Genre: Biography
Approximate word count: 95-100,000 words
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Author:
A native of
Hong Kong, Veronica Li immigrated to the U.S. at fifteen. She has a B.A in
English from UC-Berkeley, and a Master’s in International Affairs from Johns
Hopkins University. Li has worked for the Asian
Wall Street Journal and the World Bank. In addition to this book, she has a
novel, Nightfall in Mogadishu, a spy
thriller.
Description:
“This is a
true and touching story of one Chinese woman's search for home. It is also an
inspiring book about human yearning for a better life. To escape poverty, Flora
Li fought her way through the education system and became one of the few women
to get into the prestigious Hong Kong University. When the Japanese invaded,
she fled to unoccupied China, where she met her future husband, the son of
China's finance minister (later deputy prime minister). She thought she had
found the ideal husband, but soon discovered that he suffered from emotional
disorders caused by family conflicts and the wars he had grown up in. Whenever
he had a breakdown, Flora would move the family to another city, from Shanghai
to Nanking to Hong Kong to Bangkok to Taipei and finally across the four seas
to the U.S. Throughout her migrations, Flora kept her sight on one goal:
providing her children with the best possible education.”
Appraisal:
When Veronica Li’s aging parents came to live with
her, she was reminded of her mother Flora’s love for telling stories about her
life, and how much she enjoyed listening
to them. Li started taping the stories and, once arranged chronologically, was
left with the material for this biography.
I’ll often
read something because it looks interesting and end up serendipitously filling
gaps in my knowledge that I hadn’t anticipated. In this instance, through the
story of one woman, I received keen insight into the culture of Hong Kong and
China, as well as the history of both throughout most of the 1900s. As Flora’s
fortunes rose and fell, I was able to compare and contrast not only the
differences between financial stratas within Chinese society, but also the
similarities and differences to the U.S. and to what I know of other countries
and cultures. If you find such things as interesting as I do, Journey Across the Four Seas should be
on your reading list.
Format/Typo Issues:
No
significant issues.
Rating: **** Four stars
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