Book Review: Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah

485 Words2 Pages
This a secret story of an unwanted daughter, it is a memorable and enjoyable story. When Yen Jun-Ling is born her mother dies, and that is the catastrophe of her life. Not only does her father turn from the five children he had by his first wife when he marries again, but her three brothers and sister also despise Jun-Ling for being the cause of their own neglect. The third brother tells her: It all stems from our mama dying when you were born. Big sister and our two older brothers knew her better than I did. I only remember her a little. Things were much nicer when she was alive. You made her go away. Chinese Cinderella is an autobiography, it is a story written by a woman in her fifties about her own childhood. The story is set against a background of life in Japanese occupied China and the civil war between communists and nationalists which followed Japan’s defeat at the end of the Second World War. There are some fascinating insights into the old way of life such as the binding of Grandmother Nai Nai’s feet which had been the custom in China for over a thousand years. But this is mainly an account of the relentless neglect and loathing which Yen Jun-Ling during her excruciating childhood, and the way she choose to cope with it. her account is delivered with the insight of a mature woman: In spite of my writing and academic record, my classmates probably suspected there was something pathetic about me. I never spoke of my family; neither issued nor accepted any invitations outside the school; and always refused to eat the candies or snacks brought by my friends. My hair-style, shoes, socks and book bag did not inspire envy. No one from home ever came to be with me on prize-giving day, regardless of how many awards I had won. They didn't know that, in front of them, I was desperate to keep up the pretence that I came from a normal, loving family. I couldn't
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