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Lädt ... Forbidden City: A Novel (2023. Auflage)von Vanessa Hua (Autor)
Werk-InformationenForbidden City von Vanessa Hua
Lädt ...
Melde dich bei LibraryThing an um herauszufinden, ob du dieses Buch mögen würdest. Keine aktuelle Diskussion zu diesem Buch. 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. Zeige 3 von 3 keine Rezensionen | Rezension hinzufügen
"A teenage girl living in 1960s China becomes Mao Zedong's protégée and lover--and a poster child for the Cultural Revolution--in this provocative, poignant novel from the bestselling author of A River of Stars On the eve of China's Cultural Revolution and her sixteenth birthday, Mei dreams of becoming a model revolutionary. When the Communist Party recruits girls for a mysterious duty in the capital, she seizes the opportunity to escape her impoverished village. It is only when Mei arrives at the Chairman's opulent residence-a forbidden city unto itself-that she learns that the girls' job is to dance with the Party elites. Ambitious and whip-smart, Mei makes a beeline toward the Chairman. Mei gradually separates from the other recruits to become the Chairman's confidante-and paramour. As he fends off political rivals, Mei faces down schemers from the dance troupe who will stop at nothing to take her place, as well as the Chairman's imperious wife, who has schemes of her own. When the Chairman finally gives Mei a political mission, she seizes it with fervor, but the brutality of this latest stage of the revolution makes her begin to doubt all the certainties she has held so dear. Forbidden City is an epic yet intimate portrayal of one of the world's most powerful and least understood leaders during the most turbulent period of modern Chinese history. Mei's harrowing journey toward truth and disillusionment raises questions about power, manipulation, and belief, as seen through the eyes of a passionate teenage girl"-- Keine Bibliotheksbeschreibungen gefunden. |
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Google Books — Lädt ... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyKlassifikation der Library of Congress [LCC] (USA)BewertungDurchschnitt:
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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. ( )