Customer Reviews

Falling Leaves: The Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter

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Falling Leaves is the moving autobiography of Adeline Yen Mah, an empowered woman growing up in Twentieth Century China. Unlike most other Chinese families at the time, Adeline's was an affluent one led by an overpowering female, Adeline's stepmother. Growing up as a stepdaughter, Adeline was mistreated and unloved by nearly everyone in her family. Her successes were belittled and her failures were exaggerated. Adeline's story, however, is at times inspiring. Eventually she left China to study in England and moved to the United States where she started a family of her own. Though Adeline finally seemed to be living the life she deserved, her family back in China continued to plague her. In particular, her stepmother found a way to cause Adeline a great deal of pain even after her death.

Adeline's poignant tale takes the reader on an incredible journey through her life that is likely to leave the reader with a renewed sense of appreciation of his or her own childhood. Many of Adeline's experiences reflect her Chinese upbringing, giving the reader a taste of Chinese society and culture, while many others transcend national borders. Readers from all countries will be able to relate to the family and personal relationship difficulties Adeline encountered. Falling Leaves is definitely worth the few hours it will take to read.

Adeline Yen Mah's life story is told in her memoir, Falling Leaves. It is a riveting story about one woman's life within a family that did not want her. Born in to a wealthy family in China in the 1930's, Adeline's life should have been one of joy and prosperity however this was quickly shattered by the emergence of two tyrants, her stepmother and Chairman Mao. A great deal of the book is very disturbing. This book is filled with a great deal of intense imagery and recounts every horrifying moment of Adeline's life with vivid descriptions. This memoir could easily pass as a suspenseful drama novel with its powerful, cutting stories of family conflicts. This book is not only an interesting story but also a lesson in the history of China. Explanations of cultural aspects, such as Chinese words and religious rituals, are scattered throughout the book. One is capable of experiencing the rise of communism in China vicariously. Also portrayed are the raw feelings that lead to mass exodus of the social and economic elite as the nation was taken over.
Adeline, throughout the book, was hopelessly devoted to finding a way to achieve acceptance from her father and her stepmother. She struggles and endures great hardship in an attempt to reach this goal. It is a moving quest that seems to reach heroic proportions; a quest worthy of Hercules or any other hero. She faces indomitable odds and is only sustained by her determination, courage, and willpower. Falling Leaves is not only a great story and wonderfully well written but also presents the reader with many deeply thought provoking questions about societal values and family relations.

Characterized by a painful and piercing approach, Adeline Yen Mah's Falling Leaves has the ability to capture the expressions of an unwanted Chinese daughter who grew up in a cruel and harsh family environment. Originally born in China, Adeline Yen Mah was born and raised in an affluent family with an ignorant father and a hateful Eurasian stepmother. Although Adeline ultimately acquires an education in England and marries to a loving husband in America, she realizes that she can never feel completely satisfied because of her yearning for love from her parents; "I was the ostracized outsider longing for acceptance; the ugly duckling hankering to return as the beautiful swan; the despised and unwanted Chinese daughter obsessed with my quest to make my parents proud of me on some level. Surely some day, if I tried hard enough to help them in dire need, they would love me." (210) Touching and heartfelt, this story reveals the hardships and struggles that the author faced before she could heal her scars of neglect and repression. Although this account may seem one-sided and biased of the brutality of her parents, Mah effectively delivers her message of the hurt and lack of acceptance. Using childhood stories about tram fare, boarding school, and eggs, Mah is able to use simple examples to convey her compelling testimony; "The breakfast egg, more than anything, divided us into two distinct and transparent groups: the loved ones and the unloved ones. Needless to say, I remained eggless throughout my tenure at Sacred Heart." (102) Falling Leaves truly demonstrates the powerful bonds and consequences of family relationships.

