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Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
read it in one sitting,
By A Customer
This review is from: Wild Ginger: A Novel (Paperback)
This is an easily read and thoroughly enjoyable book. It is educational without you realizing that you are learning. It is hard to believe these things were going on at the same time our life was so very different in this country.Read it. You won't regret it.
4.0 out of 5 stars
A test of loyalty, friendship and love,
By
This review is from: Wild Ginger (Paperback)
"Wild Ginger" is the coming of age story of three teenagers set in China during the Cultural Revolution. Wild Ginger and Maple meet in grade school. Maple is the target of vicious bullying and beatings by classmates for being classified as a reactionary ("not from three-generations-of-labor family") and for not being fully indoctrinated in the teachings of Mao. Wild Ginger, new to the school, is an outcast for being the biracial daughter of a French father and a Chinese mother. When Wild Ginger rescues Maple from an after school beating by ardent Mao supporters the two become fast friends. Although the friendship appears, initially, to be based on the need for protection, the relationship develops into one of the deepest commitments each will ever make. Wild Ginger is determined to gain acceptance by resisting the physical punishments from her classmates with the same conviction with which she embraces the teachings of Mao. Maple, though not as committed to Mao, remains loyal and supportive of her best friend. The bond the two girls establish is steadfast, impenetrable - until the help of a neighborhood boy is solicited and an unpredictable love triangle forms that threatens to destroy the thing both girls value most. "Wild Ginger" is a skillfully drawn novel that explores themes of friendship, love and loyalty within the social and political backdrop of China's Cultural Revolution. Min's writing is crisp and uncluttered. The story flows like the rhythm of an ancient Chinese fable yet it possess all the elements of style and device commonplace in modern literature. "Wild Ginger" is insightful and enriching. This is the first novel that I've read by Anchee Min; I'm now looking forward to others.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love and politics in during China's cultural revolution,
By
This review is from: Wild Ginger (Paperback)
This story is about two friends growing up during those recent awful times in China when family background could earn you a beating from sadist classmates. That's how Maple, the first person narrator, met Wild Ginger. Together they fought the class bully, and together they studied Maoism. Wild Ginger, however, whose father was a foreigner, had a harder time than Maple. But the abuse she endured even pulled her more strongly into Maoism. Eventually she rose in the party. And when a young man developed a romantic interest in her, a triangle developed that included her friend Maple. That's when the events take a more tragic turn.From the very first page, I was immediately swept up in the story, which was set against the background of the horrors of Maoism. Here was history come alive through the eyes of the people, each one so beautifully developed that even the minor characters became unique individuals. There is not a wasted word and the tightly crafted sentences, juxtaposed with quotations from Mao's writings, brought me right into the heart of China. I felt the political fervor as well as the frustrations and depravations of living through that unique time. I loved this book. I read it quickly, and had a hard time putting it down. Highly recommended.
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