First
Astoria library book!
RATING SYSTEM
1 –
I did not like the book at all.
2 –
It was decent, but I would not recommend it.3 – It was an enjoyable read. Recommendation could go either way.
4 – It was a very good book. I would recommend it.
5 – It was an excellent book! Must read!!
6 – A new personal favorite – new top ten spot. Must read!
BOOK RATING
I
give this book a 2.5.
“RED AZALEA” SYNOPSIS
A
true story. A memoir.
Anchee
grew up in the blossoming of China’s Cultural Revolution in the 1960-70’s. Led
by Chairman (of the Communist Party) Mao Zedong, China fell into a dangerous era. With the Party’s
objective being “to enforce communism in the country by removing capitalist, traditional and cultural elements from Chinese
society, and to impose Maoist orthodoxy within the Party,” no one
was safe or free. Neighbors reported on neighbors, people were persecuted for
the smallest infraction (imagined or not), houses were seized, people were
tortured, imprisoned or killed, media was controlled by the government and the
masses could only watch or read government-sanctioned material, men and women
were not allowed to socialize or even talk in public, and one person from every
family must live as a “peasant” (ie. serving their country by being slaves on a
rural farms, where they were nearly worked to death for not very much result.)
Anchee
was one of the young people sent to work on a farm. She worked hard and suffered
depression at the meaninglessness of it all… until she fell in love… with a
woman. From this secret and forbidden romance, Anchee’s spirits are lifted and
her heart is full.
One
day, government representatives show up on the farm and chose Anchee out of thousands
of youths to join a challenging competition to see who will become the star of
the new Chinese Revolution movie, Red Azalea. She must live in a house with
four other girls for a year to study acting and the readings of Mao Zedong
before a final winner will be chosen.
It
is a chance of a lifetime for Anchee… but she must leave behind her one, true love…
The
story of one girl fighting against the impossible odds of a society hypnotized
by fear and propaganda. A story of love, growing up and surviving impossible hardships.
STATS
Pages: 306
Published
Year: 1994 Personal Rating: 2.5 (of 6)
Type: Paperback, Library
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir, Historical
THOUGHTS
I did
enjoy this book. It is very historically fascinating. I had no idea about any
of the details of the Chinese Revolution. It’s amazing to think of how
different life was in 1960’s America vs. 1960’s China. It is nearly
unthinkable.
I
marked this book as a 2.5 instead of a 3 because I nearly gave up the book 100
pages in. Although it was historically interesting, her personal story had
failed to capture me… until she falls in love.
Once
Anchee falls in love you can see how much she has to lose. Watching the
struggle of forbidden and secret love, you realize just how much danger they
were in – they could have been shot if caught.
Also,
watching as Anchee gets selected to compete in the contest and how that changes
her life forever… it does become a pretty interesting book. You have to keep
reminding yourself that it’s a true story!
I
would “give or take” this book as a recommendation. If the history of it
interests you and you’d like to find out what happened to Anchee and her love,
you should definitely give it a try. It’s a good book, but not a must-read.
PERSONAL
Don’t forget to check out the Facebook page for the new soap company I’m starting: Facebook.com/AshleySoaps!
No comments:
Post a Comment