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Title: Falling Leaves: The True Story of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter by Adeline Yen Mah, Barbara Rosenblatt, John McElroy ISBN: 0-14-180035-6 Publisher: Viking Penguin Audio Pub. Date: May, 1999 Format: Audio Cassette Volumes: 2 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.1 (282 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A family's pain, a child's sorrow.
Comment: What a family! Adeline Yen Mah's description of growing up in a dysfunctional family defy's comparison. Well, I suppose that should not be surprising, since Tolstoy said that, "All happy families resemble one another, but each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."
I didn't want to read this book. I have been very interested in the history of Modern China (by which I mean roughly the period of time since the Macartney Mission of 1793), but I didn't think this book would add a lot of insight to my study, and...well, I guess I just wasn't in the mood for another "poor me" book. In retrospect, the book really did add more to my feel at least for the period since the revolution in 1949 than I had expected, and once I had allowed myself to be drawn into the incredible pain of this book, it could never be just another story.
One of the main questions that plagued me as I began reading this book was just where the "center" of the problem lay. Adeline talks a lot about her step mother, and what a terrible person she was. But all stepmothers are "terrible." Of course I don't mean that literally, but what I do mean is that the "step mother" syndrome is as old as history, and it is just very, very hard for a step mother to be viewed as a "good" person by all her children. None of that takes away from the fact that Adeline's step mother was a spoiled brat, but it does tend to make me slow to judge. The answer really came to me on page 63, when Adeline's father held her little pet duckling in front of the family dog to test his obedience. The dog failed the test and Adeline was devastated. Her father was the problem. No question about it.
The effects of his complete inability to be a father were far reaching. Relationships among siblings were fragmented, with very little family cohesiveness. To say that there was sibling rivalry wouldn't mean much, because that is pretty normal. But there seemed to be an edginess that went beyond childhood into adult life, reaching a level of mean-spiritedness quite different from mere sibling rivalry. Of course Adeline herself is not completely free from this, as exemplified by the regrettable lines where she is describing her brother Edgar's physical features in an absurd attempt to establish that he is the ugliest of her brothers. Is it just convenient coincidence that the brother she likes least is the one that is "least favored?" And Edgar proves himself to be worthy of her contempt, serving his own urine to her as orange juice at their stepmother's funeral.
The promotion on the cover on this book calls it a "triumphant story." I disagree. This book is not triumph. It is tragedy. But, as tragedy, it is nonetheless profound and compelling. Adeline Yen Mah is a very gifted writer. But even this fact reiterates the pathos of her condition. Adeline wanted to be a writer, but her father insisted that she become a physician. If he had let her be herself, I have no doubt that she could have been a great writer. I didn't mean that the way it sounded. She is a great writer, of course, but I just wonder what she might have become if she had been allowed to fulfill her dream, especially given her unusual talent for expressing herself in writing.
This brings to mind an additional dimension to this book. The book is full of pithy phrases drawn from traditional Chinese culture in order to make a point relevant to the events of Adeline's life. Whatever else may be said, the literary quality of Adeline Yen Mah's writing cannot be denied. I still have mixed feelings about the merits of airing this kind of pain before the whole world. And I can only imagine what her relationship (relationship??) with her siblings must be like since the publication of this book. But I gave this book five stars for two reasons: First, I never found myself questioning Adeline's basic integrity. Her brothers and sisters (especially Lydia, who is vilified with particular energy at the end of the book) may disagree, but I can only give my honest impression. I never got the feeling that Adeline was making up the story as she went along. If her siblings wish to discredit her, they will have a difficult time, because she is very believable. Second, Adeline Yen Mah's gift for expressing herself in writing makes reading her stuff an enriching, if not always painless experience. As a result of this experience, I am drawn to anything with her name on it.
Should she have written this book? I don't know. I need more time to think about it. I suppose, in the end, it had to be her decision, but I can't help wondering if the release she sought by baring her soul was worth what it must have cost her. One can only hope that her future books will be less painful for her, because they will, without question, be a great delight to read.
Rating: 3
Summary: Interesting, but a one-sided story
Comment: This book is well-written and captivating. The descriptions of turmoil in China seen thru the eyes of a child are interesting. All children are self-centered and feel neglected to some extent, but she makes a strong Cinderella case. However, we read just one side of the story. As she reaches adulthood, we see many signs that "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree": she dumps the university researcher and first husband when their usefulness is spent, buys a new Mercedes on impulse, fights with siblings over the estate, etc. The abused become the abusers.
Rating: 4
Summary: Unforgettable
Comment: Falling Leaves is an account of Adeline Yen Mah's fight through life. The real story begins when Adeline's mother dies as a result of her birth. All of the original Yen siblings lead a good life until their father Joseph decided to remarry a beautiful French/Chinese woman, Niang. Niang seems to come from the pits of hell.
Although they were an affluent family, the children rarely saw any money, and the money they did see, they had to beg for. It rips your heart out when you see how badly the original Yen siblings are treated, especially little Adeline. The unfairness of it all just makes you want to scream and thank your own mother and father for all that they have done for you. The children must beg for tram fare, good food, and love. At one time or another, Niang and Joseph favor all the children. Well . . . all but Adeline. After a while, even the grandfather Ye Ye (the patriarch) must beg to Niang for money, whereas in a traditional Chinese family, the patriarch reigns.
Blow after blow comes Adeline's way. She really is a modern day Chinese Cinderella, except that it seems her Prince will never come to sweep her away.
This novel is very engaging and it only took me a day or so to read it. Not that it's an easy read; it's just so engrossing that you forget to put it down! I highly recommend this novel. It makes you appreciate what you have with your own family and friends. Adeline Yen Mah is right up there with the likes of Amy Tan in Chinese American literature. Unforgettable.
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Title: Chinese Cinderella : The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter by Adeline Yen Mah ISBN: 0440228654 Publisher: Laure Leaf Pub. Date: 13 March, 2001 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: A Thousand Pieces of Gold : Growing Up Through China's Proverbs by Adeline Yen Mah ISBN: 0060006390 Publisher: Harper SanFrancisco Pub. Date: 08 October, 2002 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Watching The Tree : A Chinese Daughter Reflects on Happiness, Traditions, and Spiritual Wisdom by Adeline Yen Mah ISBN: 0767904117 Publisher: Broadway Pub. Date: 18 June, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang ISBN: 0385425473 Publisher: Anglophone Sa Pub. Date: 03 October, 1992 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: The Concubine's Children by Denise Chong ISBN: 0140254277 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: January, 1996 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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