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Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
This well-written memoir by a student of English tells of daily life from his birth in China in 1958 to his departure in 1987. Although they lived in comfortable circumstances in Nanjing, his father and uncles joined the Communist movement in the 1930s, rising to some prominence. Even so, they fell into disfavor during the Cultural Revolution of the late 1960s and were forced into different labor camps across China. Deprived of family, young Xiao Di found refuge in books, learning English to seek other ways of thinking and then finding a teaching position that allowed him to study abroad. Rather one-sided, Zhu's story is nevertheless engrossing and engaging. Recommended for contemporary China collections.?Kitty Chen Dean, Nassau Coll., Garden City,
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
David Warsh, The Boston Globe
Ross Terrill says in his foreword, "Sometimes one person's story, like a single ray that bursts from a mirror as a powerful wave of light, illuminates the life of an epoch and a nation. Such is the case with Thirty Years in a Red House." Zhu Xiao Di was born in 1958. This matter-of-fact account of his family's travails, especially during the Cultural Revolution (his father was a prominent Communist official), is a splendid lesson in 20th century Chinese history. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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