Wild Ginger: A Novel
by Anchee Min
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Book Summary Information
Author: Anchee MinEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2002-01-01
ISBN: 0618380434
Number of pages: 240
Publisher: Mariner Books
Book Reviews of Wild Ginger: A Novel
Book Review: A Powerful Little Masterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
I had read all of Anchee Min's bigger-name novels before Wild Ginger. Little did I know that this small, unassuming book held such a powerful tale. In Becoming Madame Mao, I found Min's sparse writing style to be frustrating at times; however, in Wild Ginger, this style perfectly suits the narrative.
Min really came into her own with this brave tale of devotion, fanaticism, rejection, and love. What struck me is how the author compares Wild Ginger's obsession with Mao to religious dogmatism. Wild Ginger's devotion to Maoism is compared to that of a monk's asceticism, complete with a vow of celibacy. The Cultural Revolution then seems like a cult, in which unquestioning followers live their lives motivated by fear and control.
Although the book is named after its ostensible heroine and the focus of the two main characters also revolves around her, the story is actually narrated by Wild Ginger's best friend Maple. Maple introduces Wild Ginger to a neighborhood young man named Evergreen, and their three fates become permanently entwined. While Maple is a half-hearted Maoist and Evergreen's coming of age is marked by disillusionment with the cause, Wild Ginger turns from a defiant, fighting spirit into a rigid follower of Mao's teachings. Maple and Evergreen bond over their mutual love for Wild Ginger, and cling to the hope that a bit of her soul can be rescued from the devouring flames of fanaticism. When Evergreen is accused of a crime he did not commit, each of the three characters must choose between romantic love, friendship, and self-sacrifice.
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