The story of a boy who grew up poor in Mao’s China and was selected to become a dancer in Madame Mao’s dance school. I think it could have been tightened up a bit in editing, but it’s a pretty interesting book—especially the ways the Chinese people were forced to worship Mao and be loyal to the Communist party.

A brilliantly told story.
I usually avoid biographies and autobiographies in favour of fictitious escapes and adventures.
Li Cunxin told his story in a way that felt like he was reading it to me himself.
Certainly a hard life, with many challenges. Yet Cunxin focused so much more on the pleasures he experienced rather than the difficult hardships he grew up with.
Cunxin was so grateful for the advantages he was given. Perhaps when he was first chosen as a peasant boy from his town to attend the ballet academy there was some good luck on his side, after that, every advantage he received sounds like it was hard earned and deserved.
I was most interested to read how Cunxin realised he had been dictated to and when he found a way to live his life with freedom I’m happy he was brave enough to do it.

It was ok. There were interesting parts and humorous parts, but a bit too meandering for my taste. Some of it was repetitive as the author seemed to really want to get certain points across.

Well, it took me four months but I did finally finish this book!

WARNING: This review may contain minor broad spoilers. (Details will be spoiler-tagged)

It's not that it was bad, or boring, or anything like that ... it's more that it was hard for me to relate to. I generally hate reading about poverty on all occasions (which is why I stay away from war stories) so the early days of his life were just a real struggle to get through. I hate the thought of people having to live in such conditions.

The thing about memoirs is that they tend to be motivational stories about someone fighting to overcome immense obstacles and come out on top. And while you can't deny the author lived a really tough life in parts, he also had a lot of luck and mere chance on his side as well, which takes away a little of the triumph of his story.

The first half of the book is a real drag, but it does emphasise how important his family is to him. There were a lot of anecdotes, and their living situation is really drilled in - it n  totally sucked.n I understand its necessary inclusion but it doesn't make for fun reading, and it's half the reason it took me so long to get through this book.

Then he's just randomly selected to go and study dance, and he gets all these injuries all the time and it made me cringe so often. Throughout the entire story he gets so many injuries and EVERY. DAMN. TIME. he just dances on. He talks about how excruciating the pain was, but it was easier for him than giving up. I just felt so sickened by that. The level of strength that takes is ridiculous and admirable, but at the same time it seems so foolish to carry on the way he did. If this was a fictional novel, it would just seem so unrealistic! I was so bothered by how much he placed honour and work ethic above his own health.

The story is very much about communist China and the effect it had on his life. I'm not big on politics so a lot of it was confusing and hard to comprehend for me because I've been fortunate enough to have been born with white skin and live in a Western country where I have the freedom to essentially do as I please. In this story, it's when Mao dies and Cunxin goes to America that finally I began to comprehend the gaping chasm between his way of life and mine. That's when the story really got interesting for me.

I think you really need the comparisons to understand the true trials of his life. While reading, there was a lot of stuff that I disagreed with and felt uncomfortable about, but on reflection and actually pausing to consider the nature of his upbringing, I began to understand his choices a little more.

His marriage to Elizabeth, for example, I saw as incredibly selfish. He knows it will potentially destroy his mentor's future, he knows it may mean never being able to see his family again, or even them being hurt because of his actions, but he goes ahead and does it anyway. He marries her because he loves her, and because he wants to stay in America. I was so bothered by how selfish that was. But when you begin to factor in that he felt his own success meant his family's success, it does colour the situation a little better. There's so much about his situation at that time that I couldn't possibly comprehend. But towards the end of the story, when he re-visits his family for the first time, you begin to understand it all a little better.

I think part of why this book took me so long to get through is that his personality is just so different from mine, and so it was really hard to relate to and therefore appreciate his decisions. There really is also such an element of luck to his story - he just happens to meet the right people, who have powerful friends who can pull the strings that need to be pulled. His story is so incredibly rare, and I don't think anyone can read this book and feel that the same could happen to them. It's definitely full of inspiring moments, but so much of his being able to live his dream depended on chance.

I like memoirs that show me people who overcame the odds with their own strength, resilience and determination. He certainly has all of those qualities, but his success as a dancer by itself wasn't enough. To me, the moral of the story is that it doesn't matter how much hard work or talent you have if you don't know the right people. As far as morals go, that's not exactly inspiring.

