Daughter of the river: an autobiography

New Internationalist, May, 1999

by Hong Ying

(Bloomsbury, ISBN 0 7475 3983 9)

By contrast, Daughter of the River is at times skin-tighteningly grim. It's a mix of bizarre events and down-to-earth descriptions of growing up in Chongquing, a slum by the Yangtze River. A misfit with `hunger in her heart', the author as child is forever bickering with her brothers and sisters; obsessed with rooting out the family secrets. She loathes her mother and is closest to her blind father. After the tragic deaths of her first lover and her baby, she escapes into dancing, drinking and parties until she's finally rescued by writing. The Chinese saying `May you live in interesting times' is meant as a curse. This book shows you why.

Politics ***

Entertainment *** CB