From Amazon.co.uk:
Born into a devoutly Maoist family in 1950s Shanghai and forced to work on a communal farm from the age of seventeen, Anchee Min found herself in an alienating and hostile political climate, where her only friendships were perilous and intense. Both candid and touching, this compelling memoir documents her isolation and illicit love against the backdrop of China's Cultural Revolution. From her coming of age in the Red Guard to her recruitment into Madame Mao's burgeoning industry of propaganda movies, Red Azalea explores the secret sensuality of a repressive society with elegance and honesty.

Left at a book exchange maintained by the UTS Book Club. It's located in the open area near the Student Union in the tower building (Building 1).

Release #2 for the 2015 April Showers/May Flowers Challenge.

I picked this up from the UTS book exchange cupboard in about July or August, and it came with me on a recent trip to China, visiting Beijing, Xi'an, and the Yangzi Gorges from Yichang to Chongqing (unfortunately we didn't make it to Shanghai, where the book is set). I was hoping to leave it in China but hadn't finished it (too much to see and do in China, not much time to read) so it came home to Sydney with me and I'll pass it on from here. It's a powerful, interesting and very personal account of how life was in China for this particular young woman during the Cultural Revolution (1960s-70s). I would have scored it higher, except she focuses very much on her own personal reactions to certain selected, specific events, so you don't really get a good sense of how things were more generally.