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Rating: 
Summary: The obligation to tell the story.
Review: Apparently, this is a love it or hate it kind of book. I loved it. How can someone possibly label this as fiction when he/she wasn't there to verify their experience? It is a personal account of one family's treacherous journey through civil war and the loss of idealism that accompanied it. Of course it is going to have some personal bias. It is more human for that perspective.
Rating: 
Summary: What a stupid book!
Review: Call things by their names: This book IS NOT a memoir. It is fiction (and bad fiction). I borrowed this book from public library, and also had to stop in the middle of it. I felt it was a waste of my time... these stupid stories. I also wish I could rate it 0 stars. I've had enough of Chinese melodramas....
Rating: 
Summary: Redeeming the Past: A Father and Daughter Remember
Review: I had real reservations about this book. A woman who would go out of her way to make sure she was not buried next to her husband seemed to me to be less than worthy of my time. I didn't like her. I want to read about someone with whom I can form some identity. I looked at this book several times at the bookstore and passed it up. Then a friend handed it to me and told me to read it. I have always said that some of the best books I have read have come as an interruption to what I was "supposed" to be reading. This book is one of them. The introduction on the dust jacket describes a woman who makes a secret arrangement to be buried alone in a mausoleum. The book seeks to understand and explain this unusual behavior. But I didn't want to understand. I am tired of caring why strange people do strange things. Such an act seemed unheroic. But something completely unexpected happened to me as I read this book. I was prepared to hear an elaborate excuse by the writer for why her grandmother did what she did. I had concluded that I could never identify with such a person. But I was completely unprepared for the extent to which I identified with the writer herself. We are worlds apart. Literally. She grew up in America. I was born in Tokyo, and I grew up in the northern part of Japan. My parents were American missionaries, who went to Japan as volunteers after World War II. My grandparents came from Norway. I do not look Japanese. Not at all. Throughout my childhood, I was always a foreigner. Gaijin. Nevertheless, I am a child of Asia. When my parents took me to America at the age of 13, I had serious misgivings about that new country. We moved to a small town in Minnesota, about as far removed as it is possible to be (both culturally and geographically) from the place that had been my home. I forgot Japanese. But through all the years I have lived in America, I have never forgotten the strange feeling I had when I came to that small Midwestern town and tried to fit into a world where I knew nothing about anything, even though I was a native speaker of English. This book is about a woman who hated her father, and the ripple effect that this bitterness had over three generations. But it is written by a woman who loved her father, and with whom, in spite of clear generational differences, she was able to collaborate on a book about, of all things, relationships. The book is written by May-lee with her father, Winberg. It is about Ruth and Charles-her grandparents, his parents. Charles adores his wife, but he is forever the unfortunate recipient of the unresolved rage she feels for her father. In that sense, Charles is a pathetic figure. He really can't do anything right. But, Ruth, of course, is more pathetic. She epitomizes in every way the Biblical injunction, "Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled (Hebrews 12:15)." The whole book reverberates with the effect this root of bitterness has on the whole family. But there is a unique redemptive quality to this book that took me quite by surprise. You see, in writing the story of her grandmother, especially in writing this story with her father, May-lee "redeems" her grandmother, because she displays all the qualities that I can now imagine Ruth probably had and would have displayed if she had not been so eaten up with hatred for her father. The cover of the book shows a picture of Ruth and Charles at the time of their marriage. But I wasn't paying attention. Somehow I had it that this was a picture of the father-daughter team that wrote the book. So, as I was reading this book, I thought the pretty lady on the cover was the author. For me, Ruth became May-lee, and Charles became Winberg. At least for awhile. Then I caught on. But the initial impression never left. In a very real sense, May-lee became what her grandmother, unbound, would have been. And there is tremendous power in the way she gently prods her father to recover his past. It's all very unusual-you see, even though the book is not really supposed to be about May-lee herself, she becomes, in writing the book, the heroine of the story. This is a book with heart. Read it. Then give it to someone else. Make this world a better place by reading, and encouraging others to read what will surely be one of the most life-enriching books you have encountered.
