Years ago, I read and enjoyed a book called The Good Women of China by Xinran, about ordinary women in that vast country, and how diverse their lives were, and how common some of the persistent themes of women's lives are, including misogyny, poverty and caregiving.

This book is set in a slightly different time period, at a time of transition for China. But in the telling of the events of four womens' lives, once again some of those common themes pop up, and we find much that is relatable in the stories of Leiya, Sam, Siyue and June.

This book is less emotional than the earlier one I mentioned, but there is much to learn from it and to think about. Definitely a book for those who are interested in China, in women's lives, and in encountering those who meet adversity with the unflinching determination to follow their dreams.

This is the book I've been wanting to read for some time: an inside account of normal female lives in today's China as the country oscillates between a managed economy and the new capitalism. Yang tells four stories of different young women who deal with the issues we all do as we mature but with the additional background of a changing China. Dealing with education, work, family, what it might mean to be an activist in a repressive regime, this is enlightening for the way difference is represented, and for the way these female lives are completely relatable.

At times the writing is a little dry but the contents are illuminating and informative.