November book group choice. Loved the film. Vicky recommended the book.

Many reasons to really like this book. It's a remarkable story of an admirable life in unusual circumstances. There is a continuity of influences, the foundation of his parents and family as well as influential teachers and friends, the Chinese fables that encouraged him in very hard times--the mango and the well. Many keeper scenes/quotes.

“Mango is the most wonderful fruit with the most unique taste… Admire the unique shape, notice the colour, enjoy the smell. Feel the weight, cut the skin and savour the fragrance. Then taste the skin and even the nut if you are daring. Then comes the ultimate satisfaction, the pulp.”

Chinese fables:
The Frog in the Well ("You can only see the world above you through the size of the well. The world up here is enormous." The frog tried and tried but "the big world above remained only a dream.") Cunxin in his frustration used his kite to send messages to the gods.
The Emperor and the Cricket
The Millet Dream (Fragrance of the poor soup inspired dreams of success. Dreams inspire but, "Great things don't come easily."
The Archer (Importance of keeping ones promises.)

There are no shortcuts. Work is required for success.

The many references to ballets has prompted me to see more than I've seen to date. My appreciation of dancers and their great commitment and preparation has greatly increased.

4.5 ⭐

I struggled with this one - so completely out of my preferred genre. But in the end I loved it. Such an inspiring story.

I loved this. an autobiography that I could not put down. touching, fascinating, fast paced. I feel enlightened and inspired. highly highly recommend.

The story of Cunxin is a 5 star. His extraordinary life is portrayed in this easy to read, enjoyable book that became hard to put down. The first 100 pages or so were a bit slow, but once Cunxin's life changed forever at the tender age of 11, the story just took off and was very interesting. This was a great but horrifying glimpse into the world of Chairman Mao's China in the 1970s-80's through this fortunate little ballet dancer's personal experience. I look forward to seeing the movie, even if just to watch the dancing.

Livre très intéressant qui nous plonge dans la Chine de Mao et l'art de la danse "à la chinoise" de l'époque.

Finished Mao's Last Dancer today. I saw the movie first and I found the book just as fascinating. The dept of poverty that Li came from and his luck to be chosen and became a dancer meant the stars were lined up for his success in the world. I now see how the Chinese are the best in gymnastics and other events they train for. The dedication that Li gave to dancing when he realized it was his way out of poverty, and the continued level of training he gave to dance after his defection to the states allowed his to be the best.

I still think the movie of this book was one of the best seen this year. I recommend the movie as much as the book so do one or the other. If you see the movie bring tissue. You will loose it in the end. An amazing story about how far complete dedication can take you. In the case of Li Cunxin all the way to the top.

I read this book in a little under 24 hours, almost unable to put it down. In this memoir, Li writes of an impoverished childhood in rural China in the 60's and 70's under the Mao Zedong regime. He deals frankly with his everyday realities: disease, starvation, accidental injury and the lack of basic survival needs intertwined with unconditional love, laughter and the incredibly strong value system of a proud family. He writes of being snatched from this world to the only slightly less brutal world of homesickness, compulsive exercise, political brainwashing and fierce competition in the world of Chinese ballet. From there, he seizes a chance to defect to America. How he deals with the never-ending push to be better, better, best within the world of ballet, broken dreams of love and family and his "survivor's guilt" regarding his estranged family back in China makes for a wonderful read. This book made me laugh, made me cry, made me think hard about my own privilege and what it means to live in America...and what it means to have the freedom to determine my own destiny. Highly recommend!

When I lived in Houston I loved going to see their world-class ballet company perform, and Li Cunxin was one of my favorite dancers, so I was eager to read his autobiograghy. The book that I received from Amazon was the "Young Reader's Edition" and obviously simplified and shortened by about half from the original 480 pages. But it held my interest throughout, and I would love to read the adult version.

He escaped from the deep well

MAO’S LAST DANCER
A recollection of memoirs by Li Cunxin like any other books on China during Mao and his great leap forward campaign, Mao’s Last Dancer depicted stories of hardships, determinations and struggles of people in China. A boy who was selected to Beijing Dance Academy, stringent rules and regulations. Not forgetting his coming of age anecdotes while observing the world.
Heart breaking situations while living in a small village, reading little red book while trying to blend in with some selected students in Beijing. Everything came to one clear circle upon his 2nd entry to Houston America. (not to mention peeping into foreing magazines, watching western movies, relationship of China and Russia) Dance career and getting married to an American, communication problems and troubles while defection to the west. (the whole page about Chinese Consulate in America is worth reading).
This memoir will serve as a history to be read, understanding propaganda by government and personal material comparison about living. It gets personal towards the end, missing his family and friends, guilt of having good life, broken marriage and striving to do better by dancing. Political ties enabled Li Cunxin to return to China twice before Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989 that leads to new China.
A smooth read even though earlier on I promised myself not to read anymore memoir on China before and during Cultural Revolution (I read too much about it). Grab this bestseller if you happened to see it on the shelf.
Getting this book from charity shop in Australia is meaningful. Li Cunxin now resides in Melbourne.

Story was incredibly moving and enlightening, while the writing style didn’t quite match the high bar set by the content. Short, simple sentences gave a childlike quality to the narration - especially in the way that communism was portrayed. Here, I felt like the reader was perhaps babied (like propaganda = bad) too much within these sections and more nuance would have been useful.

HAVING SAID THAT, I feel so lucky to have been able to read about Li’s phenomenal life experiences. From the commune to the stage. Incredible. Almost unbelievable and yet a true story!? I don’t want to spoil but you are almost guaranteed be in tears and your heart will soar with joy not too long after.

ALSO: I had no clue about Mao’s China before reading this and it gave a personal take on what life was like during this time, which I think is invaluable for an outsider to attempt to understand.

Beautiful memoir of Li Cunxin, a peasant boy born in the Cultural Revolution who became a brilliant ballet dancer. He tells us of his humble childhood, the sixth of seventh sons in a family that never had enough food and whose home was 5 degrees Fahrenheit (-15 degrees C) during the winter. What his family had though was an abundance of love. He was chosen to attend Madame Mao's dance academy in Beijing at the age of 11.

I recommend listening to the book on audible.com. The narration is lovely, and I appreciated hearing the correct pronunciation of Chinese words and names. If you want to learn about a dancer's temperament, passion and life as well as what China was like during Mao and Deng Xiao Peng, this is the book for you!