Jung Chang, Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China
Value For Money
Jung Chang, Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China
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User Reviews
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Wild Swans Is An Incredible Story About One Family
Wild Swans is an incredible story about one family's struggles in China throughout World War II and the upsurgence of Mao's Communist China. The most incredible aspect of the story is that it is true.
The books begins with the author's grandmother. Her story is almost a classical tale like Amy Tan's fiction; a young girl is set up to be concubine to a powerful warlord by her father so that he may obtain prestige and power by association. Sometimes it feels so other-worldly, so far in an ancient culture's past, that the reader may think the book really is fiction.
That all changes when the Communist Party overthrows the Kuomintang. The Party attempts to destroy evidence of "Old China" and move onto the future, a future where the luxuries of the middle-class are shared with the majority of China; the workers.
From here, we follow her and her daughter to another life. Her daughter's story takes over; a young girl passionate about the Revolution who marries a Communist Official whose loyalty to the Party overrides any other responsibility a man has to his wife and family. They become a couple highly regarded by the Party, until Mao's thirst for direct power over the people labels them, and many other Officials, enemies.
The truly despicable treatment of Communist enemies and the events that occurred in China under Mao are so absurd it is tragic that these things actually happened, and in the last fifty years. Some of the events that will stay with the reader include Mao's ridiculous quest to outdo the States and the UK in producing steel that it led to years of famine, and the start of the Cultural Revolution and its violent witch hunts incited in part by petty personal vendettas.
It is the China that the world never knew about. While people were tortured, killed, starved, brainwashed and separated from their families in China, the rest of the world was enjoying rock 'n roll and the golden age of Hollywood.
While at the start of the book, the reader may be a bit confused by the mass of Chinese names, it is well-written, easy to read, and very absorbing. Not only will the reader learn about Chinese history and culture, and of politics and Communism, they will be moved and stirred to awareness and curiousity about other important world issues that are going on around them.
Theirs is not an original story; many more suffered as they did, but it is a story the world should know about. These kind of atrocities should be known so that people can learn from mistakes made in the past.
My son came to the UK when he was 4. He has been brought up in the UK and he is 19.
He bought me this book as birthday present. He has many mates here and they recommended this book to him.
It took me 10 months to finish the reading. Since I was born in 1960, most of the events described in the book are familiar to my memory. And I admitted these were quite true.
However, I suspect that she made everyone's stories as to herself and her family. The family enjoyed glories as well as suffering from cultural revolution. And she apparently enjoyed more privilege due to her proud father's position and her clever mother.
All the privilege she showed off in the book inevitably pushed her from one extreme to the other. Anti Mao! She was strongly against the system in China, blaming Mao's faults.
She was obviously very rebelling, but 'tamed and respectful' to her own parents when she was little girl. She was conflicting to herself. Had she predicted China would become what it is like now, she might have thought it twice about she was writing about China. Maybe more objectively.
Her book was influential in the West. What she described fits westerner's imagination based on the biased media coverage about China. Nevertheless, she and her hubby may enjoy a few luxury trips to China by writing more about bad Mao. I personally think she was illegible to judge Mao and China.
Anyway, there is always power struggling. Her father might be a victim of the struggle. Her suffer in this respect was no one to blame. There were so many kids at that time had never tasted a sweet like me. She was spoiled then became rebelling. China is catching up the beautiful western world she dreamed about. People would change to good if they don't worry food every day. People would change to bad if they start to worry about food, again. Yes, even in the civilised west!
Thanks skywings, have read your post in the book forum also.
Excellent review.
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