Six Degrees of Separation: Wild Swans by Jung Chang

 

 

While I’ve not yet read Wild Swans, it has been on my to read list for ages. I even spotted a copy at Half Price Books last week, but couldn’t remember why I might want to buy and read it! Now I remember–it’s September’s Six Degrees of Separation starting point book.

This book’s topic brought to mind so many great books! I skipped Pearl Buck’s classic, The Good Earth and the popular Lisa See books, and focused mostly on very readable non-fiction. The one novel I hated to leave out was Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress.

 

My Six Books

 

 

 

America, and much of the Western world, first learned of China from Christian missionaries, so I chose Gladys Alyward  and the story of her life in China, The Little Woman.

The Joy Luck Club was assigned in my first college English class in the Fall of 1980. It is unforgettable.

Chinese Cinderella is a book for middle grade students, but is informative for any age.

Red Scarf Girl is a middle grade book, a personal account of life during the worst days of the Cultural Revolution as experienced by a school girl.

Factory Girls, which I have blogged about before, is a good look at where all those “Made in China” goods are  made and by whom.  Not many Americans would choose to live and work like these young women do.

A Heart for Freedom is book I’ve just started reading. The author fled China in a cargo container and went on to the Ivy League and more. A very vivid tale of today’s China.

 

Six Degrees of Separation is  a monthly book meme now hosted by Books Are My Favorite And Best.  Won’t you come and join the fun? Here’s the link to the rules. And, here is the link to this month’s Meme posts.