Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Red Azalea

3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 · rating details · 3,655 ratings · 302 reviews

Red Azalea is Anchee Min’s celebrated memoir of growing up in the last years of Mao’s China. As a child, she was asked to publicly humiliate a teacher; at seventeen, she was sent to work at a labor collective. Forbidden to speak, dress, read, write, or love as she pleased, she found a lifeline in a secret love affair with another woman. Miraculously selected for the film v...more

Paperback, 320 pages

Published April 11th 2006 by Anchor (first published January 1st 1994)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Fiction from the Chinese Mainland

1st out of 53 books — 64 voters

Best Memoir / Biography / Autobiography

123rd out of 1,804 books — 1,747 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

May 11, 2013 Marcy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Anchee Min could not have been more honest, telling her own story of despair regarding the Cultural Revolution. Even before Anchee had to leave her parents for the countryside, her family had to move from a roomy and comfortable home to a crowded floor where workers would file in to the bottom floor each morning, in order to weld wires in a cable and wire hardware workshop, releasing toxic chemicals that Anchee's family would smell all day. At school, Anchee was a superior student, devoted to th...more Anchee Min could not have been more honest, telling her own story of despair regarding the Cultural Revolution. Even before Anchee had to leave her parents for the countryside, her family had to move from a roomy and comfortable home to a crowded floor where workers would file in to the bottom floor each morning, in order to weld wires in a cable and wire hardware workshop, releasing toxic chemicals that Anchee's family would smell all day. At school, Anchee was a superior student, devoted to the teachings of Mao, until the day she had to denounce one of her favorite teachers when demanded by a superior. Anchee learned early in life that in order to survive the Cultural Revolution, she had to play a part, taking away her individual identity and wishes. As she parted from her parents at a young age to become a peasant in the countryside, another piece of Anchee's innocence was peeled away. Anchee wrote that in times of poverty, people become mean. Throughout Anchee's stay in the countryside, the meanness and "dog eat dog" behavior overwhelmed her.

Anchee found love with one of her female commanders. Keeping their love secret was a full time job, adding added stress to an already distressing life. Another female commander was determined to catch both women and expose them so she could further her own career. "As I washed my clothes, I thought about how easily Lu could destroy me by making false reports and dropping ambiguous words into my dossier, which only the Party bosses had access to. Words that could bury me alive. Words that once in the dossier would never be changed. They would follow me even after death. The dossier determines who I am and who I will be. It would be the only image of me the Party considered real and trustworthy."

When Anchee had the chance of a lifetime to become a film star named Red Azalea in one of Mao's wife's "operas," her lover encouraged her to go. At the film studio in Shanghai, the jealousy of the girls trying to compete for the main part, made Anchee a hated target. Anchee not only lost the part, but became a "server" at the film studio, working in the background. It is in one of the darkened rooms that Anchee becomes involved with "the" Supervisor of the film. He is loyal to Mao's wife and vision, and is tied to the mission of creating the "perfect" opera that would make his benefactor proud. It was odd that the Supervisor found the frankness and honesty of Anchee refreshing and both he and Anchee fall in love. They meet in the darkness of a Peace Park, where others masterbate and make love, while hiding from the flashlights of the police. Anchee then becomes the Red Azalea, the main character in the opera. Mao dies before the last scene is played, and his wife is denounced and jailed. The play will never be. Anchee never becomes a star.

