Becoming Madame Mao by Anchee
Min
Beautiful Writing Filled With Psychological Insights
Many writers have engaged in the project of rescuing female figures from
history, but few have tackled such an unsympathetic character as Anchee
Min does in her historical novel Becoming Madame Mao. Known as the
White Boned Demon during her reign of terror in China, Madame Mao
was blamed for countless bloody and vengeful executions; she sought
out those who had wronged her in the past and wiped them off the face of
the earth. Eventually she was reviled in China and executed, even as her
husband was revered as a hero. Before her stint as Maos first lady, Jiang
Ching, as she was then known, was an actress, a singer, and a star in
Communist films. Anchee Min grew up in Red China and watched Jiang
Ching from afar; she was fascinated by her for many years, by tales of
her independence and strength, and by images of her beauty. In a way,
the great villain and demon was a role model for Anchee Min, and her
teenage devotion is the engine of her remarkable novel. Moving back and
forth between stories of the actress and the evil dictator, Min complicates
the Madame Mao of history. As a girl, Madame Mao narrowly escaped

having her feet bound. The book opens with graphic descriptions of this
process and of the ensuing infection that freed her. But if her feet were
not bound, her spirit was. Reared by a mother who was the last
concubine of a rich man, and a father who liked to hit his girls with
shovels, Madame Mao as a young girl felt herself doomed: I see my
father hit Mother with a shovel. It happened suddenly. Without warning. I
can hardly believe my eyes. He is mad. He calls Mother a slut. Mothers
body curls up. My chest swells. He hits her back, front, shouting that he
will break her bones. The father then goes on to treat his daughter the
same way. Decades later, when Madame Mao manifests deep brutality,
Min seems to be saying that what goes around comes around. Flawed by
a clumsy structure that vacillates between third and first person arbitrarily,
Becoming Madame Mao is nevertheless an immensely interesting work--
defiant, morally ambiguous, and difficult to put down. --Emily White
Personal Review: Becoming Madame Mao by Anchee Min
Anchee Min's "Becoming Madame Mao" is an epic novel that takes one of
China's most notorious characters of recent history and tells her story with
poetic elegance and a keen psychological insight. Like the best works of
Eduardo Galeano, Min's novel triumphs because of the way it breathes life
into history and tells certain truths about a historical event that some
academic works fail to explore. And yet you do not have to be a history
buff to enjoy this novel, it is a great work of drama and passion. There are
moments where Min's writing reaches truly operatic heights.
The novel follows Madame Mao's creation from her tormented upbringing
as a young girl disconnected from her doomed mother, who flees to the
cities seeking a life and becomes an actress and singer. She goes through
three name cycles as she progresses from the innocent yet devious artist
to a Communist Red Army guerrilla fighter. In Yenan where the insurgency
against the Japanese invasion and nationalist forces boils, our main
character meets the legendary Mao Tse-Tung, still a peasant guerrilla who
although worshipped, has not tasted total power yet. Minn builds these
chapters with a great eye for detail, emotion and history. Throughout the
novel she masterfully mixes a novel's story with dates, names, events and
profiles yet never bogs down the reader. It all flows smoothly. For the non-
Chinese reader Min offers great insights into Chinese culture and heritage,
this isn't some cheap romance on paper but a living, breathing story that
transports you to another world.
"Becoming Madame Mao" goes from an idealistic tale of a woman seeking
her destiny to a dark, dangerous tale of political intrigue as Mao wins, the
People's Republic is proclaimed and the battle for who controls China
begins. Min shows a masterful eye for psychological analysis here, not
only keeping the reader intrigued, but providing a fascinating look into the
actual makeup of these characters. In a bold stroke, Min breaks down the
iconic image of Mao and creates a character with the potential for
greatness, but weakened by an obsession with power which begins to
sprout intense paranoia. The novel's dive into the Cultural Revolution

provides for intense images and moments, as Madame Mao comes close
to achieving her goals even as China boils over in revolutionary anarchy
and social chaos. There is a cinematic quality to the way Min describes
events and happenings, painting images in our minds. She brings to life
the oceans of red flags, riots, Mao waving to the crowds, Mao plotting
behind closed doors, Madame Mao murdering her rivals in cold blood.
The principle strength of "Becoming Madame Mao" is the complex creation
of this villainous character. Min does not take any easy roads, she could
have easily painted Madame Mao as a pure lunatic and butcherer, yet she
makes a strong attempt at trying to make the reader understand how a
woman likes comes to be. Min does not shy away from making clear
statements on what women of Madame Mao's generation suffered in
China, how bitterness, paranoia and deep hatred are born out of
indifference and cruelty. Min does not condone Madame Mao's actions, but
she does make the reader come close to understanding WHY these things
happened. Her treatment of Mao is also well-balanced. She captures both
the great revolutionary leader and also the political blunderer who's
dreamish take on Communism produced disasters like the Great Leap
Forward.
Anchee Min deserves a place next to some of the best modern writers still
working today, "Becoming Madame Mao" should qualify her to be
mentioned next to the likes of Salman Rushdie, Arundhati Roy, Eduardo
Galeano, and even Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Mario Vargas Llosa, if her
classic memoir "Red Azalea" hasn't already earned her the spot. This is a
great journey through modern Chinese history, in it we see not only a
woman's journey, but China's as well. We see how Madame Mao ended-
up where she did in the history books, but also how China became what it
is today. A great read.
For More 5 Star Customer Reviews and Lowest Price:
Becoming Madame Mao by Anchee Min 5 Star Customer Reviews and Lowest Price!