Rating: 
Summary: read it in one sitting
Review: "Wild Ginger" is the coming of age story of three teenagers set in China during the Cultural Revolution. Wild Ginger and Maple meet in grade school. Maple is the target of vicious bullying and beatings by classmates for being classified as a reactionary ("not from three-generations-of-labor family") and for not being fully indoctrinated in the teachings of Mao. Wild Ginger, new to the school, is an outcast for being the biracial daughter of a French father and a Chinese mother. When Wild Ginger rescues Maple from an after school beating by ardent Mao supporters the two become fast friends. Although the friendship appears, initially, to be based on the need for protection, the relationship develops into one of the deepest commitments each will ever make. Wild Ginger is determined to gain acceptance by resisting the physical punishments from her classmates with the same conviction with which she embraces the teachings of Mao. Maple, though not as committed to Mao, remains loyal and supportive of her best friend. The bond the two girls establish is steadfast, impenetrable - until the help of a neighborhood boy is solicited and an unpredictable love triangle forms that threatens to destroy the thing both girls value most. "Wild Ginger" is a skillfully drawn novel that explores themes of friendship, love and loyalty within the social and political backdrop of China's Cultural Revolution. Min's writing is crisp and uncluttered. The story flows like the rhythm of an ancient Chinese fable yet it possess all the elements of style and device commonplace in modern literature. "Wild Ginger" is insightful and enriching. This is the first novel that I've read by Anchee Min; I'm now looking forward to others.
Rating: 
Summary: Freedom is Slavery
Review: Adults are terrified to curb the impulses of sadistic children for fear of being branded an anti-Maoist. Children denounce their own parents and citizens are executed, tortured or sentenced to labor camps for life for the most arbitrary of political `crimes' or for having the misfortune of being descended from the wrong social class. The entire community is forced to attend marathon mass rehearsals in freezing weather for Mao quotation singing rallies. The only words that are safe to speak are Mao's own, which the children spend most of their school days memorizing and chanting endlessly. George Orwell's 1984 sounds like a walk in the park compared to China in the midst of the Cultural Revolution.
Against this totalitarian nightmare of a backdrop the reader is introduced to the title character through the eyes of Maple, a kind natured child. Wild Ginger is tainted because she is ΒΌ French, and she is ostracized and loses everything as a child because of it. Through sheer will and a singlemindedness to become the best Maoist ever she rises in the party and ascends to power. Being a perfect Maoist leaves no room for marriage, love or humanity, though, and when she and another rising Maoist fall in love tragedy results.
The author survived the Cultural Revolution, and her experiences lend a chilling authenticity to this story.
Rating:
Summary: Predictably Stunning
Review: As I picked up Wild Ginger, I knew of the acclaim and praise that it has won on this particular site. It is obvious that the characters of Wild Ginger and Hot Pepper and Maple were rounded well. I was only slightly disappointed with the vicious tenacity of Evergreen's character during the scenes with Maple in the closet. I believe it is unexplainable how Evergreen could become this monster. It is sad yet predictable that Wild Ginger will come to the point that she is at at the end of the novel (NO spoilers, don't worry.) I loved Maple's caring and compassion and her own tenacity as she rivals Hot Pepper. I believed it was real, there were real emotions involved. It is also interesting to note that from the cover, it is said that Wild Ginger is patterned after Mrs. Min. I find that hard to believe, due to the betrayal (oops, one spoiler) in the novel. Very well written and mostly believable. Combine that with searing emotion and you have a great read. You don't even need to know about the Chinese cultural revolution. Anchee Min also does a masterful job of educating the Western population about Chairman Mao and the garbage that he fed his people to promote "unity". You ought to go and get a copy of this book right now. --teenlibrarian--
Rating:
Summary: As good as Red Azalea
Review: From the time Maple meets her in elementary school, Wild Ginger has always been singled out for a particular kind of torture because of her "foreign colored" eyes. This gives the girls something in common because the Red Guards have been making Maple's life a living hell because her father is in prison. Anchee Min writes of China's Cultural Revolution with a restraint that makes the spiritual cost of such repression all the more horrific. As Maple and Wild Ginger grow, they see that the only way for them to survive is to become model Maoists, to pin all their hopes and deeds on the Great Leader. When Wild Ginger and a young man named Evergreen discover emotions that have no place in the Chairman's little red book, all three of them risk complete destruction. Don't be deceived. Min leaves no doubt that this will not be a "triumph of the human spirit" story in the way most will expect it. In fact, the human spirit may not triumph at all. But you will keep reading, your heart aching for these girls, their young friend, and anyone who has to pass through this kind of daily gauntlet in order to survive. Anchee Min's last novel, "Becoming Madame Mao" was a bestseller and a fine piece of work. But my favorite is her first novel, "Red Azalea," which broke new ground with its straightforward description of an ordinary girl during the Cultural Revolution. Min knows that there is no need to elaborate on these stories; simply relating them as if they were the most ordinary thing in the world is more devastating than embellishment.
