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Book Review of Falling Leaves: The Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter

Falling Leaves: The Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter
MarciNYC avatar reviewed on
Helpful Score: 1


This is basically the same book as 'Chinese Cinderella', also written by Mah but for a Young Adult audience. 'Falling Leaves' is a bit more in-depth and I am still amazed at how Mah triumped over such adversity to become a sucess. It's worth reading for the insight into the events in China/Hong Kong during the 20th Century.

One passage which struck me was from when Mah went back to Shanghai to visit her dying Aunt Baba. Aunt Baba says, "The way I see it, the nineteenth century was a British century. The twentieth century is an American century. I predict that the twenty-first century will be a Chinese century. The pendulum of history will swing from the ying ashes brought by the Cultural Revolution to the yang phoenix arising from its wreckage."

It's obvious these days that changes are happening in China -- perhaps Aunt Baba is right and the 21st century will belong to China.