Becoming Madame Mao
by Anchee Min
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Book Summary Information
Author: Anchee MinEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2001-04-15
ISBN: 0618127003
Number of pages: 330
Publisher: Mariner Books
Book Reviews of Becoming Madame Mao
Book Review: A Fascinating, Psychological Journey.
Summary: 5 Stars
Anchee Min's "Becoming Madame Mao" is an epic novel that takes one of China's most notorious characters of recent history and tells her story with poetic elegance and a keen psychological insight. Like the best works of Eduardo Galeano, Min's novel triumphs because of the way it breathes life into history and tells certain truths about a historical event that some academic works fail to explore. And yet you do not have to be a history buff to enjoy this novel, it is a great work of drama and passion. There are moments where Min's writing reaches truly operatic heights.
The novel follows Madame Mao's creation from her tormented upbringing as a young girl disconnected from her doomed mother, who flees to the cities seeking a life and becomes an actress and singer. She goes through three name cycles as she progresses from the innocent yet devious artist to a Communist Red Army guerrilla fighter. In Yenan where the insurgency against the Japanese invasion and nationalist forces boils, our main character meets the legendary Mao Tse-Tung, still a peasant guerrilla who although worshipped, has not tasted total power yet. Minn builds these chapters with a great eye for detail, emotion and history. Throughout the novel she masterfully mixes a novel's story with dates, names, events and profiles yet never bogs down the reader. It all flows smoothly. For the non-Chinese reader Min offers great insights into Chinese culture and heritage, this isn't some cheap romance on paper but a living, breathing story that transports you to another world.
"Becoming Madame Mao" goes from an idealistic tale of a woman seeking her destiny to a dark, dangerous tale of political intrigue as Mao wins, the People's Republic is proclaimed and the battle for who controls China begins. Min shows a masterful eye for psychological analysis here, not only keeping the reader intrigued, but providing a fascinating look into the actual makeup of these characters. In a bold stroke, Min breaks down the iconic image of Mao and creates a character with the potential for greatness, but weakened by an obsession with power which begins to sprout intense paranoia. The novel's dive into the Cultural Revolution provides for intense images and moments, as Madame Mao comes close to achieving her goals even as China boils over in revolutionary anarchy and social chaos. There is a cinematic quality to the way Min describes events and happenings, painting images in our minds. She brings to life the oceans of red flags, riots, Mao waving to the crowds, Mao plotting behind closed doors, Madame Mao murdering her rivals in cold blood.
The principle strength of "Becoming Madame Mao" is the complex creation of this villainous character. Min does not take any easy roads, she could have easily painted Madame Mao as a pure lunatic and butcherer, yet she makes a strong attempt at trying to make the reader understand how a woman likes comes to be. Min does not shy away from making clear statements on what women of Madame Mao's generation suffered in China, how bitterness, paranoia and deep hatred are born out of indifference and cruelty. Min does not condone Madame Mao's actions, but she does make the reader come close to understanding WHY these things happened. Her treatment of Mao is also well-balanced. She captures both the great revolutionary leader and also the political blunderer who's dreamish take on Communism produced disasters like the Great Leap Forward.
Anchee Min deserves a place next to some of the best modern writers still working today, "Becoming Madame Mao" should qualify her to be mentioned next to the likes of Salman Rushdie, Arundhati Roy, Eduardo Galeano, and even Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Mario Vargas Llosa, if her classic memoir "Red Azalea" hasn't already earned her the spot. This is a great journey through modern Chinese history, in it we see not only a woman's journey, but China's as well. We see how Madame Mao ended-up where she did in the history books, but also how China became what it is today. A great read.
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