Oh my god another one for the pile - and it's thicker than thick!

March Challenge - China. This also counts for the World Book Day releases (March 3), and I am dedicating it to my daughter-in-law's mother Constanza who died last week in Bucharest, aged 59. She suffered a life of hardship because of the political regime in her country.

The 20th century in China, seen through the lives of Jung Chang’s grandmother (a concubine with bound feet), her mother (a Communist) and herself until 25 (a Red Guard). While reading this I felt as though I was delving into a dark tunnel, with nary a glimmer of light at the end of it. The horrors are inexpressible, not only the graphic descriptions of mangled bodies splashed over the courtyard during the war with Japan, the famine where some people actually resorted to eating their babies, the mental torture and cruelty, the fear, the twisted policies of Mao; one can but despair at human nature. All told in a sober and factual style which is sometimes rather dry, but I would not hold that against the author who, after all, is not writing in her mother tongue. Many images will haunt me for a long time.

RELEASE NOTES:

In the Asian shop called Tan-Tan on the corner with avenue Fraisse, behind the droguerie, just behind the station. In a wok on the bottom shelf, right at the back of the shop.

A week later: if it's still there at lunch time I will transfer it from the wok to the sacks of rice.

added much later: the book is no longer there...