Red Azalea

By: Anchee Min

Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller

A revelatory and disturbing portrait of China, this is Anchee Min's celebrated memoir of growing up in the last years of Mao's China. As a child, Min was asked to publicly humiliate a teacher; at 17, she was sent to work at a labor collective. Forbidden to speak, dress, read, write, or love as she pleased, she found a lifeline in a secret love affair with another woman. 

Miraculously selected for the film version of one of Madame Mao's political operas, Min's life changed overnight. Then Chairman Mao suddenly died, taking with him an entire world.

©1994 Anchee Min (P)2018 Tantor

History

I thought the story would include more of an account of life under Mao’s dictatorship

A bridge of the familiar and foriegn

my heart sang along with there's. By then I ran and couldn't stop until I had reached the end. I did not cry but I felt every emotion.

Anchee Min can bring passion to anything

Auchee Min can take any point in history and focus on the passion and emotions of the people and not get boged down in the politics. Which brings a human side to all of her stories.

Was very vague in some ways. Sometimes hard to follow what her true thoughts were.

I have a hard time believing any people actually have poet conversations like they do in this book. Perhaps it wasn't meant to be realistic as much as poetically moving so could be my own personal tate that gives me a less than positive view of it.

At least it was free

I made it 3/4 of the way through chapter 3 and just could not finish this book.