"Wild Swans"

Book Review # 105518

English > Analysis
Literature > World

"Wild Swans"

A review of the book "Wild Swans" by Jung Chang.

1,563 words () | 0 sources | 2007 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how Jung Chang's Wild Swans is an epic historical monograph that follows three generations of the author's family; it focuses on the lives of her maternal grandmother, her mother, and herself. The paper looks at how, through a combination of vivid accounts of the women's lives and brief references to the historical context in which they occur, Chang personalizes events in China's history and presents detailed information on topics often overlooked in history text books, such as marriage.

From the Paper:

"Chang begins her story by describing her grandmother's early life. A young woman with bound-feet, Chang's grandmother is essentially sold as a concubine to a local warlord. More or less typical of traditional China, these opening events of the book only hint at the whirlwind events that were about to transform China forever. The warlord dies shortly after the grandmother gives birth to Chang's mother, but in a change of luck, she becomes the wife of a Dr. Xia, who marries her despite the trouble it causes within his own family. The doctor accepts Chang's mother as his own daughter, and details of their family life give an intimate view of Chinese family life, beyond the politics of marriage and concubinage. "