Rating: 
Summary: Think for yourself and READ THIS BOOK!
Review: I'm sick of the reviewers that are China apologists that have attacked this wonderful book. If you're such defenders of that cruel government, why are you living in the United States? Da Chen's story of how he survived the cultural revolution and brought honor to his family is inspirational and TRUE! He lived it, not YOU! The ending is especially touching as to the relationship between a father and his son. Again, don't listen to the negative reviews and read this book. You won't regret it!
Rating: 
Summary: Truly fascinating
Review: To be honest, I did not buy the book. I found it on a plane ride from New York to San Jose. It was left on the seat and I coldn't help but read it. I found it to be entirely interesting that the thought of leaving it on the seat again was out of the question. It's an excellent book that I myself found engrossed in it. Coming from a Chinese family, I totally understood what he went through .. with all the emphasis on education while mum prays insistantly. I absoutely loved it and I feel for the person who left the book in the plane. But I must thank the person for introducing to me a great writer.. and a fantastic piece of literature.
Rating: 
Summary: interesting, not great
Review: This was an interesting book as a way to illuminate another corner of the Cultural Revolution in China. Da's family were landlords, part of the ancient class of scholar functionaries whose livlihood depended on both landholding and passing the Confucian examinations as a way into the imperial bureaucracy. As that system broke down and terrible upheavals followed, Da's family was humiliated and then brutalised during the Chinese revolution, pushed down to a lower status. But in CHinese tradition, the family stuck together and continued to stimulate, educate and support its children while struggling to survive.It is a remarkable story, one that reflects what happened to millions of Chinese families in this century. Indeed, Da's family was lucky in that they were not all executed, as were up to 3 million "landlords" following the 1949 communist takeover. The story of Da is also timeless, in that talent and hard work can pay off, even in an atmosphere of hatred and suspicion. Da was also true to his class, which had the advantage of education supported through generations and of gentlemanly assumptions in the ancient Confucian way. Unfortunately, I did not like the tone and style of this book. Da has written in an almost childish voice and there is something strangely self-serving about the way he dwells on his rise. While he and his brother triumphed over terrible odds by passing the university examinations, bringing honor and new status to their families, it smelled of inevitability throughout the book. This is not to diminish his accomplishments, which I deeply admire. Da is obviously a driven man and will go very far, no doubt acting honorably as well. It is just that a harping presence - like a stream of narcissism - flows throughout this memoire, settling old scores while not quite bragging.
Rating:
Summary: Inspirational
Review: Before reading Da Chen's book I read and enjoyed Liang Heng and Jan Wong's accounts of the Cultural Revolution. But Chen's account is particular in that it documents the struggle of a boy who, with a little luck, the help of loving people, and a powerful will do determine his own fate, defeated the Cultural Revolution in his own way. With an honesty and elegantly written style this memoir reveals the child who comes of age and emerges stronger rather than beaten down in the face of an oppressive political system.
Rating:
Summary: Not quite enough color
Review: I wanted very much to like this book, but sadly it defied by best efforts. I have a predisposition to find accounts of Communist China of interest, and so I thought I would love this memoir, which came highly recommended. Sadly there is just not all that much to like. It seems cruel to pick at the language, since Chen is not a native English speaker, and all in all his command of the tongue is admirable. Alas, it is not deft enough to hold the reader's attention, and often his wordings are clunky and awkward enough to be distracting. I could have lived with a clumsy phrase every page or two, however, if the narrative had been there. Chen's memoir of his family, oppressed by the Communist party because his grandfather had been a landlord, lacks any real vividness. The colors of the mountain were not particularly bright for me as Chen describes his relatives, boyhood friends and school-day memories in such vague and distant terms so that the reader feels he is experiencing these memories under water. The people are interchangeable, the situations without any real emotional impact for the reader. I applaud Chen for his efforts in overcoming the horrors of the Mao years, and for his admirable determination to write his memoirs. I only wish he had polished his work a bit more before giving it to the world.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable, but ......
Review: I found Da Chen's story enjoyable and have great respect for the sacrifices he and his family made that enabled him to come to the US. Having said that, I found the book to be a little simplistic with respect to the historical context as compared to other "memoirs", such as Wild Swans by Jung Chang.
Rating:
Summary: Making a "Mountain" out of a memoir.
Review: "Educate me, I prayed," Da Chen writes, "teach me, enlighten me. Make something out of nothing" (p. 188). Chen's prayers are answered in this memoir. Born in 1963--"The Year of Great Starvation" (p. 3)--in these pages Chen learns "dignity in the face of hardship" (p. 6). As a child, he survives "years of no hope, no dreams, only tears, hunger, shame and darkness" (p. 306) during the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966-76). When Chen was six, China was near civil war. Against this adverse political backdrop, Chen introduces us to his landlord parents, his broken-down grandpa--"he was like a flimsy candle, flickering in the wind" (p. 8), and his siblings, "farmers for life," who "had no new clothes and no money, just bodies filled with aches and pains such as older folks should have" (p. 200). Chen's book draws associations with McCourt's stronger memoir, ANGELA'S ASHES. Chen follows his childhood journey from "dirt-poor country boy" (p. 292) to college English student at the Beijing Language Institute, revisiting many memorable incidents along the way. In one of my favorite passages, with "Buddha somewhere up there in the fuzzy sky" (p. 15), we find Chen breaking "the silence of the morning in Yellow Stone, standing by the river and playing innocent folk melodies" on his "skinny bamboo flute," as "the sound bounced off the water, crossed the vast green fields, and ended in a lingering echo as it reached the mountains on the horizon. The occasional mooing from the buffalo told [him] at least someone was listening" (p. 115). Chen's prose is simple with flashes of poetic imagery, making it easy to read. In his writing, he does not waste words. Still, this is not a five-star MOUNTAIN. Chen's memoir attracts comparison to Gao's recently-published SOUL MOUNTAIN (2000). It simply does not take its reader to the breathtaking peaks or the deep, soulful valleys found in Gao's autobiographical book. Whereas I sometimes lost interest in Chen's tale, Gao's book left me in awe, page after page. But for those who like to experience the views from different mountains, I say why not read both books! G. Merritt
Rating:
Summary: Finally!
Review: I'm always searching high and low for well-written books by Asian authors. I've been disappointed in recent books that I have purchased, but I'm happy to say that I've finally found a good one! Colors was such a poignant and entertaining story. Despite others' doubts that many facts in this book appear to be fabricated, I thoroughly enjoyed it; at times, I could not put it down. It also made me proud to be an Asian-American. Thank you, Da Chen.
Rating:
Summary: What a wonderful book !
Review: This book was absolutely wonderful. At times it was poignant, but the main character of the story prevails. I have loaned this book to many friends and they love it too. Too many people are quick to point out certain dates are wrong, etc. Maybe they are right, I don't know, but does it matter ? I bought this book for entertainment and it was truly entertainment....thumbs up !
Rating:
Summary: Angelas Ashes Meets Huck Finn
Review: Incredably moving and funny account of a boys coming of age in China during the cultural revolution, should be put on all high school reading lists. Destined to become a classic!
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