The Red Scarf Girl

Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution by Ji-li Jiang
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh my goodness, this book touched my heart. My daughter is reading it for a history course she is taking this year called Key of Liberty. I always pre-read any books my daughters are assigned as part of a course. I had never heard of this book or Ji Li Jiang. But I am SO glad I have read it now. I knew surface stories about the Chinese Cultural Revolution, but had never studied it. This book made me cry. I cried for Ji Li, I cried for the Jiang family, I cried for the children & families put through this, I cried for China and I cried for the history and culture they lost/destroyed during this time. Jiang does an excellent job of showing you the horror of the Cultural Revolution from a child's eyes, but does it in a way that I do not mind my 12-year-old daughter reading this book. It does not have graphic portrayals of grotesque violence (though I know that happened during the revolution, too). Definitely an excellent read. One I seriously encourage for those that have never realized just how precious the freedoms we enjoy in America are and take them for granted.

My two favorite quotes:
"This is the most frightening lesson of the Cultural Revolution: Without a sound legal system, a small group or even a single person can take control of an entire country. This is as true now as it was then."

"My family was too precious to forget, and too rare to replace."



Kindle Edition: Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution

Atlas Shrugged

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a hard book to rate. There were parts that I really enjoyed and parts that I hated. Parts that I wholly agreed with and parts that I vehemently disagreed with. It was definitely the most difficult book I have ever read. I decided on four stars because even the parts that I didn’t necessarily enjoy or agree with were still excellently written when one thinks of terms of what was her point. But when one thinks of terms of literary excellence and things like character development, there was a bit lacking. My dissatisfaction more came from the fact that I have never really enjoyed being lectured when I already agree with the point being made (and there is a sixty page monologue that is a lecture towards the end of this).

Atlas Shrugged is fairly pertinent to today’s political atmosphere and a good read for that reason alone. True, it shows things in extreme, but that is often the best way to make a point in fiction. It is very obvious that Rand was an atheist at the time she wrote this – and there was where most of my disagreement with her was rooted. I don’t agree with her viewpoints on pride, sexual morality or those that believe in God. On a non-religious note, I didn’t agree with her portrayal of farmers. I firmly believe that if this country were to fall apart, the farmers that own their land would be one of the few groups not to starve. They might learn to live w/out certain luxuries, but I don’t think being unable to sell their crop would cause them to starve. Most farmers I know are very practical and would use their land to grow food for their family if things got this bad.

But I whole heartedly agree with Rand’s viewpoints on capitalism vs. socialism. Those that think socialism is the way to go will hate this book. But as I’m a capitalist, I agreed with and enjoyed reading much of it. She cuts right to the heart of what socialism is and does to societies – and some people just hate to hear the truth.