Japanese Fiction Sale!
 
 

Special Offers see all

Enter to WIN!

Weekly drawing for $100 credit. Subscribe to our Specials newsletter for a chance to win.
Privacy Policy

More at Powell's

Recently Viewed clear list

Interviews | June 14, 2013

Heidi Durrow: IMG Susan Nussbaum: The Powells.com Interview

0 comments By Heidi Durrow

Susan NussbaumSusan Nussbaum's debut novel, winner of the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction, is, as Rosellen Brown says, "a celebration of... Continue »
  1. $16.77 Sale Hardcover add to wish list

    Good Kings Bad Kings

    Susan Nussbaum 9781616202637
spacer
Ships free on qualified orders.
$2.95
Used Trade Paper
Ships in 1 to 3 days
Add to Wishlist
Qty Store Section
3 Beaverton World History- China

Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China

by

Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China Cover

ISBN13: 9780385425476
ISBN10: 0385425473
Condition: Standard
All Product Details

Only 3 left in stock at $2.95!

 

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

The forces of history and the exceptional talents of this young writer combine to produce a work of nonfiction with the breadth and drama of the richest, most memorable fiction classics. Wild Swans is a landmark book, with the intimacy of memoir and the panoramic vision of a monumental human saga, which tells of the lives of Jung Chang, her mother, her grandmother, and of 20th-century China. 16-page photo insert.

Review:

"Bursting with drama, heartbreak and horror, this extraordinary family portrait mirrors China's century of turbulence....[Chang's] meticulous, transparent prose radiates an inner strength." Publisher's Weekly

Review:

"The story reads like the sweeping family sagas of genre fiction but rises far above the norm. The characters are well drawn, the events are riveting, and the story teaches lessons of history as well as lessons of the heart. It also allows listeners to visit a world unfamiliar to most Westerners. The author brings memories of a foreign life and illuminates them with graceful prose." Jacqueline Smith, Library Journal

Review:

"[This] is one of the most intimate studies of persecution, suffering, and fear in Mao's time, before and after his triumph in 1949, and one of the finest....It is the most harrowing and extended account I have read of the years between 1966 and 1976, and the most analytical." The New York Review of Books

Review:

"By keeping her focus on three generations of female kin and their practical adaptations to the shifting winds of political power, Ms. Chang gives us a rare opportunity to follow the evolution of some remarkable women who not only reflected their times, but who also acted upon them in order to change their individual destiny." Susan Brownmiller, The New York Times Book Review

Review:

"Despite its interesting details, Wild Swans does not tell us much that other memoirs, similarly written from a position of privilege, have not already revealed. One looks forward to an account of China's recent past which will not merely focus on the experience of the privileged urban elite." The Times Literary Supplement

Review:

"[The author] tells stories and anecdotes, in straight chronological order, with little contrivance, providing real-life fables as open-ended answers to the puzzles of 20th-century China....Taken in pieces, Chang's narrative can be prosaic. But in its entirety, the author achieves a Dickensian tone with detailed portraits and intimate remembrances, with colorful minor characters and intricate yet fascinating side plots." Time

Review:

"An evocative, often astonishing view of life in a changing China." The New York Times
back to top

What Our Readers Are Saying

Add a comment for a chance to win!
Average customer rating based on 2 comments:
Scot, July 13, 2010 (view all comments by Scot)
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China is a fascinating family chronicle that combines history with biography and autobiography to create a highly entertaining and surprisingly educational read. I was completely riveted by the author's story of her grandmother, her mother and herself as they struggle to adapt and survive in China as it is transformed by the wave of history that took it from feudalism to communism at the turn of the last century. Wild Swans is romantic, violent, full of political intrigue, and ripe with historical detail. It's no surprise that this book has been translated into 30 languages for 10 million readers since it's was originally published in 1991. It's that good.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(1 of 1 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
corrmorr, January 1, 2010 (view all comments by corrmorr)
Spellbinding, thorough, personal, historical, and fascinating -- the story reshaped my view of China's history.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(1 of 2 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
View all 2 comments
back to top

Product Details

ISBN:
9780385425476
Subtitle:
Three Daughters of China
Author:
Chang, Jung
Publisher:
Anchor Books/Doubleday
Location:
New York :
Subject:
Historical
Subject:
Biography
Subject:
Women
Subject:
Women's Studies
Subject:
China
Subject:
Historical - General
Subject:
China Biography.
Subject:
Women's Studies - General
Copyright:
1991
Edition Description:
1st Anchor Books ed.
Series Volume:
v. 269
Publication Date:
October 1992
Binding:
Paperback
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Yes
Pages:
528
Dimensions:
9.19x6.01x1.22 in. 1.44 lbs.
back to top

Other books you might like

  1. The Diary of Ma Yan: The Struggles...
    Used Hardcover $4.95
  2. Daughter of the river Used Hardcover $7.95
  3. Mao: The Unknown Story
    Used Hardcover $13.50
  4. A Thousand Miles of Dreams: The... Used Hardcover $17.50
  5. Hand-Grenade Practice in Peking: My... Used Hardcover $18.00
  6. Angle of Repose Used Trade Paper $3.95
back to top

Related Subjects

Biography » Historical
Biography » Women
History and Social Science » Asia » China » Peoples Republic 1949 to Present
History and Social Science » World History » China

Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China Used Trade Paper
0 stars - 0 reviews
$2.95 In Stock
Product details 528 pages Anchor Books/Doubleday - English 9780385425476 Reviews:
"Review" by , "Bursting with drama, heartbreak and horror, this extraordinary family portrait mirrors China's century of turbulence....[Chang's] meticulous, transparent prose radiates an inner strength."
"Review" by , "The story reads like the sweeping family sagas of genre fiction but rises far above the norm. The characters are well drawn, the events are riveting, and the story teaches lessons of history as well as lessons of the heart. It also allows listeners to visit a world unfamiliar to most Westerners. The author brings memories of a foreign life and illuminates them with graceful prose."
"Review" by , "[This] is one of the most intimate studies of persecution, suffering, and fear in Mao's time, before and after his triumph in 1949, and one of the finest....It is the most harrowing and extended account I have read of the years between 1966 and 1976, and the most analytical."
"Review" by , "By keeping her focus on three generations of female kin and their practical adaptations to the shifting winds of political power, Ms. Chang gives us a rare opportunity to follow the evolution of some remarkable women who not only reflected their times, but who also acted upon them in order to change their individual destiny."
"Review" by , "Despite its interesting details, Wild Swans does not tell us much that other memoirs, similarly written from a position of privilege, have not already revealed. One looks forward to an account of China's recent past which will not merely focus on the experience of the privileged urban elite."
"Review" by , "[The author] tells stories and anecdotes, in straight chronological order, with little contrivance, providing real-life fables as open-ended answers to the puzzles of 20th-century China....Taken in pieces, Chang's narrative can be prosaic. But in its entirety, the author achieves a Dickensian tone with detailed portraits and intimate remembrances, with colorful minor characters and intricate yet fascinating side plots."
"Review" by , "An evocative, often astonishing view of life in a changing China."
spacer
spacer
  • back to top
Follow us on...




Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books. Shop those shelves — plus literally millions more books, DVDs, and eBooks — here at Powells.com.