I just finished reading this for a book club I'm in, and I really liked it. It is written by Fan Shen, who was a pre-teen when Chairman Mao's Cultural Revolution "hit" China, and was a avid supporter of the revolution and the Communist party. He quickly became disenchanted as he witnessed and took part in the reality of it. Fan Shen's autobiography tells of all the years he spent in China, assigned to various jobs, no longer believing in the Communist regime, but unable to protest without losing his life. It is so fascinating as a first-hand account of Communism, but it reads like a novel. So interesting. It's one you can't put down. Fan Shen, the author now lives and teaches college in the US. I think it is out of print now, but I was able to find a copy at the library.Sunday, March 14, 2010
Gang of One: Memoirs of a Red Guard by Fan Shen
I just finished reading this for a book club I'm in, and I really liked it. It is written by Fan Shen, who was a pre-teen when Chairman Mao's Cultural Revolution "hit" China, and was a avid supporter of the revolution and the Communist party. He quickly became disenchanted as he witnessed and took part in the reality of it. Fan Shen's autobiography tells of all the years he spent in China, assigned to various jobs, no longer believing in the Communist regime, but unable to protest without losing his life. It is so fascinating as a first-hand account of Communism, but it reads like a novel. So interesting. It's one you can't put down. Fan Shen, the author now lives and teaches college in the US. I think it is out of print now, but I was able to find a copy at the library.
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Hi,
I think I can finally comment on the site. Debbie keep reading the Georgette Heyer. I started her books when I was 12 or 13 and love them. They are easier to find now, Harlequin had a contract to release all the titles starting about 8 years ago, but they have lost it to another publisher.
Ok, so my big recommendation is The Boy In the Striped Pajamas. We did this 2 months ago in book club. We read the book and for our meeting we watched the movie. Do it in that order. Then we spent probably another 1-1 1/2 hours in discussion. It is one of the best meetings we have had.
We meet on Wed to discuss The Power of One, which will difficult because I haven't been able to get hold of it.
Beth
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