Rating:
Summary: Redeeming the Past: A Father and Daughter Remember
Review: I had real reservations about this book. A woman who would go out of her way to make sure she was not buried next to her husband seemed to me to be less than worthy of my time. I didn't like her. I want to read about someone with whom I can form some identity. I looked at this book several times at the bookstore and passed it up. Then a friend handed it to me and told me to read it. I have always said that some of the best books I have read have come as an interruption to what I was "supposed" to be reading. This book is one of them. The introduction on the dust jacket describes a woman who makes a secret arrangement to be buried alone in a mausoleum. The book seeks to understand and explain this unusual behavior. But I didn't want to understand. I am tired of caring why strange people do strange things. Such an act seemed unheroic. But something completely unexpected happened to me as I read this book. I was prepared to hear an elaborate excuse by the writer for why her grandmother did what she did. I had concluded that I could never identify with such a person. But I was completely unprepared for the extent to which I identified with the writer herself. We are worlds apart. Literally. She grew up in America. I was born in Tokyo, and I grew up in the northern part of Japan. My parents were American missionaries, who went to Japan as volunteers after World War II. My grandparents came from Norway. I do not look Japanese. Not at all. Throughout my childhood, I was always a foreigner. Gaijin. Nevertheless, I am a child of Asia. When my parents took me to America at the age of 13, I had serious misgivings about that new country. We moved to a small town in Minnesota, about as far removed as it is possible to be (both culturally and geographically) from the place that had been my home. I forgot Japanese. But through all the years I have lived in America, I have never forgotten the strange feeling I had when I came to that small Midwestern town and tried to fit into a world where I knew nothing about anything, even though I was a native speaker of English. This book is about a woman who hated her father, and the ripple effect that this bitterness had over three generations. But it is written by a woman who loved her father, and with whom, in spite of clear generational differences, she was able to collaborate on a book about, of all things, relationships. The book is written by May-lee with her father, Winberg. It is about Ruth and Charles-her grandparents, his parents. Charles adores his wife, but he is forever the unfortunate recipient of the unresolved rage she feels for her father. In that sense, Charles is a pathetic figure. He really can't do anything right. But, Ruth, of course, is more pathetic. She epitomizes in every way the Biblical injunction, "Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled (Hebrews 12:15)." The whole book reverberates with the effect this root of bitterness has on the whole family. But there is a unique redemptive quality to this book that took me quite by surprise. You see, in writing the story of her grandmother, especially in writing this story with her father, May-lee "redeems" her grandmother, because she displays all the qualities that I can now imagine Ruth probably had and would have displayed if she had not been so eaten up with hatred for her father. The cover of the book shows a picture of Ruth and Charles at the time of their marriage. But I wasn't paying attention. Somehow I had it that this was a picture of the father-daughter team that wrote the book. So, as I was reading this book, I thought the pretty lady on the cover was the author. For me, Ruth became May-lee, and Charles became Winberg. At least for awhile. Then I caught on. But the initial impression never left. In a very real sense, May-lee became what her grandmother, unbound, would have been. And there is tremendous power in the way she gently prods her father to recover his past. It's all very unusual-you see, even though the book is not really supposed to be about May-lee herself, she becomes, in writing the book, the heroine of the story. This is a book with heart. Read it. Then give it to someone else. Make this world a better place by reading, and encouraging others to read what will surely be one of the most life-enriching books you have encountered.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Historical Read
Review: I strongly disagree with the previous reviewers who slammed this book. Every memoir is intrinsically biased: that is the very essence of autobiographical writing, to tell a story from a unique perspective. Those familiar with 19th and 20th Chinese history will no doubt be amazed by the achievements of the Chai family and will apreciate the historical tie-ins.
Rating:
Summary: Previous reviewers were ignorant.
Review: Just because you cannot comprehend anyone having a hard life, doesn't mean you have to discredit the authors of this wonderful book. I am currently taking a course in Asian Political Cultures from Winberg Chai at the University of Wyoming, and I find him to be an incredible source of inspiration. Read this book and ignore anything the previous reviewers, or the critic from the New York Times have said.
Rating:
Summary: A good read!
Review: There isn't much mystery to the plot, nor it explicitly explained why Ruth changed her burial decision. However, it's packed with Chinese culture, details of what life was like in China, the political movements, etc.. I recommend this book strongly to any one who would like to learn more of the Chinese culture/history, specially to the ABCs (America born Chinese).
Rating:
Summary: A good read!
Review: This book is not a page turner. However, there was just enough there that I wanted to read it to the end. Get some closure, perhaps. I understand some of the criticism directed at this book. There are parts of it where the authors are simply making up events, but at least they outright tell you so; e.g., "Here is how I imagine my grandmother's suitor." I didn't find this irritating or annoying. Just awkward, for a biographical piece. I was disappointed that there wasn't more to the "mystery." No climactic ending - for better or worse. In the end, this woman who had already left her husband twice, left him one final time because she could not overcome her bitterness and jealousies. She started as a modern Chinese woman full of spirit and energy, but ended up being someone old and spiteful. Someone who would hold a 30-40 year grudge. Someone who would disown her own son. How sad.
Rating:
Summary: The Girl From Purple Mountain: A book to love
Review: This memoir is told from two points of view: a father/daughter writing team. For memoir fans, this unique writing approach alone makes the book a must-read. The two voices are separated by chapters, so it's easy to keep the voices straight. The father's writing style is particularly humorous, the daughter most often provides historical context. The writing team takes care to clarify their memories, commenting on each other's intrepretations, providing insight not only into their story but the workings of human memory itself. The story is compelling, fascinating and engaging. I learned about this family and about China. This is a great book!
Rating: 
Summary: A Brillant family memoir
Review: Winberg Chai' mother, Ruth Mei-en Tsao Chai, died unexpectedly. He then found out that his mother had secretly arranged to be buried alone, instead of in the share plots that his father had purchased years ago. Winbery then felt that, as Ruth's first-born son, he has the obligation to explore the family history to reconstruct his mother's life and to seek the answer of his mother's fateful decision. This book is about Winberg's family history and memoir. He finished this book with the help of his daughter, May-Lee Chai. I read some book reviews before I picked up this book at the library. I disagreed that this book is full of "fictionalized events." I think this book provides very good discussion about family history and its roots. It is an enjoyable reading. I like it.
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