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There are also information about the Chinese culture, the society mores that dominate the family and more. and this woman really did fit the stereotype of the "wicked stepmother." Adeline was soon shuffled off to boarding schools with no contact from home. I don't "love" this book, per se, but I am amazed by the strength the author had to write this book. While others may view it as a "woe-is-me" type story. It is a fascinating look into one family as well as one child's life. Yes, she wasn't completely abandoned, left to fend for herself on the streets.
I wasn't expecting to pick up this book and be unable to put it down until I turned the last page. Yes, she was born in a wealthy family. Since she was a female child, she was degraded even more in her family's eyes. Adeline did have two people in her family that did love her and encourage her, her aunt Baba and her grandfather. After her stepmother's death, Adeline finally felt the courage to severe ties with her family. Yes, she was taken care of and was never starving. That is what happened to me yesterday. This book makes me glad that I am a fast reader and even more grateful to have an understanding husband who knows that once a book has me in its grip that I am unable to focus on anything else until the book is done.
No one was left unaffected, even the Chinese who fled to other countries. She grew up and eventually became a doctor and even though her first marriage ended in a disaster, she did find happiness with her second husband. Her father soon married a beautiful woman who was part French and part Chinese. Both of them were punished by Niang, her stepmother, for loving her and eventually, her aunt left the house to take care of herself. Adeline was born the fifth child of her father's first wife.
Throughout this memoir are fascinating information about the history of China and the revolutions that swept through the countryside. This is an interesting memoir and one that I will definitely pass onto others to read.1/19/10 Her aunt was soon caught up in the revolutions that swept through China and it did not fare as well for her as it did for Adeline's family, who managed to escape China by fleeing to Hong Kong. (It helped that yesterday was also a holiday). Adeline sought hard all of her life to gain her parents' approval as well as her siblings, but she was constantly betrayed by them up to the end when she discovered that her father did include her in the original will but her stepmother excluded her.
Within two weeks, her mother died and Adeline was blamed for causing her mother's death. which it is in some ways, I viewed this as a story of a child who endured emotional neglect and survived to be stronger for it. But she was abused and neglected and unwanted.
During the timeframe of her book over 70 million Chinese were murdered, beaten and starved to death by policies of the dysfunctional Government. But, over-all, she was much better off than most others - like the homeless children she would sometimes pass when she was walking to and from school.
There are many better books available that tell more honest tales of the horrors of growing up in China, because they also include heart-warming scenes of people caring for other people. I'm very disappointed in this book, but I'm even more disappointed in myself for buying it.
As an avid reader of books involving Chinese culture and the hardships of the Twentieth Century, I have to strongly recommend not reading this book. Yes, she did have an evil stepmother, a dysfunctional home life, and strict rules to follow.
This book has no heart, and therefore no reason to care for the author and her whining. While the author did suffer hardships growing up in Shanghai, she was much better off that 99% of her fellow countrymen.
While this was going on she had plenty of food, was sent to a private school, lived in a multi-story home in an affluent neighborhood (with indoor plumbing, a luxury some Chinese still don't have), and a father who made more money than most people anywhere in the world.
the style of writing is very matter-of-fact and you never feel she is whining or merely looking for sympathy. her life remained hopeless throughout and it makes one see and appreciate just how wonderful the simple things of life in the united states really are. this is a very worthwhile book. this book was more historical than i expected. the politics of china was woven throughout her story from a perspective one would never see or feel otherwise.
There is too much time spent in this book going over trivial knowledge and bits which are irrelevant to the story. Heck, it was 1937 when she was born and her dad could have easily thrown her away, it happened to a lot of babies (especially girls) during this tumultuous time. Compared to this, the trials of Adeline's childhood is much ignored. More of this book should have focused on her childhood and less on her adulthood.While it's clear that deep problems existed in the family, the author does not really explore why her stepmother was so cruel, or reveal any insight in her situation.
But there is no mention in this book of her confronting Lydia for the terrible letters she wrote. She concentrates more on her own suffering and while I agree that Niang should have treated her stepchildren better, I can't help but wonder what this story is from her parents' or siblings' point of view. No disrespect to the author, but this is simply not a very good autobiography.The ending was especially bitter. If there had been another chapter about her confrontation with Lydia and Lydia's family for them stabbing her in the back, I would have given this book an additional star. It was nice to see Adeline have a fond reunion with her aunt (though why she waited SO long before getting Baba made no sense) as well as finding her father's will. I did enjoy the backstory, but the later on chapters about Hong Kong, Communism, etc etc was irrelevant.
I hate to say it, but this book has a lot of whining. As it is, between the unsatisfying conclusion and the many chapters about other matters where she could have spent more time on her childhood, this book only gets 2 stars for an average, sometimes interesting, but ultimately disappointing read. She focuses only on a few events of her childhood - the duck, seeing her stepmother beat her little sister, what her brothers did with the orange juice, etc. Her education is entirely paid for, including college, when her parents - if they truly were so evil - wouldn't have paid for her schooling.
Very gripping story. A sad and poignant tale with a real-life wicked stepmother who destroys the writer's childhood, even to adulthood, with her meanness and emotional abuse. She made her family's life a misery, and got away with it.
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