M gave me a copy of this book and thought I might enjoy reading it. I’m surprise I’ve never heard of it before. It was even on the NY Times best seller list back in 1998.
At first I thought it would be another tragic and sad Chinese immigrant story. To my surprise, it was one book I could not put down and couldn’t wait to see what was in the next chapter.
If you want something inspirational to read, this is a good book to start with. Not only is it autobiographical, but it also gives insight into Chinese culture, history ( highlights many of the historical events that spans China from 1930’s to 1998. ), and even a bit of how the family business is run. This should be a must read for Asian American Studies.
My little synopsis: Adeline Yen Mah was born in 1937. Her mother died giving birth to her and this was considered “bad luck”. She was tormented by her siblings and shunned by her father. Soon after, her father remarried a beautiful, young woman who is part French and Chinese. Despite her beauty, she was cruel and manipulative towards everyone in her life. The story is very much Adeline’s Cinderella story.
What was really unbelievable was how much cruelty one small child had to endure throughout her life. And the cruelty wasn’t just in her
own family, but also in the society as well. I was just in shock imagining how people can treat one another with such cruelty. But I was glad to see that Adeline was able to overcome many things and even managed to forgive those that hurt her. In the end she was really searching for the love and acceptance of her father and the family.
Photo from Amazon.
