Red Azalea by Anchee Min

I'm sort of surprised I hadn't heard of Red Azalea until this year and that no one told me about it. I'm reminded of the one library trip I made where it seemed like every other book I'd picked up ended up being subtexty to the max, so I'm kind of shocked this didn't end up on my literary radar at some point through some channel.

Red Azalea is Anchee Min's memoir about growing up in Communist China. I find it difficult to find words to talk about Red Azalea. The prose is beautiful. Sentences are often short and concise, sometimes lyrical, very much prose as poetry. The translations of what feels like Chinese idioms and metaphors come off really well. A line like "Your hands are too small to cover the sky" (i.e. I know you've been telling me lies) just kind of melted my heart.

The tale itself is fascinating. The narration's stance toward the political atmosphere that permeates society is complicated and changing, sometimes managing to be simultaneously sincere/earnest and resentful/afraid. It often left me feeling bittersweet, sometimes outright sad and frustrated.

Mostly I just want to recommend people read it. I don't think I can describe it. It's not a long read but I think it has depths of context and language. So take your time getting through it if you do read. :)

(For those familiar with the actress Joan Chen, Anchee Min is her friend. Chen helped Min come to the United States.)