But aside from the historical viewpoint of the novel, it also displays the Chinese superstitions and the importance of honor and the appearance of one’s family. Within the first few pages, you become a fly-on-the-wall in this poor girl’s childhood. The way Yen Mah writes thoroughly submerses the reader into a world not so long ago, yet so unnervingly different, in her simplistic but engaging writing style.
This maltreatment culminates with Yen Mah being abandoned in a convent school in Tianjin, where everybody is fleeing from, as the Communists were winning the war and taking over larger areas of China: “A Chinese student in a foreign convent school is seen by them as a member of the same religious order and will be persecuted along with the nuns if they win the war.”Ĭhinese Cinderella is easy to read but difficult to put down. Yen Mah struggles for years yearning for the approval of her father and step-mother, Niang, through her academic persistence – but even topping her class for weeks on end gets her scolded for being “too proud”. Yen Mah’s mother died giving birth to her, so for her whole life she was blamed, hated, discriminated against, and made to feel unwanted by most of her family, save her Aunt Baba and her grandparents.
If the name ‘Cinderella’ evokes thoughts of a poor girl mistreated by her step-mother, then you’re headed in the right direction, but without the same happy-ever-after.Īdeline Yen Mah tells the true story of her childhood during the 1940s, during the midst of many wars in China. "One of the most inspiring books I have ever read.“…As for Father, he doesn’t even remember my name. Includes an Author's Note, a 6-page photo insert, a historical note, and the Chinese text of the original Chinese Cinderella. Like the classic Cinderella story, this powerful memoir is a moving story of resilience and hope. Although Adeline wins prizes at school, they are not enough to compensate for what she really yearns for - the love and understanding of her family. Adeline and her siblings are subjected to the disdain of her stepmother, while her stepbrother and stepsister are spoiled with gifts and attention.
In her own courageous voice, Adeline Yen Mah returns to her roots to tell the story of her painful childhood and her ultimate triumph in the face of despair.Īdeline's affluent, powerful family considers her bad luck after her mother dies giving birth to her, and life does not get any easier when her father remarries. From the author of critically acclaimed and bestselling memoir Falling Leaves, this is a poignant and moving true account of her childhood, growing up as an unloved daughter in 1940s China.Ī Chinese proverb says, Falling leaves return to their roots.
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