The Bitter Sea

The youthfulness of the author at the time he writes about is so convincing at to be compelling. His first person account of the profound events that happened to or until about his 30th year immensley fleshes out events that by comparison were ony listed in straight historical texts. But what happens afterward to him; maybe finding his solutions will help me in my search for fulfillment in life! :)

"The Bitter Sea" is the BEST kind of autobiography; it's riveting, fast paced, beautifully written, and educational. When I say that it "reads like a novel" I mean that as a compliment. I read "The Bitter Sea" while hurricane Ike raged around me and during the aftermath I read it by candlelight. Learning about Li's hard life in China helped me put my own discomforts in perspective! Li's descriptions are occasionally horrific and always captivating. The book ends when Li comes to America...with a promise that his experiences with the two opposing societies are a story for another day...I took that to mean he's working on Part Two of his life's story and I will be among the first in line to read it.

There are many good narratives by survivors of this period in Chinese history. This short narrative, by the son of a player in the drama of 20th century China, is unique for its descriptions of the number of facets of Chinese life experienced by the author as a boy and young man. Before leaving his teens he had lived in sheltered wealth and in the slums of Nanjing, in the freewheeling city of Shanghai, in various places in Hong Kong (including living through the exodus of refugees within 3 days of border closure) and in a "reform school" on mainland China. We learn about each of these through his descriptions and anecdotes. The chapter on the "reform school" needs to be incorporated in larger annals of modern Chinese history. He tells how students who went back to their mother country to carve out careers in the "new China" were separated by previous country, how they lived, ate, swatted flies and received an education that did not need books. With student Mei's revenge, you forget the seriousness of his transgression for a moment because you just have to laugh out loud. Most dramatic is the portrait of the author's father, whose high station in life resulted from his important role in the Japanese occupation. The advice he gives his son is like that of Machiavelli to the young Prince. In the beginning we have the child's eye view of how the family's good fortune during the Japanese occupation ended, and later the author's adult perspective on how his father became the man that he was. I was surprised to see, at the end that the author credits Judith Regan for initiating the project and encouraging him in writing this book. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in 20th century China.

This book tells a personal story of a boy growing up in a very unusual Chinese family during the turbulent times of world war II and the Chinese civil war that followed. The story unfolded as sort of a self analysis, an older man looking back at his childhood and his father with pity, ambivalence, and nostalgia. It is deeping moving, tear-jerking at times, and yet entertaning in its own special way. I read the book on a flight from San Francisco to Shanghai--I couldn't have picked a more appropriate time/space for reading this good book.

Charles Li's story of his life in China is a must read. I found it to be well written and difficult to put down. Li's account of his family's difficult relationships and the constantly changing political climate in China is dramatic and heart-breaking but at the same time inspiring. I recommend it highly.