tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7546783121640385268.post6131387555768191459..comments2024-03-17T19:50:26.825+11:00Comments on journey & destination: Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution by Ji-Li Jiang (1997)Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820925595506920754noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7546783121640385268.post-17666904332820454822017-07-31T15:33:59.436+10:002017-07-31T15:33:59.436+10:00I've read a few books set in this time period ...I've read a few books set in this time period that were well written & fascinating, but usually very sad too.Carolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06820925595506920754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7546783121640385268.post-50975783831121738952017-07-24T08:31:35.238+10:002017-07-24T08:31:35.238+10:00I have read a few books based in China, but nothin...I have read a few books based in China, but nothing from this era. It sounds fascinating. Barbara H.http://barbarah.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7546783121640385268.post-70157115048928341792017-07-20T14:34:21.443+10:002017-07-20T14:34:21.443+10:00Thanks, Jeannette! "Real history can help us ...Thanks, Jeannette! "Real history can help us be more alert to possible consequences, direct and unintended, of social-political programs..." - your comment reminded me of an observation made by Don Cormack, the author of 'Killing Fields, Living Fields,' about Pol Pot and other perpretators of genocide getting their Marxist ideas when they went to university in Paris. In Cambodia, the socio-political ideals were taken to their logical conclusions. Tragic!Carolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06820925595506920754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7546783121640385268.post-46765697940807724722017-07-20T10:55:03.068+10:002017-07-20T10:55:03.068+10:00Thanks for this review. I read several books abou...Thanks for this review. I read several books about China back in the 90's, "Wild Swans" for one. I will put this one on my list and pop this review of yours on my FB page for more exposure. Real history can help us be more alert to possible consequences, direct and unintended, of social-political programs...Jeannettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06115410908800997558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7546783121640385268.post-45801328902324687142017-07-18T11:19:41.241+10:002017-07-18T11:19:41.241+10:00Funny, I read a review of Nothing to Envy just the...Funny, I read a review of Nothing to Envy just the other day. I read Wild Swans some time ago & loved it & would like to read it again.<br />Mao's Last Dancer - non-fiction. I liked that up until the protagonist moved to the USA & I didn't enjoy it anywhere near as much after that. The description of his boyhood in China was excellent.<br />The Good Earth by Pearl Buck - she grew up in China & her writing is beautiful but this was a really hard book for me emotionally.<br />I can't think of any fiction by Chinese authors off the top of my head but there are some non-fiction books I'd like to try:<br />Life & Death in Shanghai by Nien Cheng<br />Prisoner of Mao by Bao Ruowang<br />A Single Tear by Wu Ningkun & Li Yikai<br />No Wall too High by Xu Honci<br /><br />I hope you post about the North Korea books!<br /><br />Carolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06820925595506920754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7546783121640385268.post-21413854642992093282017-07-18T03:40:53.463+10:002017-07-18T03:40:53.463+10:00This sounds fascinating. I am putting it on my li...This sounds fascinating. I am putting it on my list. Coincidentally I have recently read two books about North Korea (Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick and The Accusation by Bandi) which have obvious echoes here.<br /><br />If you are interested in other memoirs and haven’t already read it, I highly recommend Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang. It is longish, but it read so fast. <br /><br />I would be interested in reading fiction from Chinese authors. The only thing I have read so far is Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress and A Free Life by Ha Jin. Do you have any suggestions?Ruthiellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03871834571645928819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7546783121640385268.post-8598608107411079632017-07-16T21:22:04.877+10:002017-07-16T21:22:04.877+10:00Hi Sharon, I read your review. The story did end a...Hi Sharon, I read your review. The story did end abruptly, as you said. I suppose she was just focussing on those two years of her life but I wondered how things went for her family in the years immediately afterwards. <br />Re the manipulation - it was the 'peer pressure' elements that stood out to me. Neighbours, schools, friends turned on each other. The power of shaming was used great advantage, something that you mentioned in your review.Carolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06820925595506920754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7546783121640385268.post-39903789809238368932017-07-16T21:15:16.965+10:002017-07-16T21:15:16.965+10:00The power of story - seeing these events through t...The power of story - seeing these events through the eyes of every day people. It's easy to read about things like this & wonder how people could be so manipulated & duped. But it wasn't the first time & it won't be the last.Carolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06820925595506920754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7546783121640385268.post-66473583575496561092017-07-16T21:10:04.161+10:002017-07-16T21:10:04.161+10:00Thanks, Marian. It would be very interesting from ...Thanks, Marian. It would be very interesting from your personal perspective. I've just finished reading another book set in pre-WW2 China & the lead up to the Communist takeover. China went through some radical changes.Carolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06820925595506920754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7546783121640385268.post-4655758231229431282017-07-16T14:59:12.001+10:002017-07-16T14:59:12.001+10:00Good review!
I read this book a number of years a...Good review!<br /><br />I read this book a number of years ago (here's my review: https://sharonhenning.blogspot.com/2011/01/book-review-of-red-scarf-girl.html<br /><br />I found it to be a fascinating study on how an entire country can be destroyed through the manipulation of the masses. How they can go along with Mao Zedong's Revolution baffles me. Other than the truth that the human heart races towards its own destruction.Gently Madhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10450371589766691273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7546783121640385268.post-18815293938585911982017-07-16T10:30:18.812+10:002017-07-16T10:30:18.812+10:00Great review; this sounds like a thought-provoking...Great review; this sounds like a thought-provoking read. My family and I just finished watching the new PBS documentary "The Story of China," which was good, but very condensed. It left me wanting to learn more about the Mao era. As a half-Vietnamese, I can't help but see the effects of his influence from a personal lens; even so, the story of his regime should be taken as a universal lesson/warning.Marian Hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14115916138435761469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7546783121640385268.post-75636185484973557262017-07-16T01:11:02.758+10:002017-07-16T01:11:02.758+10:00This sounds like it is well worth reading. Sometim...This sounds like it is well worth reading. Sometimes we lose sight of its effect of these events on everyday folks. I agree that reading a book like this is something that young people would benefit from. Brian Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15139559400312336791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7546783121640385268.post-83140040472680027142017-07-15T20:44:26.284+10:002017-07-15T20:44:26.284+10:00Never heard of that one, Michele! I had a quick lo...Never heard of that one, Michele! I had a quick look & it sounds very interesting. I'm on a China splurge at the moment. I've heard that Life & Death in Shanghai is good also.Carolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06820925595506920754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7546783121640385268.post-8063802258727011572017-07-15T20:25:29.037+10:002017-07-15T20:25:29.037+10:00This sounds like such a great book, especially for...This sounds like such a great book, especially for helping us to understand present-day China. I just finished reading Street of Eternal Happiness which is kind of a profile of a number of different lives that live along a Shanghai street. Because it was written by a journalist, it has lots of great detail and background, but, for me, it read like a novel because I was so interested in the characters.Michele Morinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03814119096056835884noreply@blogger.com