The unhappiness and darkness of this story is quite overwhelming, with glimpses of unrequited and unconventional love in a world turned upside down. It is told by Anchee, who is frank and painfully honest. I am about to read her second new novel, when she arrives in the United States, the land of the free. Quite frankly, I cannot for the life of me understand why Mao is revered in modern day China. (less)

1 like · like · see review

May 05, 2013 Karissa rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have a particular fascination with Cultural Revolution stories, and this was no different. I was really interested in the elements of her story, just to hear the experiences she had and what life under Communist China was like at that time. However, I found her writing somewhat distracting. As someone who does speak Chinese, I got the distinct feeling that she was directly translating things into English from Chinese, in ways that somehow felt a little abstract or out of place in English. That...more

like · see review

Dec 21, 2012 Gianna rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: asian

I din't want to rate the book. How does one rate someone's life story anyway? The memories or events one selects as meaningful? Anchee Min is a natural story teller, and her memoir reads more like a novel. I marveled at the numerous details, the carefully captured descriptions of one's movements, the precision of reported speech, and wondered how accurate all of these details actually are.

The emotions are raw. If it is difficult to read at times, it is not because of the writing in any way, but...more

1 like · like · see review

Nov 12, 2012 Vrouwenbibliotheek Utrecht rated it 4 of 5 stars

'Rode Azalea' is een autobiografie van Anchee Min over haar jeugd in communistisch China. Ze is opgevoed met de leer van Mao en de opera's van kameraad Jiang Ching. Zowel haar ouders als zijzelf geloofden in deze leer en in de Communistische Partij. Wat de Partij opdroeg diende te worden uitgevoerd, anders werd je als vijand van het land bestempeld.

De autobiografie bestaat uit drie delen. Het eerste deel gaat over de jeugd van Anchee Min vanaf haar geboorte in 1957, totdat zij op haar zeventiend...more 'Rode Azalea' is een autobiografie van Anchee Min over haar jeugd in communistisch China. Ze is opgevoed met de leer van Mao en de opera's van kameraad Jiang Ching. Zowel haar ouders als zijzelf geloofden in deze leer en in de Communistische Partij. Wat de Partij opdroeg diende te worden uitgevoerd, anders werd je als vijand van het land bestempeld.

De autobiografie bestaat uit drie delen. Het eerste deel gaat over de jeugd van Anchee Min vanaf haar geboorte in 1957, totdat zij op haar zeventiende naar de Boerderij van het Rode Vuur wordt gestuurd om te gaan werken. Elk gezin moet van de Partij namelijk een boer aanleveren en zij is het oudste kind van het gezin. Het tweede deel van het boek gaat over het leven van Anchee op deze boerderij. Het werk en de omstandigheden zijn enorm zwaar en de competitie onderling bepaalt de sfeer. Ze weet het echter vol te houden, doordat zij in Yan een goede vriendin en later een geliefde vindt. Anchee verlaat op haar twintigste de boerderij, omdat zij is uitgekozen om opgeleid te worden tot filmactrice bij Shanghai Film Studio. In het bijzonder gaat het om de hoofdrol in de film 'Rode Azalea', een communistische film waarin Mao wordt geëerd. Deel drie van het boek gaat over haar ervaringen in dit filmwereldje, dat in die tijd een luxeleven genoemd kon worden. Ook hier wordt haar echter weer het leven zuur gemaakt door grote onderlinge competitie en jaloezie. Net als het tij voor Anchee is begonnen te keren overlijd Mao op 9 september 1976 en gaat de film niet door.

Beschouwing
Deze autobiografie heeft mij echt aangegrepen! In eerste instantie vanwege het persoonlijke levensverhaal van Anchee Min. Haar jeugd is op geen enkele manier te vergelijken met dat van mijzelf. Zij is opgevoed in armoede en onder een streng communistisch regime, waarin voor je bepaald wordt hoe je toekomst eruit ziet en waar jouw plek is in de samenleving. Een dergelijke situatie is voor mij nauwelijks voor te stellen, omdat ik niet anders gewend ben dan welvaart en vrijheid; vrijheid in je doen en laten, je denken, je keuzes, je toekomst, in liefde... Deze autobiografie geeft een duidelijk beeld van hoe het er in die tijd in communistisch China aan toeging en hoe mensen zich ook onderling gaan gedragen in zo'n competitieve samenleving. Je kunt nu eenmaal niet hogerop komen of een beter leven krijgen als je niet over lijken gaat...! Hieronder een sprekend voorbeeld daarvan, tijdens de periode van Anchee bij Shanghai Film Studio:

'Ze was vol zelfvertrouwen. Ze begon met haar tekst. Ik was geschokt, diep geschokt. (…) Ze voerde mijn materiaal uit. Maar ze deed het beter. Ze voegde er goede details aan toe. (…) Ik had geen tekst meer. Als ik zou opvoeren wat zij nu opvoerde zou iedereen denken dat ik haar imiteerde.'

