Forbidden City : A Novel

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Revolutionary coming-of-age in the Forbidden City

Forbidden City could be a good read for someone who is interested in historical fiction and the Cultural Revolution. The book follows Mei, a young girl who dreams of becoming a model revolutionary and becomes Mao Zedong's protégée and lover. Mei's journey of discovering truth and disillusionment makes this book a captivating read. The book provides insights into power, manipulation, and belief through the eyes of a passionate teenage girl.

Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.

Forbidden City : A Novel

Regular price $23.52
Unit price
per
$21.17 Thryft Club Member Price
ISBN: 9780399178818
Estimated First-hand Retail Price: $39.66
Authors: Vanessa Hua
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date of Publication: 2022-05-10
Format: Hardcover
Related Collections: Historical Fiction
Goodreads rating: 3.65
(rated by 1439 readers)

Description

A teenage girl living in 1960s China becomes Mao Zedong's protégée and lover--and a poster child for the Cultural Revolution--in this provocative, poignant novel from the bestselling author of A River of Stars.On the eve of China's Cultural Revolution and her sixteenth birthday, Mei dreams of becoming a model revolutionary. When the Communist Party recruits girls for a mysterious duty in the capital, she seizes the opportunity to escape her impoverished village. It is only when Mei arrives at the Chairman’s opulent residence—a forbidden city unto itself—that she learns that the girls’ job is to dance with the Party elites. Ambitious and whip-smart, Mei makes a beeline toward the Chairman.Mei gradually separates from the other recruits to become the Chairman’s confidante—and paramour. As he fends off political rivals, Mei faces down schemers from the dance troupe who will stop at nothing to take her place, as well as the Chairman’s imperious wife, who has schemes of her own. When the Chairman finally gives Mei a political mission, she seizes it with fervor, but the brutality of this latest stage of the revolution makes her begin to doubt all the certainties she has held so dear.Forbidden City is an epic yet intimate portrayal of one of the world's most powerful and least understood leaders during the most turbulent period of modern Chinese history. Mei's harrowing journey toward truth and disillusionment raises questions about power, manipulation, and belief, as seen through the eyes of a passionate teenage girl.
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Revolutionary coming-of-age in the Forbidden City

Forbidden City could be a good read for someone who is interested in historical fiction and the Cultural Revolution. The book follows Mei, a young girl who dreams of becoming a model revolutionary and becomes Mao Zedong's protégée and lover. Mei's journey of discovering truth and disillusionment makes this book a captivating read. The book provides insights into power, manipulation, and belief through the eyes of a passionate teenage girl.

Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.