Feather in the Storm: A Childhood Lost in Chaos

Feather in the Storm is to Asia in our time what the Diary of Anne Frank is to Europe in World War II. Emily Wu's autobiographical tale of a little girl caught up helplessly in the chaos of the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution in China is both heart breaking and inspiring. This is the sort of beautifully composed prose that breaks your heart and then, in the end, encourages you to have hope for the future. Emily Wu is a survivor of an incredibly cruel government and society. Thank goodness she has provided this testament so that those who were lost will not be forgotten and that those who were responsible will also not be forgotten.

This book was a revelation to me. It moved me as few other books I have read have, and from the moment I began reading it I could not put it down. Emily Wu's story is a poignant and compelling memoir that describes in intimate detail the impact that China's Cultural Revolution had on her, as a young girl, and on her family. In a beautifully written narrative, Wu tells of the ongoing humiliation, horror and abuse that she and those she loved endured over a period of nineteen years. The book provides insight into the terrible human tragedy and cost inflicted on millions of Chinese, and especially children, by Chairman Mao's so-called Great Leap Forward. But Emily's story is more than that. It is also an unforgettable testament to the human spirit and the will to survive. This is a tale of courage that will affect and inspire everyone who reads it.

Feather in the Storm is to Mao's China what Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes is to early last century Ireland and the streets of NY - a heroic, beautifully written, honest, simple, clear and compelling story of a life lived under oppression (here of politics and communism, there of poverty, though these intersect). Lovely in its poetic truth, important in the victory of the author in surviving and telling her tale, and important in its history, this story should not be missed.

What a harrowing and yet beautiful set of memories Emily shares with us in this book. It's a painful story illustrating the loss of innocence that so many children suffered at the hands of a brutal regime, but it is also a story of courage and hope and renewal. The prose flows nicely and provides the reader with a clear, visual feast of details, which helps put the story in context for those of us who are not scholars of Chinese history. Emily's story is a testament to the enduring resiliency of children and their capacity to survive, forgive and prosper. Read this lovely memoir and be inspired!

Rarely do I read a book that makes me sooo happy to be an American. Not proud, but happy. Emily Wu's narrative of her childhood memories in China initially made me wince, yet at the same time grateful such experiences were inconceivable here. The injustices, the brutalities, the fear of Mao's doctrines upon the people of China have never been displayed with such force as with Larry Engelmann's fidelity to Emily's spoken words. Without embellishment Engelmann trusted her words to prove emotions fiction can only pretend to create. Though this is not an "easy" book to read, I recommend it highly to anyone who thinks they understand the trials the Chinese had to endure through the seventies, much less a little girl.