http://www.jungchang.net/wild-swans
A fascinating book that follows three generations of Chinese women beginning in the early 20th century. The book starts with the Japanese occupation, proceeds through the civil war between the communists and the Kuomintang then carries us throughout the Mao atrocities. The ability of the Chinese people to endure hardship astonishes me – there was rarely a period of peace during these years, just one type of hardship followed by another. And the author’s parents and she were dedicated followers of Mao, even as Mao himself dictated policies that brought them tremendous pain and suffering.
I recommend this book whole-heartedly. I listened to the audio book (beautifully narrated by Joy Osmanski) and purchased a physical copy of the book before I even finished the audio book because I knew I needed to have it available to me. There are some things – looking up passages, consulting the spellings, etc. – that just can’t be done with an audio book.