'Ik was mijn kans om te winnen kwijt nog voordat de strijd was begonnen. (…) Het ging zo plotseling, en zo vernietigend'. (citaat pagina 224)

Kortom, ik kon me maar moeilijk losrukken uit het verhaal van Anchee en heb het bijna in één ruk uitgelezen. Naast dat het verhaal bijzonder meeslepend is, helpt de prettige manier van schrijven ook zeker mee. Het communisme en China vind ik beide erg intrigerend en als je ook maar half geïnteresseerd bent in één van beide onderwerpen zou ik je zeker aanraden je een keer goed te laten meevoeren in het verhaal van 'Rode Azalea'
(less)

like · see review

Sep 04, 2012 Yvette rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When I first started to read it, I found that I had to put it down several times within the first couple chapters, because the voice and imagery in the story resonated so clearly to me - it was so heartbreaking, violent, confusing and upsetting (despite my not being raised in China nor during the Cultural Revolution.) I think it resembled a similar cultural divide that I had experienced as a 1st Generation Chinese American, growing up in New York and being raised by my grandparents. Often, what...more

4 likes · like · see review

Feb 13, 2012 Barb Middleton rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoir

We read this adult memoir for book club. The first part is when Anchee Min is a young girl and the Communists take over China. She describes the changes in their living conditions and how she is sent to a labor camp to work in the rice fields. Part 2 of the book is about the oppressive and hard-working atmosphere of life at the labor camp. Part three is when she is chosen to be trained as an actress. Ironically, it’s not much better than the labor camp. Communist dogma frowned upon any type of i...more

like · see review

Feb 09, 2012 Karo rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoir, china

Red Azalea is not difficult to read -- it is a book easily consumed in one or two sittings. However, when it comes to the digestion of what's been read, that's a different story altogether. Red Azalea is the story of the author's childhood under China's Cultural Revolution, but tackled with seemingly simple language that manages to impart complicated undercurrents of meaning to the reader. Anchee Min has stated in interviews that she admires the painting style of Henri Matisse, and that her writ...more

2 likes · like · see review

Nov 18, 2011 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: culture, memoir-biography, military-government, nonfiction

My Review: Books are in my blood, it’s no secret. I am shamelessly in awe of literature. Such enormous life concepts- passion, culture, love, war; even existence itself- become contained within a few magical pages. On a dusty shelf in the corner of a rare bookstore in Salt Lake City, Utah sits Communist China, in all its colossal glory, simply waiting to be discovered by an unsuspecting, shelf-perusing reader.

Red Azalea is the story of a girl trying to grow up in the shadow of Mao- “I was an ad...more

