Welcome to Litsy!

This made the WP for Nonfiction shortlist. It‘s a half-story style journalist‘s narrative. I mean, she goes into detail on her four subjects, all born around 1990, but they can‘t be exactly representative. The are just some women she managed to meet who were successful, most coming from impoverished rural backgrounds and ending up successful urbanites. They‘re a window into this brief era of Chinese social mobility. Important, but incomplete.

New audiobook, also my 3rd from the Women‘s Prize for Nonfiction longlist. I‘m enjoying it so far. A couple of these girls grew up on SW china in their rural villages with just their grandparents. Their parents were far from home trying to make a living. I saw villages like these in the mid 1990‘s - hordes of kids with some elderly farmers. No one of parent age.

#wpnf25

#52bookclub25 #audiobookhasmultiplenarrators

I can see why this is on the shortlist, but it wasn't particularly outstanding for me.

I‘m so happy #wonf25 put this book in their Longlist. I never would have read it if it wasn‘t for the list.

It‘s interesting to learn about a society and culture that‘s completely different from your own. And I‘m just talking about China being communist. Like the school system, children walk hours to get to school, where your family is registered decides where you go to school and the competition.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 Interesting look at the coming of age, education, and early careers of four women in China and the ways they managed their ambitions and passions given the resources and restrictions they faced. Their resilience and persistence were really admirable. A book I wouldn‘t have picked up if not for #WPNF25!

I love that Yang chose to profile four regular women in China, this book really does provide a glimpse into a very different kind of everyday life. The challenges of work, family, and independence made for fascinating reading. There were some things that I wish were addressed (*see comments) but overall another great #wpnf25 read. Very impressed with this year's list so far!

I just happened to be reading this when the #WPNF25 longlist came out and there it was! I can see why. The book delves into the lives of 4 women in modern China, giving a peek into the realities of life in China. I found it fascinating.

It‘s obvious Yang put time into getting to know the 4 women featured in this book. Her care of the topic and them is evident. However, as a listener of the audiobook I became confused about the 4 different stories as we shifted from one to another. The beginning grabbed me, as did the realities of women‘s experiences in China. Focusing on the work (or lack thereof) for Chinese women and the struggle of the laborers/inequality of classes. #WPNF25

When Sam was little, the Shenzhen Children's Library opened a half-hour walk from her home. It was ahead of its time: the first dedicated children's library in all of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau....a children's library was groundbreaking. It had a mission: 'When the children are wise, so is the nation; when the children are strong, so is the nation.'
---
Fascinating look at a group of women's lives growing up in modern China.

June devoured the memoirs and travelogues of Sanmao, a writer beloved by Chinese teens. Sanmao was born in south-western China in the 1940s and rejected the traditional path prescribed to the women of her era. She travelled the world, living in Taiwan, Germany, Spain, the Canary Islands, Central America and the Sahara Desert. Sanmao wrote about her itinerant life in a carefree style, as if anyone could simply pack their bags...