Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2251078 in Books
• Published on: 1999-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 278 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Spanning the Great Famine through to the Cultural Revolution and beyond, this exceptional and totally absorbing book is not only a testament to the youth of China who took fate in their own hands by marching on Tiananmen Square in April of 1989, but is also a complex--yet at the same time somehow disturbingly simple--memoir of a young girl growing up amid a poverty and squalor that we, in our cosy homes with food on the table and light and warmth, can barely envisage.

Writing without sentimentality, and with a calm austerity that belies the passion of her youth, Hong Ying takes her reader to the very heart of her early life, growing up as she did with the stench of the slums on the banks of the Yangtze River seeping into her very soul.

Her extraordinarily ordinary life, touched by deep passion and profound darkness, steeped in history and ancient superstition, deprived of truth and trust and teetering on the brink of obscurity, makes for a severe and harrowing read that evokes images so strong and so intense that the sights,smells and sounds of Hong Ying's world seep into the mind, body and soul of the reader until they are there with her, hoping that there is more, praying that there is a way forward. But what perhaps is most disturbing about Daughter of the River is the startling realisation that what we are reading is not simply the story of one woman. It is the story of a nation, and for every child who lived through those years and found a kind of peace there are others who stood little hope of escape and are perhaps still there, fighting for the air they breathe.

Truly remarkable in every way, this beautiful, ugly, audacious, shy little book is, quite simply, one that everyone should read. --Susan Harrison

Customer Reviews

Another Unspectacular Cultural Revolution Shelf-Filler
Though the Cultural Revolution is undoubtedly a rich and absorbing subject for any reader, as yet another shelf-filler documenting the by now infamous cruelties of that period, this effort does not compare favourably with other works on the subject.

The depressing tone of the book wears thin early on, and Hong Ying's insight and experiences do not add anything particularly interesting to this familiar theme. If this is the first book you have ever read about China in the Cultural Revolution, then it might hold some fascination. Otherwise, it will just seem like a poor imitation.

Though I in no way dispute the fact that many women suffered greatly while growing up in China, her work does not give us anything we don't already know from Jung Chang's fantastically moving account, or indeed other writers of that ilk.

If, like me, you are fascinated by accounts of the Mao era, but fancy a change in perspective, try something else, e.g. Da Chen's 'Colours of the Mountain'. This book shows how an inherently depressing subject can be made entertaining and, yes, even uplifting.

Why have people so many secrets?
Hong Ying's biographical novel gives an in depth picture of 'normal' life in China after World War II with its 'hypocrite socialism' and its terrible famines.
It is a story of a harsh struggle for survival: unabated hunger, nerve-racking promiscuity, lack of privacy, bitter loneliness, lies and denunciations.
It is also a tale about growing up in a 'strange' family, becoming an adult, discovering sexuality and about the search for one's own roots.

This book shows poignantly the real and direct impact of governmental political and social decisions on people's daily life. It is not less than a 'personal' historical sketch with a genuine human touch.

This magisterial novel is bathed in a magical subdued atmosphere. It is written like most 'Schubertian' music in a minor key-note.
A must read, not only for Chinese scholars.

A excellent account concerning Hong Ying's life
This book was different in comparison to all the other oriental fairytales. I expected another account about the regime and government but was suprised to read a brilliant account of ones struggle to survive. This book has a refreshing feel to it which ultimately captures you. Hong Ying's style is blunt and very clear, she has a style which I admired and which I found was differentto many others. I would recommend this novel to anyone who like me adores the oriental memoirs and fairytales. It is another great novel following Wild Swans, Falling Leaves, Bound Feet & Western Dress, and many more avalible from AMAZON.