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"Socialism Is Great!": A Worker's Memoir Of The New China (2008)

by Lijia Zhang(Favorite Author)

3.23 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0977743373 (ISBN13: 9780977743377)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Atlas

review 1: This woman was more personable to me than Rae Yang, a different Chinese woman whose memoir I read for HIS424: World Communism. Maybe Yang was important to understand Communism's impact on the world, while Zhang was important to understand China's impact on Communism.Or maybe I'm just in a Russian reversal mood. Tentatively a Halloween costume has been set: not Ivan Denisovich Shukov, but rather Zhang Lijia. However, there are still four months to go...Mother told me to read more memoirs. I told her I was way ahead of her, citing this book. So, my filial piety has been satisfied for the time being.
review 2: Other reviewers have said this book has an abrupt ending; I have to agree. The ending is highly unsatisfying and not even very fitting. I do think Lijia Zha... moreng had interesting experiences, and even is a good writer, but the ending just didn't work.On the other hand, I have to disagree with the other reviewers about Zhang's emphasis on her romantic relationships. Learning what it was like for a woman in 1980s China to have romantic relationships is a very unique thing. It is similar to the anthology, "Once Iron Girls," in that these stories tell a lot more than just, "Oh, I fell in love, got my heart-broken, it sucked." If you are going to read this book you need to have an open mind and try to understand the message behind the story, or else it will seem superfluous. less

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