Define Based On Books Falling Leaves: The Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter

Title:Falling Leaves: The Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter
Author:Adeline Yen Mah
Book Format:Paperback
Book Edition:Anniversary Edition
Pages:Pages: 278 pages
Published:April 6th 1999 by Broadway Books (first published 1997)
Categories:Nonfiction. Autobiography. Memoir. Cultural. China. Biography
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Falling Leaves: The Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter Paperback | Pages: 278 pages
Rating: 3.89 | 23771 Users | 1820 Reviews

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Born in 1937 in a port city a thousand miles north of Shanghai, Adeline Yen Mah was the youngest child of an affluent Chinese family who enjoyed rare privileges during a time of political and cultural upheaval. But wealth and position could not shield Adeline from a childhood of appalling emotional abuse at the hands of a cruel and manipulative Eurasian stepmother. Determined to survive through her enduring faith in family unity, Adeline struggled for independence as she moved from Hong Kong to England and eventually to the United States to become a physician and writer.

A compelling, painful, and ultimately triumphant story of a girl's journey into adulthood, Adeline's story is a testament to the most basic of human needs: acceptance, love, and understanding. With a powerful voice that speaks of the harsh realities of growing up female in a family and society that kept girls in emotional chains, Falling Leaves is a work of heartfelt intimacy and a rare authentic portrait of twentieth-century China.

Be Specific About Books During Falling Leaves: The Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter

Original Title: Falling Leaves: The Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter
ISBN: 0767903579 (ISBN13: 9780767903578)
Edition Language: English


Rating Based On Books Falling Leaves: The Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter
Ratings: 3.89 From 23771 Users | 1820 Reviews

Judgment Based On Books Falling Leaves: The Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter
You know those books you can't put down? This was one of em for me. I was mesmerized by the cruelty the author was subjected to by her own family in this quite depressing account of a child's life, and somehow I still left with a positive impression. She didn't slam her family or say anything hurtful about them (which they MORE than deserved), she just presented her memories and the memories of her siblings as laid out facts. This is what happened to me. She's more courageous than I would have

I half liked this book. I didn't like how Adeline made herself out to be this perfect little angel who gave to everyone and just kept getting shit on. She was constantly a victim to everyone in her family, yet kept going back for more abuse. The things that happened to her as a child were sad and horrible, but I don't understand why you would ever purposely keep going back to a family who despised you as an adult when she wasn't dependent upon them. I also found it strange that she longed for a

Adeline Yen Mah's memoir is interesting from several vantage points: spanning her childhood in china, young adulthood in England and the remainder of her life in California, her story is one that lends great context to the pre-world war 2 china and it's transition to communism following the revolution. But her story is really about yearning for love and acceptance in an extremely difficult family and ultimately the will to survive and triumph.

Spoiler Alert! I never felt any connection or deep sympathy buildup with Adeline Yen Mah. Apparently she did not have the best of chilhoods. Her brothers teased and hit her and her stepmother did hit her once, but was she sexually molested, locked in closets, sold down the river? Nooooo, she was well educated (admittedly lonely), fed, clothed, and hospitalized when sick, sent abroad for more education, all on her father's dime! Then she has the nerve to say he didn't love her when she felt left

This is a bio with a particularly brutal twist. It's not a "pretty" book. It's a narrative of a viciously dysfunctional family. For those who don't know Chinese culture, it's also a pretty authentic look at the old hierarchy of family relationships. The nauseating/insane character of Niang, a truly Machiavellian monster of a stepmother, pervades the story, deforming family life. Adeline's innocent and understandably bewildered blundering through her early life is bad enough, but the story gets

I wanted to like this book. It was a page turner but...Mary Karr was right in her go to book about memoirs. Never write a memoir to get revenge and this seems like this was exactly what it was, revenge. What was this a history book? A tell all? A factual story of her life? A book about obtaining her fathers will? I couldn't tell. I couldn't tell the how writers feelings reflected her abuse, or if it was just a random journal. Some words and statements felt like a spew of hatred, others a longing

This book is by no means a feel-good memoir in almost any sense, as the dominating character---the author's stepmother---is on a par with any evil character conjured in fables or by Disney. Few of the supporting cast are of much redeeming value as well, from the successful but weak father who lets his new wife control and destroy his family, to the siblings who scheme, plot, and connive. One aunt is a shining light of strong will and determination and kindness. The children each react to

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