I admit I knew no history of China so this novel initially struck me as nonsensical fantasy. As I read, I felt inspired to consult Wikipedia to figure out what the hell was going on. (There's a chairman and a president and a premier? Who is in control of who?) Only after I finished the book did I read the author's notes which helped a great deal to understand what was fiction and what was grounded in fact. I wish the author had provided a bit of that at the outset - maybe not the entire thing since it would have provided too much spoilers. But a bit would have helped.

Apart from that, I found the writing too simplistic, almost like I was reading a young adult novel. For example, I really don't care that girls (women?) obsess about what each other thinks - at least, not for 100 pages worth - in such trivial terms. Similarly, her thoughts about her family. So the book should have been much shorter. In contrast, the pregnancy theme was woven throughout the story, had a lot more justification, and I was surprised and disappointed how quickly that was dismissed by the end.

These are just a few things that come to mind. But I can't help mentioning what everyone else found distasteful: powerful men taking sexual advantage of powerless girls. Horrible way to open the story and the abuse continued throughout. (Only reason I continued reading was because the book had been assigned for my book club.) Yes, I understand it likely happened in this case but wow, I did not enjoy reading it again and again.

For all these reasons, I give two stars because although I didn't like it and it had a lot of faults, I did learn some history and was inspired to do some supplementary reading on my own but I would not recommend it to friends. So many other good books, so little time. ( )

I didn't mesh well with the writing style here. Very dry and slow-moving. It’s written very matter-of-factly throughout the abuse (sexual, mental, physical, minor-adult relationships, etc), the mysteries, or the amazing determinations, which could be accredited to an older Mei narrating her own story; It’s basically in the voice of someone talking to you, I suppose.

Where this story excels is in making us believe as Mei does in the revolution, in the Chairman, and in her own role in the movement. The fear and anxiety Mei has about being replaced hovers over readers too. We see class issues and women’s worth questioned here as well.

But despite the inner circle scrabbles, the hidden sides of the Chairman, and the pitting girls against each other, I didn’t feel much motivation to keep reading. This is supposed to be how Mei rises to #1 mistress, then gets disillusioned until her inevitable fall. I wished I could have liked the journey to getting there better. None of this was boring per se, but I almost dnf’ed it.

ETA: I forgot something. GOLLY did Mei ask questions. There are literal pages of her just asking questions. She said she gon know what's going on. ( )

When a recruiter comes to her small town in China, Mei is chosen to serve the communist party in the capital. With a handful of other girls she is taught to dance, hold herself with grace, and to please the party elites. Almost immediately Mei captures the attention of Chairman Mao and becomes his mistress.

I had a hard time putting this book down. It was absolutely fascinating. Mei was an interesting and dynamic character. The plot was well paced and held my attention. Overall, highly recommended. ( )