Comments on: Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven by Susan Jane Gilman

By: Morgaine

Morgaine — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:09:38 +0000

I read this book a year ago. I remember I couldn’t put it down. It was like a surreal glimpse into what it was like to travel in China when it first opened. I also was terrified for the girls throughout the book.

By: mew

mew — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 01:45:50 +0000

I love and appreciate book suggestions. I will be reading several of the above.

I would wholeheartedly recommend:

The Long march : the true history of Communist China’s founding myth by Sun, Shuyun

It was both enjoyable and enlightening.

By: wewait

wewait — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:36:18 +0000

some great suggestions. thanks!

two books I’d like to recommend are:

1. A Leaf in the Bitter Wind, by Ting-Xing Ye. This is memoir of a young woman who lived through the cultural revolution. She defected and moved to Canada where she lives now.

2. Egg on Mao, by Denise Chong. This is the amazing story about Lu Decheng, the man who threw paint on Chairman Mao’s portrait in Tiananmen Square at the time of the student protests. It’s really well written.

By: sarahkate60120

sarahkate60120 — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:06:43 +0000

My father and grandfather were in China with a group from Purdue University back in the summer of 1984. What they described was worlds apart from what we experienced in 2007.

Thanks RQ for the book suggestion. I’m looking forward to picking up a copy from the library later this week.

By: June

June — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:48:30 +0000

RQ,
Good job posting about this book. I have Gilman’s
‘Hypocrite in a Poufy White Dress’, which is as the review says ‘irreverant’, and it is also very funny. White dress is sort of like “In her shoes” (Jennifer Weiner).
Will be interesting to read “…temple of heaven” which sounds like a very different book . Thanks!

By: lloll

lloll — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:48:15 +0000

Some friends of mine went to China around that time frame (very soon after China opened) and their stories of the trip are fascinating and soooo different than now.

By: MacyGirlInChina

MacyGirlInChina — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:19:53 +0000

I so love memoir books such as this. May have to scour Amazon for this one.

In a similar vein, the book “Eat, Pray, Love”
is also fantastic. Sorry, cant’ remember the author.

But she has also written a memoir about her travels through 3 very different countries, and the messages and lessons that came with each stop. The people she meets are very interesting.

Just to throw it out there…has anyone else read “Running With Scissors” ? Holy cow! Very disturbing, entertaining, and enlightening all at the same time.

By: ladeeesquire

ladeeesquire — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:31:10 +0000

This does look interesting. I think I’ll put it on my amazon wish list.

I first visited china in 1989 just a few mos before the student rebellion. To say it has changed is putting it mildly. I only wish I would have seen more of china at that time.

By: chickensoupforchina

chickensoupforchina — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:37:30 +0000

Thanks so much. I practically eat non-fiction books such as these. Here’s another one you, and others might enjoy. I loved it. The title is pretty self-explanatory.

Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China (Paperback)
~ Leslie T. Chang

I would have posted the Amazon link, but I wasn’t sure of the rules regarding that. If you have others like this, I’d love for you to share them. Thanks again.

By: mmsmom

mmsmom — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:32:15 +0000

That looks like a good book. Think that I will get it! Thanks!