Book on CD read by Simon Vance

In this novel, Tsukiyama turns her attention to the mid-to-late 1950s and Mao’s Cultural Revolution in China. The title refers to 1957, when Chairman Mao declared “Let a hundred flowers bloom; let a hundred schools of thought contend,” and encouraged China’s intellectuals, teachers, and scholars to voice their opinions openly. Of course, this was a trap.

The story focuses on the Lee family. Kai Ying’s husband, Sheng, a teacher, promised not to jeopardize his family’s safety, but he was still dragged away for writing a letter criticizing the Communist Party and sent to a labor camp to be “reeducated.” A year later their son, Tao, has an accident and breaks his leg. Kai Ying may be an herbalist who is sought out by neighbors for her many remedies, but no tea or poultice will fix this injury. Sheng’s father, Wei, who also lives with them, was once a renowned university professor, and he is obviously distraught by what has happened to his son and the family.

The family members do their best in difficult times to move forward, working, studying, helping friends and neighbors. They share what they can, but they cannot help but worry. The uncertainty is palpable. Yet, they face their circumstances with grace, dignity and courage.

Simon Vance voices the audiobook. He’s a talented narrator and I’ve enjoyed many of the audiobooks I’ve listened to him perform. But for this work, I could not help but hear his British voice and think “that’s not right.” ( )

A Hundred Flowers takes place during one of my favorite (intellectually!) periods in history, Maoist China. The title refers to the "Hundred Flowers Campaign," which failed miserably. The campaign was launched as an invitation for the Chinese to voice their opinions about the new Communist regime, but those who wrote letters or spoke out in public forums were later arrested and sentenced to hard labor in the countryside.

The book follows the Lee family from July to November 1958. In the first chapter, seven-year-old Tao climbs a tree to better see the mountains his father, Sheng, promised to take him to visit. A year earlier, Sheng was arrested for writing a letter criticizing the new Communist government, and was sentenced to hard labor in a faraway rural community. The adults, Tao's mother and grandfather, have kept this information from him. Their additional secrets from each other are straining their relationships during a historical period when any secret can have extreme consequences. Tsukiyama has woven a wonderful tale from one of modern history's darkest times. ( )

Lovely story about a family living directly after Chairman Mao's 100 Flowers campaign, but I would have enjoyed about 100 more pages fleshing out several of the characters and their stories. ( )

I received this as a giveaway, and was excited to read it. I was highly disappointed. The description of the book sounded somewhat interesting. Maybe had the book been written in a different style, it may have been a good book. It took me forever to read, and I still cannot grasp the full point of the book. It was choppy. It jumps from character to character, and makes no sense when it does. It's more of a bunch of rambling about other characters and noncharacters. Maybe this just isn't my style of book. It could have been written much better in my opinion. ( )

(Fiction, Historical)

Set in Mao’s China in 1957, the title of this book refers to the program—“Let a hundred flowers bloom; let a hundred schools of thought contend”—that saw intellectuals and artists feel free to express dissident ideas, only to find that it led to arrest and ‘re-education’ in labour camps, or even death.

Kai Ying’s husband, Sheng, is dragged away the morning of his son’s sixth birthday and sent to a labour camp.
Amazon describes it as “a powerfully moving story of ordinary people facing extraordinary circumstances with grace and courage.”

It was an interesting lesson in China’s history but it wasn’t powerful enough to sweep me off my feet.

4 stars ( )