Falling Leaves is the memoir of an emotionally abused girl, at every disadvantage in her dysfunctional family, who fervently fights to live and tell all. Set in the turbulent atmosphere of the 20th Century, Falling Leaves follows the story of Adeline, whose birth ended in the death of her mother, who struggles under the domineering control of her cruel Eurasian stepmother, Niang. Throughout her childhood and even her adulthood, Adeline is affected by Niang's manipulating machinations.
Author Adeline Yen Mah has succeeded in creating a both a poignant and inspirational story and an epic historical documentation of a female growing up in Communist China. With Mah's vivide descriptions, the sights and sounds of the foreign sounding towns and streets of China come alive. The reader can imagine Shanghai: a city at its peak with lights, sounds, and prosperity. But on the other hand, Mah makes it easy to visualize the harsh realities and clashing resentment that radiates from young Adeline. One thing Mah fails to do is touch upon the political turmoil in China during this time. Although her purpose was not to call upon these changes, they are an important part of Chinese history which would give the reader more perspective.
Mah's story of survival has brought up a wide gamut of different responses. Some readers voraciously read Falling Leaves and eagerly waited for the sequel, while others deemed the book whiny and a story of self-pittance. While inspirational to a point, Falling Leaves seems to reveal a bit too much about the Yen family. For Mah, writing may have been cathartic, but for her siblings, this book may only have brought up a past they wanted to forget.

The basic plot of the book Falling Leaves can be summarized as a Cinderella type story in which a Chinese girl, Adeline, is detested by her family. Her step-mother, Niang, controlled the family and made Adeline's life miserable through favoritism of her children and harsh, unforgiving punishments. While this book is considered an autobiography, I thought of it more as a fictional story based on facts. The story was very interesting and engaging, but I felt that the characters were easily distinguishable between good and evil. At some points this created a more interesting story, while at other times I questioned if the characters were actually that blatantly mean and I wondered what their perspectives were. The author, Adeline Mah, did an excellent job of accomplishing her objectives through this book. On one level she recounted the events of her life with great emotion and vivid detail. She also included her unique perspective of a child growing up in twentieth-century China. Falling Leaves recounts the story of "an unwanted Chinese daughter" while identifying and incorporating the effects of communism on Chinese society. Although this book does not represent the average life of a Chinese girl during the time period, it still provides a valuable perspective. I enjoyed reading the book and highly recommend it.

Adeline Yen Mah's story of her oppressed childhood captures the reader like no other book. Under the suppression of her stepmother's cruel and callous hand, she yearns for her family's love. The continuous abuse she receives affects her actions and perceptions in life, molding her into the person she becomes. Facing the Cultural Revolution and the rise of Communism, Mah gives her personal experience that she endures, including the separation from Aunt Baba, the only person who cares for her. The repression of her life mirrors the country's struggles under Communism. No matter how hard Mah tries to please her parents and win their hearts, she fails. Similarly, it was futile for the workers of China to gain high monetary status and climb up the economic ladder. Still, Mah continues to trample over adversity and succeeds. Even though she never attains her family's love, she becomes an esteemed physician and starts a family of her own. Her will to endure is remarkable; one must admire her strength and perseverance. Falling Leaves takes the reader along for an emotional and riveting ride, and leaves the reader awestruck with what the human being can withstand.

Falling Leaves tells the heart-rending story of Adeline Yen Mah. Her story is much like that of Cinderella, only without the predictable fairy tale ending, in that she lost all those who were close to her and suffered miserably as a child. Her mother died shortly after her birth; her aunt chose to stay in Communist China rather than flee with the rest of the family; and her beloved grandparents both died while she was still very young. Adeline's truly heartless stepmother despised her, and her father was essentially a puppet who carried out her wishes. The reader is enthralled by Adeline's tragic yet inspiring story; he continues reading even after he has met his quota for the day in order to find out more about Adeline's life and the direction it took. How did Adeline cope? What will happen to her next? Why would they do that to her? How could they do that to her? These questions consume the reader as he reads the book during every available moment. Adeline Yen Mah's memoirs are extraordinary, yet not so much so that others are unable to identify with some of the obstacles with which she is faced. Her perspective on adversity and her description of her family's nuances make her story especially powerful, as many people can relate to these elements. Indeed, upon reading its conclusion, Falling Leaves fosters that strange feeling of both incredible disappointment and profound inspiration in the reader as only a great literary work can do.

