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Summary: Wild Swans
Review: I have read this book 3 times and it is still my favourite book. I have recommended it to all my friends and none of them are disappointed. This book is indeed a treasure. As an overseas Chinese, I can identify with so many aspects of the thoughts and feelings but this book still takes my breath away.
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Summary: A history of China from 1909 thru 1978 thru 3 women's lives.
Review: I purchased this book in Hong Kong after touring 3 weeks in mainland China. Sorry I didn't read it first. This author gives a factual, unvarnished look at life in China before and during the Communist revolution. She is the granddaughter of a concubine and the daugher of two officials of the revolution. It is startling in its honesty and keeps you totally enthralled right up to the end. Once I started I couldn't put it down. It reads like a gothic mystery. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a "good read".
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Summary: NOTHING LESS THAN AN EXCELLENT READ
Review: Being a fourth generation Chinese abroad, Wild Swans gave life to many heartfelt stories and anecdotes which I've heard as a young child about the struggles in my forefather's land. Beautifully written, it illustrates that beneath the fascade of any contemptous regime, there are REAL people out there - loving, living and struggling. It's one book which I wish to keep as a compulsory read for my children and their children. This book is truly a treasure.
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Summary: Stunning, shattering, riveting
Review: Gorgeous writing, breath-taking story, heart-breaking characters. And it's true. Anyone with an interest in China, communism, women, LIFE, will find this a gripping and startling book. Endlessly compelling and deeply felt, this book is astounding. A gem.
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Summary: A fascinating, beautifully written, unforgettable true story
Review: Wild Swans is the best account of the struggle Chinese women have endured through the generations that I have ever read. Jung Chang is a truly excellent writer with a gift for portraying the past.
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Summary: Resourceful and stunning, very truthful
Review: This is by far the best book I've ever read. I was born after the Chinese Cultural Revolution, and was fortunate that I did not go through any hardship mentioned in the book at all. I discussed this book with both my father and mother, and they shared their experience of the Cultural Revolution with me. How little do I know the hardship Chinese people went through! Often times we condemn the Japanese for being cruel and inhuman to Chinese people during their invasion of China. But the number of people they killed compared to what Mao had done to the whole population of China; I wonder who is indeed the slaughterer? What he took were not only the lives of millions, but also their morality; their simple desire for a stable life; and their trust for each other... Even today, the Chinese communist party is not serving in the best interest of its people. I pray this will soon end.
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Summary: An intimate view of three generations of Chinese women.
Review: I have been traveling to P.R.of China since 1978 and have made about 70 trips there , each one averaging about 3weeks duration. All the impressions , all the discussions with my Chinese friends and their experiences were all brought into sharp focus after reading Wild Swans. The mixed feelings and lack of a hard conclusion by the author speak volumes about love of your country and the failure of its leaders to make good on all of their promises. This book should be required reading for all the news and social commentators who polute our domestic airwaves , newspapers and magazines. Their lack of an accurate historical perspective is appalling. Paul D. Vesely
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Summary: Excellent
Review: A truly gripping story about women in China in the last 100 years. The story builds and builds, and is wonderful to read.
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Summary: Brilliant read for those with little knowledge of China
Review: I read this book whilst on holiday in the sun by a pool and felt privalaged,spoilt and humbled. It is a truley moving story of how a country with such beautiful scenery and so many people can be indoctrinated and controlled by so few people. This really is a read for someone who has limited knowledge of world events, as the author explains events in China with such accuaracy and honesty that you are able to have a true depth of feeling for the events which took place. This book affected me on so many levels, as an individual living in a Western society, as daughter, mother and wife. I recommend this book and it will be in my top 10 I'm sure for a long time to come.
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Summary: Ick.
Review: I understand why people like this book; there are some good anecdotes, and the history is fairly interesting. All in all, though, it's boring, whiny, and solipsistic. Mediocre history.
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