Rating:
Summary: Filled with gratitude
Review: I couldn't put this down until it was done. Mesmerizing! A tale that is so obviously Truth. I'm so grateful to live in the USA. And more clear than ever on how important it is to protect our Freedoms. Goddess Bless Anchee Min
Rating:
Summary: Spread me a little love
Review: Maple is definatly not a typical antagonist, but she sure does the part well. Hot Pepper is a true antagonist, and well Wild Ginger I don't know what to say about her. Her betrayal was more than I could stand, and her thoughts were not to better herself but to show those in power, Chairman Moa, that she wan't dirt nor was she a French spy even tho she was mixed, and her mother a Chinese Opera singer was loyal. Between the pain of a mother who betrays you before you are bron according to Wild Ginger by marrying a White, French man, and having a child, and moving back to Communist China in the 50's that just made things even worse. Maple befriends Wild Ginger, and of course Ginger saves Maple from being beaten down by Hot Pepper...and a bond forms. A bond destinted for failure...through circumstance and fate. Evergreen a man/boy who follows much of the culteral revolution fnds himself torn between loving a woman who has made an oath to remain true to Chairman Moa and she loves him but insists that denying her feelings will get her where she wants to be. This is a tragic story crossed with love, anger, hate, and even beauty. THis is a courageous story and I cannot say I have just picked a book from the library randomly that was this good in a long time! :) I read it in less then 6 hours, all 224 pages, and enjoyed every bit. It actually made me want to question my mom about the time and look up more of Maoism. :)
Rating:
Summary: Subtle and delicious
Review: Set in China mostly in the 1970s, "Wild Ginger" focusses on a love triangle that develops between three young people caught in the maelstrom of the Cultural Revolution brough on by Chairman Mao. Maple finds an ally in fellow schoolgirl Wild Ginger, whose foreign-looking eyes make her also a target of the school bully. In efforts to prove herself and to separate herself from her heritage, Wild Ginger embraces Maoism to the utmost and dedicates her life to it. When she meets a young man who also embraces Maoism fervently, Wild Ginger chooses to stifle her burgeoning passions rather than challenge Mao's proclamation against romantic love. As Maple and the young man are drawn together by their mutual love of Wild Ginger, it sets the stage for doom for one of the three. "Wild Ginger" is written subtly and dreamily, where the bright colors of love are muted as they would be because of the Cultural Revolution of the time. And while this might give some readers a sense of distance away from the characters, it also strengthens the grand context of the personal confusions brought on by the Maoist doctrines.
Rating:
Summary: read it in one sitting
Review: This is an easily read and thoroughly enjoyable book. It is educational without you realizing that you are learning. It is hard to believe these things were going on at the same time our life was so very different in this country. Read it. You won't regret it.
Rating:
Summary: Love and politics in during China's cultural revolution
Review: This story is about two friends growing up during those recent awful times in China when family background could earn you a beating from sadist classmates. That's how Maple, the first person narrator, met Wild Ginger. Together they fought the class bully, and together they studied Maoism. Wild Ginger, however, whose father was a foreigner, had a harder time than Maple. But the abuse she endured even pulled her more strongly into Maoism. Eventually she rose in the party. And when a young man developed a romantic interest in her, a triangle developed that included her friend Maple. That's when the events take a more tragic turn. From the very first page, I was immediately swept up in the story, which was set against the background of the horrors of Maoism. Here was history come alive through the eyes of the people, each one so beautifully developed that even the minor characters became unique individuals. There is not a wasted word and the tightly crafted sentences, juxtaposed with quotations from Mao's writings, brought me right into the heart of China. I felt the political fervor as well as the frustrations and depravations of living through that unique time. I loved this book. I read it quickly, and had a hard time putting it down. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Love and politics in during China's cultural revolution
Review: This story is about two friends growing up during those recent awful times in China when family background could earn you a beating from sadist classmates. That's how Maple, the first person narrator, met Wild Ginger. Together they fought the class bully, and together they studied Maoism. Wild Ginger, however, whose father was a foreigner, had a harder time than Maple. But the abuse she endured even pulled her more strongly into Maoism. Eventually she rose in the party. And when a young man developed a romantic interest in her, a triangle developed that included her friend Maple. That's when the events take a more tragic turn. From the very first page, I was immediately swept up in the story, which was set against the background of the horrors of Maoism. Here was history come alive through the eyes of the people, each one so beautifully developed that even the minor characters became unique individuals. There is not a wasted word and the tightly crafted sentences, juxtaposed with quotations from Mao's writings, brought me right into the heart of China. I felt the political fervor as well as the frustrations and depravations of living through that unique time. I loved this book. I read it quickly, and had a hard time putting it down. Highly recommended.
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