Rating: 
Summary: whining
Review: I know for a fact that there are hundreds, if not thousands of children who have suffered more than Adeline Yen Mah. Niang is a saint compared to so many dysfunctional mothers and stepmothers in this world. Grappling over shares after the father's death is typical in any Hong kong millionaire family. It's inevitable. It's common and it's life.
Rating: 
Summary: Sad and Moving
Review: This autobiography is difficult to put down. Although it is sad, the author's story is also very entertaining and moving. I heard criticism over the book and the author's negative portrayal of her stepmother, but in writing one's life, honesty should prevail. I found her approach fair and not poorly balanced or vindictive. The stages of her life from living with a horrible stepmother to having an abusive husband will make your heart feel heavy. Ultimately, you will be able to celebrate with her strong nature, accomplishments, and courage despite all the obstacles. Not only does Falling Leaves provide a most fascinating tale of this woman's life, it also reads like an historical work. Readers interested in China's history over the last century will likely enjoy the autobiography as well.
Rating: 
Summary: Loved it!
Review: Reminds me of stories my various Chinese friends have told me. She has also written the best book on Chinese culture that I've ever read, 'Watching the Tree'.... Both are good to read if you're planning a trip to the Far East and want to get a good idea of the culture.
Rating:
Summary: Falling Leaves--Excellent
Review: This Autobiography was wonderful!! It has a great background about China and it's rocky history. About life growing up in China. It was wonderful. I couldn't stop reading.
Rating:
Summary: sad but well protected childhood remembered
Review: It is an absorbing memoir of growing up in China as part of a best described as dysfunctional family with a rather cruel stepmother. After reading it i was struck by the idea of relative poverty. This is the concept that it is not absolute dollar income that makes people feel poor, but rather how they compare themselves to their immediate neighbors. This is important because the author is the daughter of at-one-time one of the richest men in HongKong, yet she describes her childhood in terms of impoverishment that rivals street beggars. We feel her pain and the anguish of a sensitive soul, but the problem is that she lived in the midst of one of the poorest, most deprived populations on earth while going through some of the most horrific changes a society has ever seen. Yet she poignantly tells the story of not having eggs at the boarding school in HongKong, while millions died only a few hundred kilometers to the north.... Poor little rich girl complaining... but the quality of the writing and the heartfelt attachments to her grandfather and aunt certainly override these ideas while reading the book. It is only on reflection afterwards that these issues begin to creep up. Overall a good book and a contribution to the genre of women growing up in china, although i believe the best is still _wild swans_.
Rating:
Summary: One of my all-time favourites!
Review: This compelling novel is the true story of an unwanted Chinese daughter. Falling Leaves, brilliantly written by Adeline Yen Mah, follows the unforgettable journey of the author herself, set against the turbulence of 20th century China.
Adeline's mother died in childbirth and she was raised by her father and her beautiful Eurasian stepmother, Niang, along with her five older siblings. In their home in Shanghai, Niang treated her stepchildren like second class citizens. While her own two children were given fine clothes, banquets and special privileges, her stepchildren were treated bitterly and without respect. Adeline, in particular, suffered appalling emotional abuse. Her siblings bullied and beat her. Adeline's family considered her worthless. Adeline was sent to boarding school and was forbidden to receive visitors and mail. While her family cruelly shut her out, she continued to seek refuge amongst her beloved school work. Adeline finally gained freedom and fled to England, where she went to university and found at last what she had always looked for. A life with respect. This is an unforgettable book that lingers long in the memory. I would recommend it for all to read, I was gripped from beginning to end. Utterly breathtaking, Falling Leaves raises issues that will have the readers thinking.
Excellent, 10 out of 10 reading!
Rating:
Summary: A must read...
Review: I read this book twice, and I really have to tell you that I cried every time I remember the part on which Adeline's pet (which was a duck) was made a victim by the family dog. Her story somewhat reminds me of my father's, who is also an orphan; his mother died when he was only two, and his father remarried shortly after that.
Everyone should read this book. It tells us that even though at the first few years of life was a bumpy road, don't be despair because God is always there near you. Though the book has no exactly a happy ending, I think what that had happened to Adeline was enough to show us that she is happy and content with what she has now.
Because of this book, I ended up reading Adeline's other two books. A must read, I should say...
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Summary: Falling Leaves return to their roots
Review: Upon first purchasing this book, I didn't know what that quote had to do with in this book! But as I read, I knew! This book is about Adeline Yen Mah's painful adolescence and adulthood. Her triumph in the end, and yet her painful longing for a loving family. I wanted to cry, the details were enriching and her childhood was unusual. Adeline Yen Mah described her life with great detail considering that it must have been hard. For anyone who needs a story of sorrow and courage, read Falling Leaves. You will fall in love!
Rating:
Summary: Moving
Review: This book was on my bookshelf for more than a year. Yes, yes. I bought it, because I read the synopsis and found it interesting. But I never got around to read it. This summer, out of sheer boredom, I picked it up and started.
By page 2 I was hooked.
Meet Adeline Yen Mah, a child whose family is anything but suportive. She's mistreated, and the way she tells her own childhood, filled with misery and humiliation is... sadenning. To believe that a child went through such uncomfortable situations is quite unsetlling for me. I endeared myself to Adeline. Her struggles were my struggles, her hardships my hardships. Her every conquest, her every smile would get a loud cheer from me. I had tears in my eyes when I discovered the tru meaning of this book: no matter how much one suffers, there will always be hope, and if we fight for ourselves, then happiness can and will most certainly be achieved.
Read it! Don't let it gather dust on your bookshelf. It will soon become your favorite book.
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Summary: wonderful book!
Review: I loved this book. Actuall it was an audiobook, expressively read. It was a fascinating glimpse at family hierarchal structure in 20th Cent. China before the revolution. A sad, moving and courageous tale of an extraordinary woman who triumphed over an uncaring family. I read this right before going to visit China and was mesmerized.
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