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Summary: A MUST READ to understand recent Chinese history
Review: Although this book is the story of one family, it sheds light on the experiences millions of people went through before and after the rise of Mao. It is well worth the time it takes to read this somewhat lengthy book. I read Wild Swans nearly ten years ago and still consider it one of the most influential books in my education on China. (Additionally, it is the only book that that moved me enough to cry!)
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Summary: Out of darkness into the light
Review: China, especially Chinese society and government, has been a closed book for most of my lifetime. Jung Chang brings it to light in a way that is both intensely personal and incredibly interesting. Those that want history they have never read before from a perspective that cannot be matched must read this book. I cannot say enough good things about this book, nor recommend it too highly. BUY IT! READ IT! PASS IT ON!
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Summary: Captivated from the first sentence until the last
Review: Never before have I been sucked in by, literally, the first sentence of a book. The book is a slow, but fascinating read. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I thought it would be something like Joy Luck Club. Much to my surprise, it's a historical account of China told through the experiences of three generations of amazing women. This story is unbelievable and completely consuming. It's one of the most rewarding reads and amazing sotries I have ever come across.
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Summary: The Unbearable Lightness of Innocence
Review: Having nothing better to read, I picked up Wild Swans by Jung Chang that had been lying around at home for some time and for the next 600 something pages, was engrossed in her story. My five stars are not given for her literary prowess, although as others have said, she can tell a good story. Never-the-less her style is part of what captivates, as she relates the most horrific details with a kind of detached innocence that makes the details all the more disturbing. It was this kind of unbearable innocence demonstrated by the Chinese throughout the period described by Jung Chang that made me both angry and despairing at them. Mao and the evils he perpetrated on his own people could not have existed in a vacuum. In this respect, this book is best described for me by one of the book's blurbs from the Sunday Times by J. G Ballard. "Immensely moving and unsettling; an unforgettable portrait of the brain-death of a nation". And the "when will they come to their senses? ", is what keeps the reader turning the pages. The book does have a happy ending that sets many things right as the writer and some of her siblings settle in the West, making a leap of light years into a dimension of thought and being that is completely alien to that described in her story. This too demands an explanation; another book maybe. However, this story is complete and thought provoking as it is.
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Summary: Amazing look into a different world
Review: Like many Americans educated in the standard world education classes covering the history of everything in a year or two, I had only vague knowledge about the history of communist China when I began reading this book. I learned an amazing amount about life under Mao from the stories of an incredible family. The author skillfully weaves her family's personal stories together with information of the history of the country as a whole, demonstrating how deeply affected every family was under the regime. Jung Chang's prose is captivating, and while the book is quite a lengthy read, I was never bored or tempted to quit reading. Wild Swans is definitely worth a look.
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Summary: Chilling Narrative of Life Under Mao
Review: Wild Swans is a riveting, yet harrowing tale of a girl and her life under the disarray that was the Cultural Revolution of Mao Tse-tung. The book encompasses her life growing into a young woman, as well as the life of her mother. The book could be considered a sort of biography of Jung Chang's mother as told through the eyes of her daughter. The setting is mainly post-WWII China. The KMT under Chiang Kai-shek are battling the communists under Mao Tse-tung. As history tells us, Mao was victorious and CKS fled to Taiwan to brutalize the people there. Mao won China and a much larger populace to brutalize. Either way, the civil war ended the way it did. And either way, brutality was assuredly going to ensue. This is the time frame of the book. Chang grows up in this, where her parents are both party officials in the Communist movement. Initially, there is a sense of privilege in the family. But this is not overtly the case, as her father's dedication to the ideals of the party overwhelm any attempts by the family to use that status as influence. The first 100 pages are good. They're enjoyable to read and it shows that the author can string words together in a competent manner. Chang is not a wordsmith, meaning that you aren't riveted by the craft of her words. But she is a very competent story teller. And this story deserves to be told. The harsh reality is that the history of post-war China is nearly as brutal as the atrocities the Nazis thrust upon the Jewish population in WWII. While not that horrendous, Mao's China became a festering pot of hatred and violence. But I digress. My point about the first 100 pages is to comment on the next 100 pages. They stunk. In fact, it was really hard for me to get through pages 100-200. The author goes on a bit of a melodramatic tear, where she seems to be writing through the pain of her mother, as opposed to taking a remotely objective view of her life at the time. Admittedly, this is a tragic story to relay, especially when your mother has endured such pain. Yet, for the reader, things were clearly exaggerated and complaints emanated from the book at such a pace that I nearly quit on the book. But I didn't, and I'm glad I didn't, because the story is worth it. I give this book 4 stars because of the other 400 pages. Despite those 100 pages where I could barely get through 10 minutes without wanting to stop, this book is outstanding. A highly recommended read in which your eyes will be open to a span of history