Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang
Buy on Amazon: Wild Swans by Jung Chang
It’s strange how things work out. I randomly picked Wild Swans out from the list of 1001 Books to Read Before you Die. I can’t tell you why I chose it, except that (as I do with all of the books I read from that list), I just scrolled through it and stopped and pointed my finger and that was the book I would request.
Then.. I noticed that it was due back to the library so, after reading my Book Club’s selection of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford, I decided to move on to Wild Swans. This.. was a good decision. I knew nothing of China – especially China under Chiang Kai-shek and then later on, Chairman Mao. I got a glimpse of the hatred that one of the main characters in Hotel had toward the Japanese (being from China himself), but still had no idea the extent of the torture, the pain and the horrible version of life going on within China’s borders.
After I began to read Wild Swans, people around me started to talk about it (without even knowing that I was reading it). I was asked at my book club if I had read Wild Swans and asked by two random people I know through daily life if I’d ever read this book. Before I began to read it though.. I’d never even heard of it.
So I should talk some about the actual book.. since this is technically a review.
First – it’s non-fiction. It’s readable, in its own way. Although very densely packed with names, dates, places and events, I was able to easily follow the lives of Jung Chang’s grandmother, her mother and herself through the changes of China.
This is not an easy book to read and you shouldn’t pick it up unless you are willing to be thoroughly invested in learning difficult names, reading about difficult things and prepared to have your eyes opened to something that, in my opinion, is not taught about enough. I’ve always considered China to be a country of mystery – one that I always hear rumors about.. and honestly, if I hadn’t been working my way through the 1001 Books, I don’t think I would have willingly chosen this book to read. I chose to begin reading through the list for that very reason, to expose myself to books I wouldn’t normally choose and this book is a prime example of why. I consider myself enriched by learning the stories of Jung Chang and her family and blessed to not have to endure even a small fraction of what they had to endure.
There are times I believe that the right book comes along at the right time to be read, and this was one of those books.
