged.
Jan 11, 2010
Renee
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This was a quicky read. Very unusual. Started off strangely (is the only way I can think to describe it). But it turned out to be an easy, interesting and different read. Can't say I've ready anything like it.
Mar 27, 2010
Amy
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More like a 2.75. I felt parts were racy just to be racy -- but the book did help me understand Maoist thought better.
May 15, 2008
Ladiibbug
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Set in the early '70's inside China at the height of Mao's Cultural Revolution
Wild Ginger and her friend Maple are targets for persecution by the fanatic Mao-ist schoolmates as young teens. As time goes by, the girls meet a boy, Evergreen, and a love story evolves - but it is distorted by the political climate.
This is a harrowing and eye-opening story of the Cultural Revolution, about which I knew very little. It sounds like full-on brainwashing, like a bizarre cult! W More...
Wild Ginger and her friend Maple are targets for persecution by the fanatic Mao-ist schoolmates as young teens. As time goes by, the girls meet a boy, Evergreen, and a love story evolves - but it is distorted by the political climate.
This is a harrowing and eye-opening story of the Cultural Revolution, about which I knew very little. It sounds like full-on brainwashing, like a bizarre cult! W More...
Jan 04, 2011
Richard
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Simple yet poignant tale that expounds on what it was like during the Cultural Revolution in China.
Nov 02, 2009
Katie M.
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I liked some aspects of this book (if "like" isn't too awkward a word for a novel that's essentially a snapshot of Cultural Revolution-era atrocities), but it didn't quite make it over the 3-star hump for me.
Dec 18, 2008
Nicolebroadwater
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This book gives a story and a face to those who lived through the cultural revolution.
Dec 31, 2008
Ariele
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I didn't love the writing, but I enjoyed the insight into Communist China.
