One of a Kind. Review on Red Azalea - Anchee Min

Anchee Min is truly one of the best writers I know. She is not very much heard of in India, where Chinese literature is not very popular (or so I figured from my last trip there). This book...FABULOUS!! It is Min's autobiography, of her days as a young woman in communist China under Mao’s rule. If you are planning to read this book, don't read the next paragraph. If you are still not convinced, read on...

The author recounts how she grew up in Shanghai, during the time of Mao’s rule. In very powerful riveting language, she tells of how, growing up, she stayed a staunch supporter of the Communist Party. She was a very mentally strong person, and a very firm believer in Mao and the Communist Party. Her story tells of how, having excelled at school, and having pleased her teachers by following Mao’s teachings to the letter, she was sent, as “reward”, to the countryside to a farm for women. There she describes the internal conflict between the two leaders of the farm. She also describes her lesbian relationship with one of the leaders, Yan. To do so she uses a very touching, sensual language that can best describe a relationship between two women. Next, Min narrates how she was taken from the Red Fire Farm back to Shanghai, as a candidate to be an actress in Mao’s wife’s propaganda films, how she was chosen for an audition and how she didn’t make it. Between preparing for the audition and trying to forget her beloved Yan, Min reveals that she had a relationship with the all important Supervisor who worked directly under Mao. She describes how, in a country where love could be punished by death, she felt true love for two people who she knew to be well beyond her reach. I'm truly sorry to reveal the whole story...but it's worth it to read the book just to admire Min's writing sense.

The language used by her is touching, profound, sensual, and powerful. The story is remarkable, and would have seemed original had we not known that the book is an autobiography. The author truly possesses the gift of translating her thoughts into words. She makes China come alive under its darkest time. I think the author deals with a bold subject while admitting to having had a lesbian relationship in a country where such things were taboo. In conclusion, I have nothing to say except that by reading this book, a greater and deeper understanding of life in China under Mao’s rule can be gained. Anyone who reads it will come out of the experience a more insightful person. I hope I have convinced you unbelievers to read it. Don’t forget to tell me your thoughts on it if you do read it !