i really enjoyed the cultural environment and overall enjoyed reading this book. the themes were great and I enjoyed the writing overall.

Received this from Net Gallery! I chose this book because I wanted to understand the history of China. Well,I sure got what I wanted and more. You have a love story going on during this terrible time in China's history violence,politics and the way these poor people had to live,scared to death on what may happen to them and all they could do is watch as the their country is taken over. The famous Tiananmen Square story,all the disastrous policies,the revolution,not knowing if someone would say you were against the Communist government and the terrible treatment that you would suffer along with your family. Very well written,very well researched and you could and can feel the terrible,terrible punishments they should use,this author does have you right there and feeling three people's pain. If you want to know about this time in history,this is a very good book to read! Most I understood,some didn't but it's still a great book to read where you want to find out more. Even today,things have not changed that much it's still a Communist country!