Book Review: Chinese Lessons

Non-Fiction: Chinese Lessons: Five Classmates and the Story of the New China
Author: John Pomfret
Genres: Non-Fiction, Historical
Rating: 7/10

I'm not a non-fiction fan, but once I picked up John Pomfret's memoir detailing the last thirty years of Chinese history, I simply couldn't put it down. Pomfret offers a rather compelling account of the significant political and cultural change that has gripped China with the fall of imperialism, the rise of communism and the quasi-authoritarian integration of capitalism.

Pomfret starts off with his first visit to China as an international exchange student from Stanford. Imagine how the dusty, old agrarian villages must have seemed through his worldly, journalistic eyes. And his description was exactly that - workers crowded on hard-seat trains; women in shapeless uniform clothing. But such derelict beginnings was exactly what Pomfret needed to provide a powerful contrast to the growing economic powerhouse China is today. The book's impact was made through the consistent focal lens that saw China through both the bad and the good.

The focus of the book is not on Pomfret himself (though he does occasionally digress to his own experiences), but rather on the stories of five particular classmates of his. There is no point to offer a summary of each one, but I have noticed one thing in common amongst four of them - the injustice suffered by each individual through the political regime of Mao. The last classmate was portrayed as an opportunist who threw away all morals for a seat in the government.

Prejudiced? Of course. Pomfret digs a little too deep for a good story on one side of the extreme, and fails to encompass any other aspects of the culture and society of China in the 1970s-80s. His book seemed to point out that nobody could flourish during that tumoultous period of China's history without losing their dignity by working for the only thing that would allow for them to flourish - the government. The reader is encouraged to empathsize with the Chinese people; rail against the system, but ultimately remain unenlightened of the fact that the system is not Big Brother Mao - it has human faces controlled by human minds.

Definitely a book to check out if you want to get to know China on a deeper and more personal level. It brings to light many of the aspects that define Chinese culture and Chinese life. Well-written, analytical, and a a good read, even if it is a little on the biased side.

By: Annie

Book Review: Girl, Interrupted

Non-Fiction: Girl, Interrupted
Author: Susanna Kaysen
Genre: Drama, Memoir,YA

At first i didn't pay much attention to this novel, thinking maybe it was just some book about a typical girl's problems. But then I thought "what the heck"and started reading the first page. It was the most original story I've read so far [in a long time]. How should i say it - it was raw literature, simply brilliant and hillarious to the point of tears.

Susanna Kaysen writes about her memories as a young 18-year old girl struggling in a psychiatric hospital where she was admitted apparently because she suffered from Borderline personality disorder. She tried commiting suicide and [slitting her wrists], from there, she met a psycologist and concluded that she had this kind of disorder.

She met various people [with whom] she became friends with.
Her memories of being in the hospital were something unique, [especially when] outsiders feared them. Due of the fact that they were different and suffered from a disorder, they seemed like they had been cast off to the side by society and their own parents just because they did things that weren't "normal" to most people.

Heck, what does it even mean to be normal?

It's special in its ability to make you think about greater concepts. For the most part, it's a brilliant memoir of a world we hardly know of. The world of Susanna Kaysen may seem crazy and scary, but inside the hospital everything is peaceful and free, as [described] by the author.

And maybe at the end, you'll find yourself asking if she really suffered from BPD, whether or not if it was a matter of choice, or perhaps she was simply questioning her own sanity.

By: Eli
Edited By: Annie