Na Liu

There are eight stories that make up this graphic novel about a little girl growing up in China in the 1970s. The one that struck me the most was about the mother's memories of the Great Famine (of 1958-61). It was harrowing, but also couched in the familiar experience of the child who doesn't want to finish her dinner.

The thing about this book is that the material was so unknown to me. How many children's books tackle what life was like for an average Chinese girl during that time? Indeed, the author clearly states at the end of the book that she wanted to capture the stories of her youth because knowledge of that time seems to be fading. I'm so glad there's a book that fills in this experience for young readers.

Though our protagonist is very young, ranging from four years old to maybe eight, this is a book for middle-grade readers. I think it's a great starting point for talking about late 20th century Chinese history. It could be followed up with a biography of Mao Zedong or compared to [b:Red Scarf Girl|413432|Red Scarf Girl|Ji-li Jiang|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174522009s/413432.jpg|2411038]. Red Scarf Girl is so scary that this offers a balanced view and casts the time in the neutral POV of a young child who sees the positive (New Year traditions and celebrations) with the negative (visiting dirt poor relatives in the country).… (más)

Significantly-flawed message

Don't get me wrong, I love how this book tries to tell the author's story. I love the rich culture that she includes. I even love the illustrations (although the book itself practically has no plot whatsoever...) What I can't love... In fact, what I hate about this book is how positively it portrays Mao Zedong and the Communist Party in China. I'm sorry if I'm using strong language here but I feel very passionately for what I'm going to talk about. I understand that this is a children's book which means everything needs to be toned down a bit and nothing too disturbing needs to be portrayed, but what is not okay is acting like Chairman Mao was a super great guy who fixed everything. In fact, he was just the opposite, and this book makes it seem like he made China a much better nation when the truth is that he practically ruined it.

Little White Duck gets all nitty-gritty about everything except for the Mao Zedong and the Communist Party. How could the author act like Mao swooped in and saved the common people from their famines and their sufferings when it was literally he himself that issued the sparrow command that ended up causing the Great Chinese Famine?! One thing the author did get right is that the people did suffer and die in millions from that famine. What she didn't say (in fact, she completely ignored it), was that her precious Chairman Mao was a significant reason why the famine happened in the first place. And what about the Tiananmen Square massacre of young students? What about the One-Child Policy with forced abortions, contraception, and crippling fines for those who didn't obey? (The author did mention this policy briefly, but all she said was that it didn't much affect her family and then carried on being positive about Mao Zedong...) What about Mao forcing everyone to literally worship him? What about him attempting to destroy the centuries of culture and literacy that made up China before? What about the government encouraging children to betray their own parents and turn them into the police? What about law enforcement beating elderly men on the streets and dragging elderly women out of their homes? For God's sake! How in the world can Na Liu grow up seeing and hearing these things happen and still praise such a government?

Sure, you can say that she was brainwashed then, but why write a book now, too, that acts as if China's infamous leader was really someone who actually wanted good for the people? If he really did, he wouldn't have sent army trucks to run students down in Tiananmen Square.

The last thing we need is for people to think that Mao Zedong was good for China. His bad outweighs anything that could've be good about him by millions. To those Americans who don't know much about the Cultural Revolution, you can read this book, but read other books, too. Things happened in China that hopefully will never be repeated again. It wasn't the people's fault (in fact, the people were often the victims), but the government's. And it is extremely disturbing how many people are so uninformed concerning the Cultural Revolution (or even the Holocaust!) when both literally happened less than a century ago.

​If you want to see what China was really like in that time period, I'd recommend [b:Red Scarf Girl|413432|Red Scarf Girl|Ji-li Jiang|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1174522009l/413432._SX50_.jpg|2411038]. I wish the millions of victims of the Cultural Revolution had a voice today, and I hope that you will give their voices a chance to be heard in your own life.… (más)