Falling Leaves

I took a temporary break from my dystopian novels to read Falling Leaves by Adeline Yen Mah for Chinese New Year. I had already read one memoir by her called Chinese Cinderella when I was 13 years old, but my dog Lucy has since chewed up that particular book by her. I had remembered really liking Chinese Cinderella, however Falling Leaves did not live up to the fond memories I had of the previous book. Mah was a much abused child who always strived for her father and stepmother's approval, but was never able to gain it, no matter how well she did in school or how wealthy she became. Much of this novel is composed of Mah's woes over her childhood memories, which I understood but a 250 page book without much color or change grows tedious. Mah is obviously a good writer, but is lacking of any emotional changes. She never had much of a bright spot in her life, so there was no good that at least made you smile occasionally. You just had to sit and grimace at her misfortunes throughout the whole book. You would at least imagine that when she became an adult things would have gotten better, but her parents continue to rule over her a continent away, and even choose her job for her. I still found the culture interesting, but there are still far better books that you can read about China. I am sure that you are all now rushing to the bookstore to pick up a copy. (2/5 stars)