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Fan Wu
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Media
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Book
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Publisher | Picador | ||
ISBN | 0330447718 | ||
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Reviewer
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Janice
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Synopsis
Seventeen-year-old Ming and twenty-four-year-old Yan have very little in common: Ming, innocent and preoccupied, lives in her own world of books, music and imagination; Yan is, by contrast, sexy but cynical, beautiful but wild. She uses her looks to get what she wants from the many men in her life. When the two girls meet and become best friends, Ming's world is changed forever. She is attracted to Yan's free-spirit, while Yan yearns for the kind of stability Ming's seriousness can bring. But their differences in upbringing and ideologies ultimately drive them apart, leaving each to face her own dark secret alone. "February Flowers" is an insightful meditation on forbidden love, loss and redemption, and how a background shapes a life. 'An original and unforgettable story ...brimming with passion, vitality, and hope' - XinRan, author of "The Good Women of China".
Review
I read this book after Vicky had interviewed Fan Wu (now being edited for the podcast) and was so enthralled I was unable to put it down until the end.
Seventeen year old Ming and twenty four year old Yan have very little in common when they meet on the roof of their student accommodation block at university.Yan yearns to have the stability of Ming's life whereas Ming yearns for the free spirit that Yan has; as is common when you meet students at university not everyone wants to show who they really are. They struggle through because of the differences of their upbringing and worlds which drive them apart, leaving each to face her own dark secret.
This book is beautifully written and the language flows easily and as a reader I was entranced.
The girls in this book are the daughters and granddaughters of the families of the revolution and are products of today's society both modern and yet still under the threat of the state.
Fan Wu explained that she was bought up in China's labour camps and was always aware that it was not the thing to question your families history of the past because that is the way the children respect their elders in China.
I highly recommend this book as a great and informative read.
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