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Title: Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by JUNG CHANG ISBN: 0-385-42547-3 Publisher: Anglophone Sa Pub. Date: 03 October, 1992 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.95

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Average Customer Rating: 4.66 (232 reviews)

Rating: 4
Summary: Would that It Were More Honest
Comment: The first half of this book is well written and quite interesting as a personal memoir; the rest is less engaging, as it became closer to a chronicle than a memoir. Even still, I have mainly admiration and not criticism for the writing; it is the content that concerns me. I am from the same province as the author and also lived through the Cultural Revolution. Westerners might have heard only about the Red Guards, however all Party members, including those who later became victims, were participants in the movement (and other movements before the Cultural Revolution). I can understand why the author chose to portray her parents as purely victims or even heroes against the Revolution -- after all, we Chinese have thousands of years of tradition "avoiding anything that may compromise the name of an intimate." In reality, it was simply impossible for a Party cadre like the author's parents not to be an active participant in the movements, until they themselves become victimized. To me this was the true tragedy for us Chinese. I wish the book had been more honest in this aspect and given a more complete picture to western readers about what happened. I think this honesty would make the book even more valuable.

Another thing that bothers me is that the author chose to translate "xuan-chuan-bu" ("the Department of Propaganda") as "the Department of Public Affair". She noted this was "in order to describe their functions accurately". But the former translation is far more accurate, literally and in terms of function. Perhaps this change was made because the author's father was a co-director of such a department in the Communist Party. Such a change seems unnecessary to me.

Rating: 4
Summary: A challenging book, but well worth it.
Comment: In her book Wild Swans, Jung Chang chronicles the experiences of three generations of women in twentieth-century China - her grandmother's life as a concubine to a warlord general, her mother's role in the Communist Party and the persecution that her parents endured afterwards, and her own gradual disillusionment with Communism and the system. While the author focuses mainly on her own family, their experiences are directly related to what is going on in the country at the time, and Chang often makes that connection by including detailed historical narratives within the plot. The book covers a long span of events from the Manchu dynasty to the present day, but the accounts of the three women have many similarities and fit into the overall theme of oppression and suffering in China.

I found Wild Swans so interesting that I read it for eleven consecutive hours. Jung Chang draws the reader into the story with vivid, detailed description, but at the same time, something important is always happening, so it is never boring or drawn-out. There are descriptions of not only the main characters, but also the people that they meet and interact with, and each part of the story flows smoothly into the next. Chang recounts her family's struggles and hardships with heartfelt emotion as well as intelligent and insightful remarks and observations. This allows the reader to use the author's hindsight, while at the same time experiencing what the characters are feeling as the story progresses. Reading the book made me feel sad for the oppressed people, and angry towards the injustices of society, but the family's perseverance and determination to survive was inspiring and uplifting. Wild Swans is just as much about human emotions and interaction as it is about Chinese history, and it is a great book in both aspects.

Rating: 5
Summary: Outsanding
Comment: (Aug 2003 release) Being interested in Chinese culture for sometime, I finally found a book that has given me something other than state sponsored history facts. I came across this book by accident. I began reading at the bookstore on Saturday evening and wasn't able to put it down until going to work on Monday morning. This book made me laugh, cry and scared the **** out of me in some places. It has definitely given me a wider perspective on the Chinese people and its culture. I'm looking forward to the release of Jung Chang's next book on Mao due out this year.