Falling Leaves : The True Story of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter

Adeline Yen Mah

ISBN 10: 0613169298 ISBN 13: 9780613169295

Publisher: Bt Bound, 1999

Synopsis

FALLING LEAVES: The True Story of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter. Adeline Yen Mah's childhood in China during the civil war was a time of fear, isolation and humiliation. This was not caused by the upheaval of war but by the cruelty she suffered at the hands of members of her own family. The moving true story of a young girl's determination to survive the pain of a lonely childhood.

About this title

Review

Snow White's stepmother looks like a pussycat compared to the monster under which Adeline Yen Mah suffered. The author's memoir of life in mainland China and--after the 1949 revolution--Hong Kong is a gruesome chronicle of nonstop emotional abuse from her wealthy father and his beautiful, cruel second wife. Chinese proverbs scattered throughout the text pithily covey the traditional world view that prompted Adeline's subservience. Had she not escaped to America, where she experienced a fulfilling medical career and a happy marriage, her story would be unbearable; instead, it's grimly fascinating: Falling Leaves is an Asian Mommie Dearest.

From the Publisher

The emotionally-wrenching yet uplifting memoir of a Chinese woman struggling to win the love and acceptance of her family. Set amidst the political upheaval of a turbulent century, Falling Leaves is an enthralling saga of a prosperous Chinese family that spans this century and that reveals the effects of communism and capitalism on a family caught between East and West. Written in a haunting and compelling prose, this brilliant narrative evokes all the suspense and emotional force of a novel.

About this edition

• Publisher: Bt Bound
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0613169298
• ISBN 13: 9780613169295
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 278