Friday, January 19, 2007

* * * Bittersweet


Bittersweet, by Leslie Li

This is a fictionalized account of the author's grandmother's life. Bittersweet was a Chinese peasant farm girl who followed her destiny when when her parents arranged a marriage to Li Tsung-jen, a soldier in the Koumintang army in the early part of the 20th century. He quickly outgrew his taste for farm women as he advanced in his career. This story could have been a blockbuster, but while good, did not quite hit the mark for me.

6 comments:

Debi said...

What parts of the history of China do you like best?

Bobbie said...

I like the stories to be about women pre-1920's, pre-1900 is even better. I do read some books that take place later but I am not really into the Communist Revolution.

Debi said...

What things do you enjoy most about that era?

Bobbie said...

In general I like to read about the women's lives as they relate to the constraints of the time they live in. The period of pre-1920's was very different from today especially for Chinese women. As to China, I think it is just a general learning about different cultures. Right now it is China but next week it might be Spain...:)

Antigone said...

I am right in with Grannie. I love the pre 1900's stuff. Amazing to see how powerful but silent the women were of that day. Very different from today!

Antigone said...

I am right in with Grannie. I love the pre 1900's stuff. Amazing to see how powerful but silent the women were of that day. Very different from today!