2 likes · like · see review

Sep 05, 2011 Michael Arden rated it 4 of 5 stars

Irony builds upon irony in this autobiography of the best-selling Chinese historical novelist, Anchee Min. During the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, a time which Chairman Mao coined as “permanent revolution,” the Chinese people are totally oppressed and required to conform in a way crippling to the human spirit. Young Ms. Min is a naïve middle school student living with her family in a cramped apartment in Shanghai when she is recruited to become a Red Guard. First she is required to den...more Irony builds upon irony in this autobiography of the best-selling Chinese historical novelist, Anchee Min. During the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, a time which Chairman Mao coined as “permanent revolution,” the Chinese people are totally oppressed and required to conform in a way crippling to the human spirit. Young Ms. Min is a naïve middle school student living with her family in a cramped apartment in Shanghai when she is recruited to become a Red Guard. First she is required to denounce her dedicated elderly teacher, who devotes her life to her students, whom Min both likes and respects. Amid the confusion and terror that rages around her and her family, she is selected to be sent to a collective farm near the seacoast called Red Fire Farm. Her parents and siblings, also reeling from the severe oppression of the times, are unable to help her escape a fate of back-breaking labor, as thousands of young people are sent to collective farms to literally get them out of the way. Even Chairman Mao realized he had created a monster with the Red Guard, who with all the unbridled energy of youth, were by the late 1960s bringing China to the brink of chaos.

During her austere and spirit-stifling time on the collective farm, where poor soil could not even make the farm self-sustaining, and where fraternization between young men and women could lead to a death sentence, she falls in love with Yan, her heroic female company commander. The pair has a passionate sexual relationship that if discovered would immediately lead to their arrests. At its most critical point, their terribly intense affair is interrupted after Min is “discovered” and selected to compete for the lead part in a film based on an opera called “Red Azalea” created by Chairman Mao’s wife, Comrade Jiang Ching. She transfers back to a Shanghai film studio, where she encounters the hatred and resentment of her mentor, Soviet Wong, an aging film actress and faded beauty. Eventually losing the role to a dynamic rival, Min is forced to wield a mop and perform manual labor in the studio in order to shame her and break her spirit. Mysteriously, the big official sent from Beijing to supervise the production, known only as the Supervisor, a personal friend and advisor of Comrade Jiang Ching, is attracted by the mixture of rebellion, intense suffering, and bold individualism he sees in Min to the point where they become soul mates. Once again Min begins an intense relationship until both become wrapped up in the turbulent events shaking China to its very foundations. Min’s erotically charged story is at its most basic level a triumph of the human spirit in the face of unbelievable, soul-killing oppression at the hands of a cruel dictatorship. It is quite a strange story, perhaps especially to Americans, penned by a most unusually perceptive author who writes poetically in her adopted language, English.
(less)

5 likes · like · see review

Aug 13, 2011 Margaret added it

Shelves: 2007

This is an honest & frightening memoir of growing up in Communist China during the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s & 1970s. Min describes a systematically deprived Shanghai childhood (the family was forced into successively meaner quarters); school days spent as a member of the Red Guard, spouting the words of Chairman Mao & being forced to publicly betray her favorite teacher; & later teen years on a work farm in order to become a peasant because peasants were the only true van...more

2 likes · like · see review

Aug 08, 2011 Lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars

I would agree with the overall four star rating. Good plot, engaging characters, artful writing style. I did wonder, since this is the author's second language, how much she was coached or translated from chinese. The style is simple and direct but in a carefully premeditated way. The dialogue is quotation mark free and folded into larger paragraphs a la saramago, but without giving that aura of the presence of a specific, unseen narrator that saramago does. or perhaps just not as strong. it wor...more

like · see review

Dec 07, 2010 Stasa Fritz rated it 2 of 5 stars

This is part of my MFA reading responses. I really was a bit underwhelmed by this book.

Response to Red Azalea, by Anchee Min.
There are two aspects I would note in the way Min writes. The first, the simplistic—on the surface—language and sentences. The sentences are extremely short, almost staccato. This is especially true in the beginning, which mirrors the early age of the narrator at that time, but I believe it is not due to this, but rather that English is not Min’s first language. Nonetheles...more This is part of my MFA reading responses. I really was a bit underwhelmed by this book.