So , in summary, I can't say I enjoyed reading this book but I am glad that I did. There is a lot of stuff in it that is hard to relate to, and it's not exactly an inspiring story that motivates you to go out there and chase your own dreams, but at the same time it was really fascinating to read about a life so far removed from my own, and try to understand the cultural differences, and a little about how one's upbringing can make such a drastic impact.

Li Cunxin is an inspiring man, and I'm glad he chose to share his story.

actually the best biography i've read?? it was pretty introspective and i thought it was fiction at first because the story was so incredible. it chronicles the journey of a young peasant boy living in poverty in China at the height of the Cultural Revolution and his loyalty to Mao and Communist ideals and how the course of his life was altered when he was picked to attend Madame Mao's Beijing Dance Academy and how as China began opening up with Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms he became a ballet dancer and moved (read: defected) to the US and was even friends with George Bush?? wild

A particularly engaging story. Li Cunxin's move at the age of eleven from a desperately poor rural background to Beijing, to study ballet in a horrendously tough environment, is inspiring. That he survives and succeeds is testimony to his skills as a dancer and his will to survive. Set largely within communist China and the United States, this story is beautifully told. It is rich in detail including much insight into the thoughts and feelings of the boy dancer who rose to achieve so much. Highly recommended.

4.5 ⭐️✨ This was such a beautiful, heartbreaking and fascinating memoir/autobiography. Nothing like a defection story to make me feel incredibly thankful for all of the freedoms and comforts that the Lord has provided in my life! Li Cunxin's story depicts the struggles of life in poverty in Mao's communist China during the Cultural Revolution, living under the lies of deep propaganda, being separated from his family at age 11 to train in ballet for the honor of his country. I learned a lot about the changes that happened in China after Mao's death as well economically and culturally. I loved learning about his ballet training, his experience of America for the first time, meeting Barbara Bush, and traveling and performing with the Houston Ballet Academy and internationally. His family relationships especially with his parents were so very touching.

Content warnings though for a couple of things: a few times alludes to pre-marital sex, a bachelor party scene, and brief reference to drugs

Absolutely gorgeous and heartwrenching at so many moments. Can't believe I hadn't read it until now! A profound picture of ballet, insane discipline and sacrifice and pain. And of China that was about to change post-Mao.

Bom como comparativo da cultura oriental com a ocidental.um pouco monotono a partir da metade mas vale a pena ser lido

I really enjoyed this book, especially as an audiobook, this is the first audiobook I have ever listened to and i have learnt that I prefer audiobooks to ebooks because personally I finish audiobooks quicker.

This book is about a young ‘peasant’ boy who gets the opportunity to be a trained dancer and by the end of the book he’s chosen to go to America and ends up living there as a professional dancer.

I found this novel incredibly inspiring as through this book, I’ve learned that you can accomplish anything if you put your mind to it and if you teach yourself to be self disciplined and have the effort and passion that comes with it.

I highly recommend this novel. It reminds me of the quote “good books are hard to find, harder to leave and impossible to forget” this is definitely one of those books!♥️

What a wonderful book! I cannot believe what some people endure. I just learned this was made into a movie and I look forward to seeing the adaptation. Very well written.

Li Cun Xin, born in the rural area of China. He was the 6th son in the family and his family was poor. His peasant life changes when Chairman Mao started “cultural revolution” and decided to find representatives throughout china to find talented people to learn dancing. Li Cun Xin was chosen to go to Beijing and be trained as a professional dancer. Throughout the book, you can see the struggle between Cun Xin and his love for his family. At first he had homesickness and hated dancing. But soon, he overcomes his challenges and works hard, and loved dancing. He never gives up and motivates himself to strive harder to become the best dancer in the world. In this book there are some interesting insights into Communist ideologies and the history of US and China relationship. Li Cun Xin as a young Red Guard was brain washed by Communist ideologies and he was a royal young communist. People in China never know what America looks like and were told that America is a corrupted place. Until Li Cun Xin represented by China to America to learn western dance and show them the culture and art of China. He was amazed by how free people living in America and how advanced their technology were. He sees the difference of Communist the he was taught and he sees more opportunities in Capitalism. He then never want to go back to China. He fell in love with and American and they got married. China doesn’t allow their marriage and want Cun Xin to be back immediately. But at last, Cun Xin fight back against the chinese government and married an American. He became famous in America because of his outstanding dancing skills. Well I’m not going to spoil the fun; overall, Li Cun Xin was a successful man. I find this book really inspiring and touching.