A Memoir of Misfortune

by Su Xiaokang, Zhu Hong

A compelling memoir—both gripping and deeply personal—by one of the leaders of the democracy movement in China, who managed to escape to America with his family only to find himself faced with a tragedy more terrifying than he had ever imagined.

In the 1980s, Su Xiaokang, a young journalist, wrote the script for a six-part television series, River Elegy , which probed so deeply into the core of Chinese beliefs and values that it galvanized the entire country in an explosion of intellectual debate. Having survived the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989, he now became the focus of a massive pursuit as one of the regime’s five most wanted “criminals,” and was smuggled out of China, leaving behind his wife, Fu Li, and their young son. After two long years and great international pressure, the family was finally reunited in Princeton, New Jersey. For a brief time, it seemed as if the worst was behind them. But on June 4, 1993—exactly four years after Tiananmen—while the family was being driven to Niagara Falls, the car they were in sped off the road. When Su Xiaokang regained consciousness, he discovered that Fu Li was in a coma, from which she would eventually emerge unable to speak or to control her limbs.

Suddenly, the national hero who had accepted his place at the center of a political revolution was a husband and a father who had to remake an emotional world for his wife and son. Throughout his candid and extraordinarily moving memoir, we become party to this man’s innermost thoughts and feelings, his guilt and fear, his moral self-questioning, his bravery and strength, as he tells the story of his wife before and after the accident, and of how his sense of love, marriage, responsibility, and the true goals of life was profoundly and forever changed.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir

352 pages, Hardcover

First published April 17, 2001

Reviews

[Zoë Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Memoir of Misfortune by Xiaokang Su who is a Chinese journalist in exile in the States because of the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989, depicts a tragic situation in his life. A disastrous car accident happened to Su’s family and put his wife in a coma for a long time. Besides telling his desperate efforts to help with his wife, the memoir goes deep into the author’s inner world. The reader understands Su’s guilty feelings for his wife’s paralysis and his ironic thought about his controversial documentary River Elegy, which, in fact, was popular and thought-provoking during the post-Mao era, as well as his point of view about China’s system. It’s too bad that the author buried himself too much in the misfortune, unable to break down the language and culture barriers in his new country.

[Renee · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started out pretty good; Su, an exiled man from China (after the Tiananmen Square massacre, he became the object of a government manhunt )living in Buffalo, NY for many years is finally able to send for his wife. Soon after their arrival they are in a terrible car accident that leaves his wife paralyzed and in a coma.

However, Some of his observations on events outside of his immediate environment are factually wrong such as the name of the hospital his wife stayed for many months (I am from Buffalo and there is no such hospital)which is fine if this was a novel, but not okay for a memoir.
This memoir mostly recounts Su's doubts, fears, adjustments, reassessments, and, yes, gratitude but perhaps it was the translation, but it was not smooth at times and I lost interest about half way thorough the book although I did read it until the end to see how his family fared.

[Louis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Whoa. As the titled implied, it was pretty darn depressing. But I was hoping to glean some sort of wisdom from it. Rather, it left me feeling empty and hopeless. He specifically wrote in one part that hope is a sham, that it is dangerous to one's health to hope. Somehow I slogged through the whole thing, but I'm not sure if I'm better for it. At least it taught me a little of modern Chinese history, which I was (and still largely am) pretty ignorant of. So that's good. Maybe I'm just not used to Chinese writers, and so largely misunderstand the book. But unless you want to plunge yourself into a pit of existential despair, avoid this book.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5 stars for me) The story of Fu Li, Su Xiaokang and their son Su Dan is tragic but beautifully written. Unlike anything I've read before, this tells the unfortunate events a family living in exile go through and although what the author describes his depression and grief, it is all so poetically written. A very sad but interesting story that also informs the ready of a few important events in Chinese history.

[Emiley]

A Chinese journalist flees China, and is later reunited with his wife and son in the U.S. Life takes a devastating personal turn when his wife is left paralyzed from a car accident during a tour, and she loses much of her memory--including the memory of her husband and son. The memoir describes their effort to rebuild their life together, as well as the author's rumination on the past and the guilt that plagues him.

[Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm glad I bought this book from the bargain table. Although I felt much sympathy for the author and his situation, his muddled, over-philisophical writing style bogged me down into the deepest depth of boredom. I managed to trudge through to the end of the book, but I shouldn't have bothered. There are a few snippets of enlightenment from the author, but overall I can't recommend this book.

[Sally · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too detailed!!! His thoughts didn't run together!!! I read over half and couldn't read any more. Would not recommend this read. I picked it up at local library-will return so they can try and sell again....Boring!!!!!

[Stacey Tyson-Tracy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted really badly to like this book but I just couldn't... struggled to get through it and, honestly, fell short of finishing it. Something I *hate* to do... Sorry!