Response to Red Azalea, by Anchee Min.
There are two aspects I would note in the way Min writes. The first, the simplistic—on the surface—language and sentences. The sentences are extremely short, almost staccato. This is especially true in the beginning, which mirrors the early age of the narrator at that time, but I believe it is not due to this, but rather that English is not Min’s first language. Nonetheless, the simple language does not mean that there are not complex thoughts or changes going on in the narrator. Nor, does it mean that we do not get some strong visuals that simultaneously tap into the Chinese culture, such as the description of her first encounter with the head of the “farm:”
She had a pair of fiery intense eyes, in which I saw the energy of a lion. She had weather-beaten skin, thick eyebrows, a boney nose, high cheekbones, a full mouth, in the shape of a water chestnut. She had the shoulders of an ancient warlord, extravagantly broad. She was barefoot. Her sleeves and trouser were rolled halfway up. Her hands rested on her waist. (52)

The simple language and short sentences does wear on the reader. It is not clear whether this is intentional or not. The subject matter itself is wearing, with one insult of Maoist communism after another hitting the reader. This combined with the short sentences wants to make the reader scream with frustration and rail against the situation.
The simple sentences often convey the childlike quality of the narrator, despite the fact that in many ways—as she states early on—she was never a child. I would have found it more effective if the sentences became more sophisticated later in the book, but they really do not.
The second noticeable writing technique, one that I hate, is the lack of dialogue punctuation. In Min’s writing it is not quite the same as, for instance, Cormac McCarthy’s. Her sentences are more of a past tense summary narrative, while his is more of a “my writing should make it obvious that this is a dialogue,” combined with his own admission that he likes to imitate a biblical style of writing. But, I digress.
Over all Min gets away with what could be difficult writing to read by the subject matter. Memoirs written about painful life experiences, from cancer, personal tragedy, to big events in first person—the holocaust, Vietnam, Soviet Russia, Maoist China, Rwandan genocide—we forgive strange writing by the power of the experience that is expressed. We forgive it only when it feels real. Personal. Ultimately, Min is effective this way. Her writing is personal. We admire that is not a translation and her words directly and they feel like her words. We don’t mind the slightly strange metaphors and similes, because they also seem like authentic cultural differences. For instance the wording and the simile, “Lu sensed my intimacy with Yan immediately, like a dog to a smell (101),” does not seem quite right in phrasing, or even the simile, but we accept it as her thinking and authentic.
Ultimately, I felt Min’s writing detracted from the book overall, but only slightly. It is a good reminder that powerful writing does not need to be sophisticated in an overt manner.

Works Cited
Min, Anchee. Red Azalea. New York: Berkley Books. 1995.

(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Aug 20, 2010 Agatha rated it 3 of 5 stars

Memoir. By the same author as PEARL IN CHINA. This author, born in 1957, grew up in China during Mao's Cultural Revolution. She was the oldest of 4 children and, upon graduating from "high school" at age 17, had to go work as a peasant on what was basically a commune, b/c at least one child from every family had to give a child to work for the country as a peasant. [Her work and time there reminded me a bit of that adolescent book, The Endless Steppe (about a girl growing up in Siberia), if anyo...more

2 likes · like · see review

Feb 18, 2010 Suzanna rated it 2 of 5 stars

I found the author's voice often felt choppy and a bit disjointed, particularly in the beginning of this book. It was actually distracting to me for the bulk of the first half. I'm not sure if this is by design or by nature, since this is a memoir, and since it is a very revealing one in some respects. There was better flow in the latter half of the book for me, and without a reread, I'm not sure if I got more used to the style or because it shifted. I didn't enjoy it enough to bother with a rer...more

like · see review

May 12, 2013 Dani rated it 3 of 5 stars

If you like Memoirs of a Geisha, you would probably like this book as well. They share a similar concept: the true story of a young girl forced into a life of hardship by someone other than herself, she gets the opportunity to pursue a dream and get a better life, but keeps getting shot down by other catty and jealous girls, and she is involved in forbidden love.

