Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China

Rating:
Summary: Gripping, intense expose of Chinese history
Review: I am not an avid reader. In fact I consider most books boring, and I shun novels altogether. I hate to read books whose stories and plots I could have myself devised. However, during a cruise last year I came across Wild Swans in the ship's library and started reading the first chapter, because I had nothing else to do. That was the beginning of an adventure! I have never been so captivated and enthralled by one person's account of her life experiences. After returning home from the cruise, I rushed off to the library to borrow a copy and continue the saga. I felt a part of the entire scenario and was soon swept away by accounts of life in Communist China and the machinations of Chairman Mao. Miss Chung did an excellent job in bringing her story to life. I didn't get a chance to finish the book but intend to do so as soon as I have some free time. I borrowed another copy for my friend who is planning a trip to China this summer, and I insisted that she read it, since her trip would not be complete without this information. I plan to buy a hard cover copy and keep it in my permanent library at home. Congratulations Ms. Jung you have converted a book loather into an avid book reader (for this work). I am looking forward to more titles in your name again in the future.

Rating:
Summary: The truth
Review: I've studied the history of China for years and even lived in China for a year. I found this book amazing in many ways. First it is a true story covering three generations - three radically different times in Chinese history. Second it is told with a brutal honesty. Most amazing still is Jung Chang's writing style she has the ability to paint a picture describe a scene and you are there. Her words give you enough detail to be in that place and feel the emotions of the situation. You will not get lost in endless descriptions of the background and the weather as in some historical tales. Nor does she delve into a philosophical debates and explanations of political decision making processes at high government levels. (This would have been very tempting to include). There is a great deal of political information in the book. There are details of the political life of Party Members but throughout the book Jun Chang keeps the details wound tightly around the main characters - her grandmother, her mother, her father and herself. Her honest descriptions of the student led cultural revolution are as heartbreaking as they are terrifying. If you have any interest at all in the history of China or of social behavior you will not be disappointed in this book.

Rating:
Summary: Wild Swans
Review: If you're looking for an engaging story, this book would be a bit too detailed and slow-moving for you, but if you are interested in Chinese history, Wild Swans, by Jung Chang, is an intriguing history book.
Wild Swans is a memoir chronicling the lives of the author, her mother, and her grandmother. These three generations span almost the entire twentieth century - until the 1980s. The author's goal is to demonstrate to the reader how the lives of the Chinese people changed as its government changed hands. She is effective in doing this, as she details her family's situations throughout Imperial China, the Japanese invasion, and the Communist regime. The majority of the book, however, takes place once the Communists gain control of the country.
Chang provides unique insight into the lives of the Chinese people and how they were often isolated from the rest of the world. Brainwashing was rampant, and, as she was growing up, Chang thought that the Western Capitalist children were impoverished and living lower quality lives than she. Such examples show unmistakably the power of the Communists.
Significant events in Chinese history are covered in Wild Swans from the perspective of the people living there at the time. The Tiananmen Square student protests, the Cultural Revolution, and the Great Leap Forward are all covered, along with earlier events, such as the Chinese Civil War and the Japanese rule of Manchukuo. The reader even gets an inside look at the Red Guards.

For anyone who wants a detailed account of the lives of the Chinese under Mao Zedong, this is a great learning tool. I would not choose it for a good read.

Rating:
Summary: A history of china with a perfect prespective
Review: There are few histories that read as well as this one. It tells the history of three women who see three ages of china. A grandmother who lives during the war lord period, the nationalist and Mao. A mother who is loyal to her party who along with her whole family is tormented and tortured under Mao. And finally a daughter who is raised in the cult and the disilluion of Mao.

This book is also a great introduction to modern chinese history. The reasons for the rise and fall of all the political regemes in china are outlined. As well the faith and loss of faith in communism in china is well out lined. This history is factual and personal at the same time. Her is a look at three generation of Chinese who struggled with warlords,the Kumingtong and the cultural revolutions. Women and men of character who were tormented for their belief by there own political party.

I loved this books and believe that Chung Jung has created a master work that is for all time. This is hard to say about a history, but the truth is in this book.

Rating:
Summary: a classic
Review: this is a beautiful book. maybe even my favorite of many classics.

it is the story of three women, strong and united with a determination that will get them through the hardships of China from the early nineteen hundrens to the present. optimism and love for each other and their family, as well as tears and sadness, get them through their lives as well as the tyrannical reign of Mao, a powerful dictator of China.

i am partly struck with wanting to share this book with you, and invite you to read it, (though it is certainly not children's fiction, but mature, adult fact) or to keep it like the treasure it is to me and i'm sure many others. if you do read it, covet it. is a bargain for what you get in return.

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Summary: The book is a very lucid account of 20th century China.
Review: This novel masterly weaves the history of contemporary China and the lives of three outstanding Chinese women, and also a very brave man, the writer's father. I have been to China recently and felt very strongly some of the places that Ms. Jung Chang describes in her novel. Some chapters of the book are particularly painful, most of them dealing with the so called Cultural Revolution. Ms. Jung Chang is a very brave woman and has survived that ordeal thanks to the force of love. She proves that inside each of us there is love, and with love we can save the world and ourselves. As a reader, I would like to know more of her life in England, how were her days as a graduate student, how she met her husband, what was her first job about, etc. As many other people that love her novel, I would like to read the continuation of Wild Swans. I confess that I do not know whether such a novel has been written or not. But if it has not yet been written, I am sure that many readers will certainly be interested in it. Finally, I want to say thank to Ms. Jung Chang for such a great book.

Rating:
Summary: A moving human drama that transcends race/gender boundaries
Review: Wild Swans by Jung Chang depicts the day-to-day experiences of three generations of women who lived during one of the most tumultuous periods in modern Chinese history. Chang's grandmother had bound feet and was a concubine to a Manchu general at the end of the Qing dynasty. Chang's mother experienced World War II, became a dedicated Communist party official, and was free to marry a man of her choice, someone sharing her own ideals for a better China. Despite their loyalties to the revolution, Chang's parents were both persecuted as "class-enemies" during the Cultural Revolution, and suffered this betrayal both physically and psychologically. Chang herself grew up in the atmosphere of Mao's deification, was briefly a Red Guard, and eventually left China to live in the west.

Although Chang's prose is simple, she effectively weaves this human drama in a way that makes the experience of reading Wild Swans an emotional roller-coaster. Readers can taste the hopes and disappointments experienced by millions of Chinese people at the fate of foreign invaders, political factionalism, and the painful changes caused by a neophyte government in the throes of economic and sociopolitical revolution. Wild Swans clearly depicts the growing pains of an ancient society in the new industrial world from the perspective of ordinary men, women, and children. It would be a mistake to think of this book as relevant only in the genres of Asian Studies or Women's Studies, for the universal themes of courage, loyalty, love, and the resilience of the human spirit transcend the boundaries of race or gender.