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Highlights
- This haunting, illuminating memoir tells the remarkable true story of a young Chinese man's coming-of-age during the tumultuous early years of the People's Republic of ChinaIn this exceptional personal memoir, Charles N. Li brings into focus the growth pains of a nation undergoing torturous rebirth and offers an intimate understanding of the intricate, subtle, and yet all-powerful traditions that bind the Chinese family.Born near the beginning of World War II, Li Na was the youngest son of a wealthy Chinese government official.
- Author(s): Charles N Li
- 304 Pages
- Biography + Autobiography, Personal Memoirs
Description
Book Synopsis
This haunting, illuminating memoir tells the remarkable true story of a young Chinese man's coming-of-age during the tumultuous early years of the People's Republic of China
In this exceptional personal memoir, Charles N. Li brings into focus the growth pains of a nation undergoing torturous rebirth and offers an intimate understanding of the intricate, subtle, and yet all-powerful traditions that bind the Chinese family.
Born near the beginning of World War II, Li Na was the youngest son of a wealthy Chinese government official. He saw his father jailed for treason and his family's fortunes dashed when Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists came to power in 1945. He watched from his aunt's Shanghai apartment as the Communist army seized the city in 1948. He experienced the heady materialism of the decadent foreign "white ghosts" in British Hong Kong and starved within the harsh confines of a Communist reform school. Over the course of twenty-one tumultuous years, he went from Li Na, the dutiful Chinese son yearning for a stern, manipulative father's love, to Charles, an independent Chinese American seeking no one's approval but his own.
Lyrical and luminous, intense and extraordinary, The Bitter Sea is an unforgettable tale of one young man and his country.
From the Back Cover
Born near the beginning of World War II, Li Na was the youngest son of a wealthy Chinese government official. He saw his father jailed for treason and his family's fortunes dashed when Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists came to power in 1945. He watched from his aunt's Shanghai apartment as the Communist army seized the city in 1948. He experienced the heady materialism of the decadent foreign "white ghosts" in British Hong Kong and starved within the harsh confines of a Communist reform school. Over the course of twenty-one tumultuous years, he went from Li Na, the dutiful Chinese son yearning for a stern, manipulative father's love, to Charles, an independent Chinese American seeking no one's approval but his own.
Lyrical and luminous, intense and extraordinary, The Bitter Sea is an unforgettable true story of a young man, his father, and his country.
Review Quotes
"Despite his father's selfishness and cruelty, Li eventually established a warm relationship with him. His stormy narrative ultimately becomes a journey to reconciliation, as Li makes peace with his father, with his heritage and with China itself." -- Los Angeles Times
"Li's memoir is not just an account of a turbulent period of Chinese history. It is also the heart-rending story of a father-son relationship in which ambition proves more powerful than love . . . Li Na's story overlaps with so much of the drama of modern China that it provides a compelling firsthand view of history." -- Christian Science Monitor
"Wrenching memoir of growing up in China during a time of war and upheaval." -- Kirkus Reviews
"This brilliant memoir is as much about modern Chinese history as it is about familial relationships. Recommended for all public and academic libraries with collections on China or the immigrant experience." -- Library Journal
"[A] fascinating and at times heart-wrenching read...witty, sensitive, and profound." -- Santa Barbara News-Press