The story is sad, but it is interesting to read a first-hand account of Maoist China. However, the ending is rather abrupt, as if Anche...more

like · see review

Nov 12, 2012 Delicious Strawberry rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: anchee-min, autobiography

I read three of Anchee Min's other novels before this - the Empress duology and Becoming Madame Mao. Compared to these, this book is not as good, especially since Min uses a lot of short sentences, so some parts almost feel like 'See Spot Run'. This offers a nice firsthand account of the Cultural Revolution, but does not offer a whole picture - not that Min can be blamed, since she had been confined to Red Fire Farm so much. I do wish she could have provided more detail on her home life - what w...more

like · see review

Sep 10, 2011 Dahl rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: biografia

La historia nos narra sucesos ocurridos en el pasado y cada hecho es un punto de anclaje a través del tiempo. La historia no varía, pero sí la perspectiva de quien la narra.

Si leemos un libro sobre la alemania Nazi, el tono cambia drásticamente si el autor o protagonista de la novela fue un adepto del partido nacionalista, o un judío perseguido. Si leemos sobre la guerra de Secesión todo depende de si lo narra alguien del norte, un confederado o un esclavo negro de Alabama.

Siempre hay quién ha v...more

like · see review

Feb 08, 2011 Susan Robin rated it 4 of 5 stars

I am a big Anchee Min fan, (1) because she writes about China and I can't read enough about that culture which is so foreign to ours and (2) much of her writing is memoir or at least semi-autobiographical. So, Big Deal, you say--almost every author has semi-autobiographical components to his/her writing--one writes what one knows! Okay, I agree, but Anchee Min's books are especially interesting because they are about the Cultural Revolution, of which Min was a part. In Red Azalea, Min writes abo...more

1 like · like · see review

Dec 16, 2010 Caroline Smith rated it 3 of 5 stars

This memoir provides a good, brief overview of the Cultural Revolution in China from the perspective of a young girl. I remember reading somewhere that her favorite artist is one who has short strokes and she has modeled this book after such an idea with concise, short sentences. I imagine it is more difficult to write shorter sentences than longer, however, I found that the memoir read choppy. There were times when I wish she would have written longer descriptions and provided more explanation....more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 06, 2009 Louise rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoirs

Anchee Min was 9 years old, she was the perfect revolutionary and had memorized Mao's 'Little Red Book'. Anchee Min, in 1966 was caught up in the Cultural Revolution that had begun to turn Chinese society inside out.

Min was too young to understand public criticisms and thought she was fighting for the "final peace of the plant." She then found the hardship and brutality of oppression catching up with her.

Min was sent to serve the revolution as a peasant when she was 17 years old. She left her fa...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 04, 2010 Sara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I probably would have never picked this book out for myself - we read it for a class- but as I write this review many years later it strikes me how much this book spoke to me. It reveals through the characters and their relationships what the oppressiveness of that time in China would have felt like for those that lived and experienced the Mao regime. Yet despite the presence of such oppressiveness, it is the moments where the characters can steal moments of personal freedom - in essence, the ab...more

like · see review

May 29, 2011 Vasha7 rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

At one point in this memoir, Anchee Min quotes the proverb "Poverty gives birth to evil personalities". This book shows that happening, but it is not just material poverty -- the women who have so little power battle each other like a pack of starving dogs fighting over a very small crust. Min's main theme, too, is the drought of desire in a sexually and emotionally repressive culture. Friendship is subversive and cannot survive, sex is subversive. Min weaves together her themes in a subtle and...more

3 likes · like · see review

Mar 26, 2009 Adrienne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Someone on our sun porch recommended this book at the Batman marathon. I wrote down the name but didn't decide to read it until it occurred to me that it might motivate me to care more about my soc class of the semester (Asian Americans in the US).

It did. I had never read anything about the Cultural Revolution before. The writing style is spare but very beautiful. The way she addresses sexuality was very interesting, too--she has a lesbian affair that is so different from anything I've known I d...more

like · see review

Dec 02, 2008 Tiffany rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone interested in the Cultural Revolution in China

Recommended to Tiffany by: I find books on my own, haha.

