Wild Swans, by Jung Chang
The well-written, eye-opening Wild Swans grabbed my heart as it delved into the raw hardships that especially Chang and her relatives personally experienced in an earlier China. It’s a page-turner, and thankfully a long one.
How awful it must have been to live in an era where destructive ideology seeped into the abysses of the very mundane elements of private life. Self-criticisms. Hardships. Suppression. Hunger. Control. Control. Control…
The story takes place in earlier years, but people are people. I can see a little of me in the story and in Chang’s parents. And it can bring perspective to learn about others’ sufferings — even though I can think I have it rough, I don’t have bound feet. I have food to eat. I am not a concubine. The government does not force me to adopt particular political ideology.
I definitely recommend this book, but be aware that the content is not light.