that I, as an American, knew very little about. Considering the magnitude of this, it makes me ashamed that these histories are not taught in American schools. I imagine there are a million stories like this to tell. This is merely one of them. Considering Chang's status as a child of a party official, we see first hand how one family can go from the top of the ladder to the bottom of it. And in this transition, we see what Mao turned China into. In reading some critiques of this book, the subtitle probably is misleading. This is not so much a story of 3 daughters of China as it is a tale of terror that Mao's Communism brought to their family. Some of that terror was borne from the culture. But most was a result of Mao's policies. Chang asks in one section, "What turned these people into such monsters?" This is a good question, and very pertinent in getting to the point of the book. But that point is not resonant with the subtitle, namely 3 daughters of China. I don't think the book was meant as a history of the time, or a specific history of 3 daughters. But it was meant to say, "Look at the hell that existed here. How can the world not know this?" Chang does this, and she does it chillingly well. I imagine there are other books that encompass the story of China more successfully. And there are probably more moving narratives. But the emotion coupled with the history are an interesting read. I think the book is very well done and I think the detractors of this book were expecting something specific when they picked it up, thus the disappointment. But setting aside expectations, this book is a very good read. I expected nothing, as my mother-in-law lent it to me as a way to teach me about China under Mao. So I opened it with no preconceived notions. Again, I'm glad I did so. It was worth reading, no matter what I expected. If you've got any interest in Mao's China & how it relates to the plight of someone who lived through that time period, I very much recommend this book.
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Summary: Excellent book!
Review: This is a phenomenal book, not just because of the compelling family story, but also because the writing is wonderful and the history the author gives about the Cultural Revolution and Mao is excellent.
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Summary: Wild Swans is a fascinating book.
Review: The author's life story (and that of her family) is gripping, and I was often unable to put this book down. The book is often disturbing because it reveals the awful side of human nature and the havoc that a dictator can wreak on a country; however, the most powerful stories are her descriptions of the noble people who bravely stayed true to their beliefs despite persecution. I learned a great deal about the modern history of China, and I think that Chang for the most part weaves the history and her commentary seamlessly into the narrative. An essential, timely read!
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Summary: This book will be a classic-like "War and Peace"
Review: As a Chinese American, I finally discovered why my maternal grandparents never said A WORD about their past. They were born sometime around 1909 and was there till 1984. They are still alive, living in the United States now and experienced first hand- most of 20th century China-which means that they are extremely smart and strong people (beyond my own imagination). Mostly when Mao was in command, to say anything that was vaguely in opposition was punishable by death or torture. So people didn't even think that way in case they accidentally blurted it out to their children and their children would tell other schoolmates. At various points in the book, I was embarrassed to be of Chinese ancestry, sad over the famine because people were possessed from starvation, drank from muddied puddles and ate dirt. I am amazed that Mao was such a great politician and literally smashed his opposition by asking for criticism, getting a list of names of his critics and then allowing them to be persecuted and tortured. Another tool was getting control of a reputable newspaper. Media control is like mind control because it's the most effective way to feed thoughts (any thought-erroneous or not) into people's head. This is great reading for someone who wants to be a mob boss or a dictator of a country. Learn from the best - Lenin, Stalin and Mao. But I was mostly amazed that such tumultuous change happened in a relatively short period of time-from a minimum 2000-year reign of a deified emperors-God and King rolled into one person to the mass avenging of poor, landless peasants-well meaning change at first and eventually at the expense of the death of millions of Chinese. Capitalistic tendencies were totally shunned. Behaviors and activities like saying "thank you," being polite, going to coffee houses, walking at parks, growing flowers, having lawns, reading books (except the dictionary and Mao's writings), sports, and work that was not related to Mao were considered bourgeois. Ironically, Mao read a lot during his teens and his family upbringing was not dire. This book explains to me why many Chinese don't smile. Because smiling was considered bourgeois! When I looked around where I live (in a large metropolitan city), I discovered there were 2 major types of Chinese-also dependent on age. One group was from Taiwan and Hong Kong and is capitalist in background. The other was from Red China and is communist in background. And they did not seem to associate with each other, which makes sense, because given a different time and space, these same people could have fought each other in battle. The communists vs. the capitalists. This book is amazing. It's up there with "War and Peace." This is a first hand account of the revolutions in China, which are all encompassing and happened (for all intensive purposes) just yesterday (less than 30 years ago). The author is about 50 years old now and tells of what her family experienced in China from 1909-1978.
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Summary: recommended view of chinese women
Review: Others have provided excellent descriptions of this book. I'd like to pass on reasons I consider it the best book for insight into Chinese women. Twenty/thirtysomething Chinese colleagues recommended it over other English texts. Relatives who had lived in China during the 1920-30s aggreed. .
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