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

1 like · like · see review

Mar 06, 2008 Mary rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book - so much that I just had to try to read it at the gym, and ended up sending a rubber band flying across the workout area! That's how much I liked this book.

like · see review

Jan 06, 2009 Erin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I had trouble putting this book down for 2 reasons:

1) That I thought it was a phenomenal story.

and

2) This book doesn't have Chapters. It has 3 Parts, so I found myself wanting to "at least" get to the end of the Part before stopping (not very do-able unless you can devote all your time to sitting and finishing a book - not something I can always do).

If you don't know, this book is non-fiction, about Anchee Min growing up in Communist China. First, how Communism is all that she believes in as a c...more

like · see review

Oct 27, 2010 Patricia rated it 5 of 5 stars

I read this book as I was slated to lead a discussion Pearl of China for our bookclub. I found Anchee Min's story so powerful and so frightening that the Cultural Revolution took place in my lifetime. Min describes how her family was forced into smaller an smaller living spaces, her schooling which was nothing more that memorization of the communist party line and having to prove her loyalty to the party even as a child. In her teenage years she was sent to perform backbreaking work on a farm f...more

like · see review

Jan 23, 2010 Rannie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: world-lit, asia-china

An autobiography of a young woman coming of age during the Cultural revolution in China. Min takes us from a tenement above a factory in Shanghai to a forced labor farm to the luxurious home of one of Mao's inner circle to illustrate the inequality in Mao's communism. Rigidly enforced chastity, spying on neighbors, and the constant fear of denouncement and relocation leave the people so dispirited there is no joy, no hope, no chance to improve one's lot or even escape in a private moment of pass...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 07, 2013 Meg rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: life-stories

Gifted to me by the wonderful Jennifer, thank you.

From page one I was captivated by Anchee Min's autobiography on growing up in the last years of Mao's China. From being forced to kill a family pet by a neighborhood association to being completely separated from her family and sent to hard labor on a farm to being chosen to work in the movies, Min's story was incredible. It gave me real insight into a society where every move and action must be thought about and examined to be sure that it falls...more

like · see review

Jan 05, 2011 Allee rated it 3 of 5 stars

A really interesting (true) story, but a bit overwrought and melodramatically written at times for my taste, especially near the end. Maybe there's no other way to write about torrid forbidden young love though. (The story, btw, is about a girl during the Cultural Revolution in China and her assignment first to a commune and then to rigorous acting training and auditions, with a few desperate romantic encounters along the way).

Now that I think about it, I may be underwhelmed because I've read s...more

1 like · like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
the Supervisor	1	13	Mar 06, 2012 05:52pm

combine
Other Editions (24)

More editions...

Genres

Cultural > China

117 users

Autobiography > Memoir

72 users

Non Fiction

61 users

Biography

29 users

Cultural > Asia

23 users

History

19 users

Literature > Asian Literature

19 users

Biography Memoir

17 users

Biography > Autobiography

11 users

Cultural

11 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Anchee Min

Anchee Min was born in Shanghai in 1957. At seventeen she was sent to a labor collective, where a talent scout for Madame Mao's Shanghai Film Studio recruited her to work as a movie actress. She moved to the United States in 1984. Her first memoir, Red Azalea, was an international bestseller, published in twenty countries. She has since published six novels, including Pearl of China and the forthc...more

More about Anchee Min...

Books by Anchee Min

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Red Azalea

3 trivia questions

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from Red Azalea

“If you can't go back to your mother's womb, you'd better learn to be a good fighter.” — 1,027 people liked it

“Gorko gutaj u gorčini;tako ćeš biti najbolji kad dođe dobro.” — 2 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: Red Azalea
avg rating	preview: Red Azalea Goodreads rating: 3.83 (3655 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/92936.Red_Azalea?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320508694l/92936.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/92936.Red_Azalea?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Red Azalea by Anchee Min[/url]

Red Azalea

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website