Very interesting, easy read. I enjoyed reading about a perspective completely different to mine, and learnt a lot about Mao’s China. I cried so many times towards the end, because the last few chapters are full of reunions and triumphs. There’s an inspirational thread running through the whole book, too. Definitely recommend.

Not the kind of thing I normally read but it’s encouraged me to read more biographies and modern-history type books.

Always thought non-fiction wasn't for me but this story surprised me. Loved it.

In his memoir, Li Cunxin describes growing up in rural China during the Cultural Revolution. While still a child, he happened to be the one boy from his village chosen to go to a city boarding school to study ballet--the one boy who suddenly had a shot at escaping poverty and physical labor. When he was a teenager, his dancing led to the unprecedented opportunity to visit America, where he ended up defecting and joining the Houston Ballet Company. Later he settled in Australia.

The story felt choppy and undeveloped at first. However, as the author leaves early childhood behind and begins to talk about memories that must have been richer and clearer, he is able to describe details in a more cohesive way. It isn’t the sunniest material to read--his life was hard. At the same time, though, his love for his family and for ballet itself shines through beautifully.

I was left with a number of questions. For instance, the theme of the book seems to be that something (fate? God? luck?) guides human life. At one point, Li mentions converting to Catholicism in order to get married. Yet it isn’t clear what his actual religious beliefs are and why this theme resonates so strongly for him. I also wondered why exactly he defected--had he developed philosophical beliefs about freedom, or did he see freedom as economic opportunity? There were also other places where I would have expected more analyses and explanation from the author instead of just straight up narration.

I’m not sure whether Li, being Chinese, was simply writing in a more indirect style than most Americans would use, or whether he was choosing to elide material to protect others still in China. Despite my questions, though, this is ultimately a story I will remember.