China's brain had not yet grown the cells to absorb truth and freedom.

Beautiful and heartbreaking in many places.

This was a lot like Wild Swans--horribly sad and almost unbelievable. These books made me both appreciate what I have as a woman in an almost-egalitarian society and recommit to guarding it. Books like this make me wonder if we're just one political upheaval away from losing the ground feminists have gained.

Anyway, my personal feelings aside, this book should be read simply because these women deserve to have their stories told. I agree with the New Yorker blurb on the cover: "This intimate record reads like an act of defiance, and the unvarnished prose allows each story to stand as testimony."

El título del libro dice Nacer mujer en China... pero hubo muchos momentos en los que grité es Nacer mujer en el MUNDO

Xinran is a radio show host that talks about women's issues. This gives her access to women all over China to hear their stories because they trust her and it's easy to open up to her. As China "opens up" following the revolution, women are finally able to speak about their stories. Xinran tells us these women's stories, as it seems that even in the 90s, China still wasn't quite ready for them. These stories include tales of rape and abuse. The Red Guard takes away parents who don't believe in Communism, an earthquake destroys a village, a child keeps a fly as a pet while she's in the hospital. Each story is unique and each has the ability to break your heart.

I was in shock while reading some of these stories. These women have been through so much pain and they each deal with it in completely different ways. The flow of the book was exceptional, with Xinran explaining how she met these women and a bit about her radio program. Each story relates slightly to the next which helps the reader go from one to the next.

We even get a brief glimpse in to Xinran's past, though I would have liked a bit more. This book will stay with me for a long time.

This book is a translation but reads like it was written in English. The translator deserves an applause for such a great job.

This book was is a hard read. Not because it is slow or has challenging grammar, but because of the subject matter. I read this for one of my World Civilization classes in college. This book contains multiple stories from and about the lives of Chinese women. Being marked as second class (to no status at all) is not the worst of it. Feet cutting, abuse in all forms, rape, being left for dead, and even some death are just a taste of what happens. Follow this read with something joyful and funny. You will need it.

Every woman and especially every man should read this book.