Falling Leaves is life's long struggles and experiences compressed into a tiny book, that could never wholly explain Adeline Yen Mah's life or the tumultuous period in China, where her tale takes place. The historical aspects of China are merely glanced at as Falling Leaves is no history book, but rather a memoir, a telling of her experiences. It does not attempt to display a conclusive, panoramic view of twentieth-century China, but rather a short but focused glance of it through personal experiences. Falling Leaves is an anomaly in many ways. In a time when women were subservient, the two prominent figures that Mah mentions are her Grand Aunt, who establishes her own company and paves career for herself, and Niang, her foreign stepmother, whose omnipotent rule inflicts not only Mah, but her siblings, her grandfather, and even her father. In a time of revolutionary China, where communist ideals are pervading through society, she comes from an affluent capitalist family who seems to be hardly affected by the globally noticed situation that surrounds their lives. The fairy tale outline of this book is complete with a commanding stepmother, her bullying siblings, her indifferent father and brother, and her failing marriages. Despite the difficulties that encumber her, she portrays personal serenity and excels beyond the confines of Chinese tradition, perhaps motivated by her family's record of success. Mah's purpose remains clear throughout the memoir, as she shows her life through the implications of the history of China, rather than China's history through her own life.

Falling Leaves is the memoir of an emotionally abused girl, at every disadvantage in her dysfunctional family, who fervently fights to live and tell all. Set in the turbulent atmosphere of the 20th Century, Falling Leaves follows the story of Adeline, whose birth ended in the death of her mother, who struggles under the domineering control of her cruel Eurasian stepmother, Niang. Throughout her childhood and even her adulthood, Adeline is affected by Niang's manipulating machinations.
Author Adeline Yen Mah has succeeded in creating a both a poignant and inspirational story and an epic historical documentation of a female growing up in Communist China. With Mah's vivide descriptions, the sights and sounds of the foreign sounding towns and streets of China come alive. The reader can imagine Shanghai: a city at its peak with lights, sounds, and prosperity. But on the other hand, Mah makes it easy to visualize the harsh realities and clashing resentment that radiates from young Adeline. One thing Mah fails to do is touch upon the political turmoil in China during this time. Although her purpose was not to call upon these changes, they are an important part of Chinese history which would give the reader more perspective.
Mah's story of survival has brought up a wide gamut of different responses. Some readers voraciously read Falling Leaves and eagerly waited for the sequel, while others deemed the book whiny and a story of self-pittance. While inspirational to a point, Falling Leaves seems to reveal a bit too much about the Yen family. For Mah, writing may have been cathartic, but for her siblings, this book may only have brought up a past they wanted to forget.

Falling Leaves is a captivating, emotional journey through the life of an unwanted Chinese daughter, offering a glimpse into the depths of human experience - it is beautiful; it is ugly. But at its heart, it is a story about the clash between the East and the West, Capitalism and Communism, traditional Chinese values and modernism, and filial bonds and outside domination. The author, Adeline Yen Mah, writes vividly and fluidly of her past with the frankness of an intimate friend. She skillfully places the reader into her world, and describes her family with the realism of a movie drama. The book is organized neatly with a prologue in the present, events in the past leading up to the present again, and an epilogue that expands upon the story and provides a much-needed catharsis and epiphany. The ending was "right". The last scene is one with Aunt Baba, the woman who, throughout Adeline's entire life, loved and cared for her like a true mother. It offers a sense of release after she suffered through the hardships caused by her stepmother and her family, and her search for love, belonging, and meaning in her life. The titles of each chapter were thought out carefully, and had a meaning that somehow defined the chapter for the author. Reading this book is like swimming in a cold pool - it might be rather difficult to start, but once you jump in, you are floating in a diverse, colorful reflecting pool of the cruelty and kindness, the hate and love, the trials and tribulations, and the losses and victories found in the human experience.