Having read Pearl of China, I became intrigued by the author and found that she had been living in China during the Mao's time. Her story is a difficult one, life was hard in those times. The things that happened to her family were amazing and horrible
The book was not an easy one to read. Min used no dialogue punctuation! You had to assume the quotation marks because they weren't in the book. That was not true with the novel, Pearl. There is a newer memoir of Min that brings the story to the present time including her immigration to, and life in, the U.S. One can hope the punctuation is back.
There is a lot in the book about her coming-of-age and developing sexuality. She was taken from her family at a very young age and sent to a farm commune where after a couple of years she develops a close relationship with one of her group leaders. Much later she has the opportunity to try out as an actress in one of Madame Mao's operas where she has another relationship with a supervisor. In each of these cases, the relationship is almost surreal, especially the second one where the reader may not be sure of the consummation of this unusual relationship.
Nevertheless, the book shows insight into a period of Chinese history where then the country was very isolationist from the point of view of one of the citizens. Min's story shows the strength of a woman under very difficult situations.
The book was not an easy one to read. Min used no dialogue punctuation! You had to assume the quotation marks because they weren't in the book. That was not true with the novel, Pearl. There is a newer memoir of Min that brings the story to the present time including her immigration to, and life in, the U.S. One can hope the punctuation is back.
There is a lot in the book about her coming-of-age and developing sexuality. She was taken from her family at a very young age and sent to a farm commune where after a couple of years she develops a close relationship with one of her group leaders. Much later she has the opportunity to try out as an actress in one of Madame Mao's operas where she has another relationship with a supervisor. In each of these cases, the relationship is almost surreal, especially the second one where the reader may not be sure of the consummation of this unusual relationship.
Nevertheless, the book shows insight into a period of Chinese history where then the country was very isolationist from the point of view of one of the citizens. Min's story shows the strength of a woman under very difficult situations.