Here's what I wrote about this read in 2009: "Non-Fiction. Interviews and context of Chinese who came to adulthood, worked, and raised their families during the ~1960's-1990's. Author's work to capture China's history which is not otherwise being recorded." ( )

Not as riveting as Wild Swans, mostly because the interviews were so uneven. Some were fascinating and others, minimally interesting. Also, the author was disturbingly intrusive throughout. I wanted to get more of the flavor of the Chinese subjects, without her commentary- except perhaps as a footnote. The question and answer format was annoying, especially as she kept asking key questions over and over to all the subjects. There is no doubt that the interviews are an important part of the story of twentieth century China, but there is a large sense that many things are left untold. ( )

Interviews and Unnecessary Commentary

This book provides some good, personal information from older people who lived through some of China's tragedies and tumultuous times. Some of the people who were interviewed have interesting and tragic stories.

Unfortunately, I found myself a little irritated by some of Xinran's commentaries. Oftentimes, she would discuss why she was qualified to interview such subjects, why the subjects trusted her, why she was qualified to discuss Chinese culture, how hard it was to travel, and so forth. Two other books of interviews that I read recently did not have as much interference from their respective authors ("The Corpse Walker: Real Life Stories" and "Woman from Shanghai: Tales of Survival from a Chinese Labor Camp"). Perhaps this is a small quibble, but it obstructed the interesting and personal narratives of the subjects, whom I found more interesting than the author's triumphs and tribulations.

Nevertheless, this book is of interest to laypeople like myself who want to know more about China and the recent tragedies of the country. ( )

China's history experienced by millions during Mao's Cultural Revolution is captured in a series of interviews by a journalist. Her subjects are the grandparents and great-grandparents who survived imprisonment, re-education, famine, separation from their families and hard labor.

The author selected 50 ordinary individuals across China to interview. The interviews covered not only the tragedies and hardship that they experienced, but also their candid opinions of the changes that China has gone through since the end of the Mao's reign. A number of them agreed to be interviewed as long as their real names weren't used for fear of reprisals from the government.

Some of the interviews were more detailed than others, but on the whole, they were all very interesting. ( )

Read. ( )