Spider Eaters: A Memoir

by Rae Yang

Spider Eaters is at once a moving personal story, a fascinating family history, and a unique chronicle of political upheaval told by a Chinese woman who came of age during the turbulent years of the Cultural Revolution. With stunning honesty and a lively, sly humor, Rae Yang records her life from her early years as the daughter of Chinese diplomats in Switzerland, to her girlhood at an elite middle school in Beijing, to her adolescent experience as a Red Guard and later as a laborer on a pig farm in the remote northern wilderness. She tells of her eventual disillusionment with the Maoist revolution, how remorse and despair nearly drove her to suicide, and how she struggled to make sense of conflicting events that often blurred the line between victim and victimizer, aristocrat and peasant, communist and counter-revolutionary. Moving gracefully between past and present, dream and reality, the author artfully conveys the vast complexity of life in China as well as the richness, confusion, and magic of her own inner life and struggle.

Much of the power of the narrative derives from Yang's multi-generational, cross-class perspective. She invokes the myths, legends, folklore, and local customs that surrounded her and brings to life the many people who were instrumental in her her nanny, a poor woman who raised her from a baby and whose character is conveyed through the bedtime tales she spins; her father; and her beloved grandmother, who died as a result of the political persecution she suffered.

Spanning the years from 1950 to 1980, Rae Yang's story is evocative, complex, and told with striking candor. It is one of the most immediate and engaging narratives of life in post-1949 China.

Genres: China, Nonfiction, History, Memoir, Read For School, Historical, School

320 pages, Paperback

First published March 29, 1997

About the author

Rae Yang is an Associate Professor of East Asian Studies at Dickinson College. Her fields of specialization are pre-modern and modern Chinese fiction with emphasis on psychoanalytic criticism. Her research and teaching interests include Chinese language teaching, Chinese folklore, comparative literature, and autobiographical writing.

Reviews

[Matt Longman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think one of the reasons I love this book so much is because the author was one of my professors in college.
It is a simply AMAZING autobiography of a woman who was one of the first members of the Red Guard in Cultural Revolutionary China and her passage from an aristocratic youth through the revolution. It's a fascinating, touching, personal first-hand account of a story that is largely cold and historical when presented in the history books or American culture in general.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book right after I read Lord of the Flies. I didn't intend them as thematic bookends but they did drive home the unpleasant truth of how shitty people can be to each other with little provocation in the right conditions. Rae Yang is unsparingly honest in her memoir of growing up in China in the 50's and 60's. She was a child of High Ranking Cadres and later became a Red Guard who participated in or witnessed attacks on the elderly, the killing of pets, the vandalization of homes and gardens and the beating death of a man who was quite possibly mentally ill. She later became an Educated Youth who volunteered to work at a farm in the Great Northern Wilderness, and spent five years there toiling away like so many others for a Party that she increasingly realized had forgotten about her.

If I have a complaint, it's that Yang uses italics to differentiate what she was feeling or experiencing at the time from her present self. I didn't have a problem with that, but I did have trouble occasionally separating things that actually happened from things that she imagined. That is a minor complaint though, as I loved her narrative architecture. She opens the book with a story about a pig farm she is stationed at in the country as an Educated Youth, and casually mentions a coat her Mother sent her. Then she returns to the story of her family and childhood and all that led up to her being at that farm, and what her mother went through to get that coat for her. At this point, you feel like you have in a small part lived the story, and now know her Mother so the coat mentioned briefly in the beginning is now a very meaningful object. Brilliant writing.


...but not an easy read. The stories in it are heart-wrenching, including the story of Yang's grandmother Nainai, the beautiful woman on the cover. There were times when I kept reading this book because I didn't want to quit, but I wanted it to be over, yet I also had to find out what happened next (if any of that makes sense.) But it's a completely worthwhile read and an invaluable document of that period in Chinese history that is largely glossed over there and barely known here. I can see why Yang felt compelled to write it.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very informative book describing in detail what it was like to grow up during the Cultural Revolution and the lies the Communist government fed to its people. Yang's insights are often fascinating - watching her transformation from an avidly pro-Communist Red Guard to being disillusioned with the Party, its lies and hypocrisy.

Yang doesn't hold anything back. She is candid (sometimes a bit too candid), allowing the reader to understand her state of mind over the course of the book. On the flip side, the book often rambles. There are some particularly long passages describing her dreams which I could for the most part have done without, or at least could have done with a little less detail. Her writing style is very stiff and formal, which sometimes makes it so the prose doesn't flow well.

Overall, not an easy read, but worth it for Yang's insights.

[Anthony Caruso · Rating 3 out of 5]

1st time around : 4(ish) stars
2nd time around: Struggling between 2-3 stars.

I first read this in college for a feminism course in China. My teacher loved this memoir, so I did too at that time. Four years later, I reread it and found myself a lot less enamored by it. It is a well-detailed account of this woman's life, which is certainly tragic yet beautiful. However, I find myself having gripes with the lack of historical knowledge embedded in the narrative. I know it is not her duty, but this was one of my goals to get out of this memoir; I wanted a better understanding of China at the time, especially woman's position in China, through the eyes of a former Red Guard. The paucity of attention given to the societal shifts and political climate at the time was disappointing. There were a few glimpses of it through the authors reflect on how to think/talk at the time or a casual dropping of a certain political movement during the time (eg. just saying the Anti-Rightist Campaign of 1957). You just simply won't get that general knowledge about such events or really even much in depth understanding of how these events shaped the author's life at the time. Disappointing in that aspect, but great in narrating her own life.

[adelaide · Rating 4 out of 5]

a really moving portrait of life during the cultural revolution that also functions as a history lesson. the combination of italicized thoughts from the narrator in the moment and reflections from her in the present was particularly striking.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cried to this on multiple occasions within one sitting

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great memoir that will give the reader deep insight into life, both good and bad, during and after the Maoist revolution in China - the Peoples Republic. Filled with heart-breaking remembrances and first person observations of what was good, bad, and wholly unacceptable about life in China, before, during, and after the Revolution of 1949. It includes remembrances of the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution and puts both in perspective. Most of my students REALLY enjoyed it. Rae Yang now lives in the U.S. and teaches at Emily Dickinson College.

[lidia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yang’s writing will captivate you. I never wanted to stop reading this book and when I did, I couldn’t wait to get back to it. I haven’t read a book this quickly in so long it brought me so much joy.

Yang is brutally honest and shares secrets that I don’t think I would ever put to paper (like the temptation she felt for a senior supervisor on the pig farm and the fantasies her mind made up). Reading this made me feel the same amount of relatability you feel seeing people online talk about experiences you’ve had, it makes you feel more human than anything else ever could. Obviously, the circumstances under which Yang and I grew up couldn’t be any more different but there are moments where we are all collide. I really admire Yang for her honesty and all the wisdom she has acquired. I dare not spoil anything else so you can experience it for yourself.

Lastly, this book made me cry. I haven’t cried from reading a book in so long and it never felt so good. I started to believe that books couldn’t make me cry, only movies could with how immersive they are. But Yang’s memoir is so captivatingly expressive and a masterclass in show not tell that I couldn’t help but see a moving picture in my head while reading.

I cannot recommend this book enough. I am very grateful to my European History professor for showing us an excerpt from this (it was the part where her and her father have a heart to heart if anyone is curious). Yang’s writing is so strong that after the measly 5 pages I knew I had to read it in its entirety. I hope that in the future this becomes required reading. Her metaphors are as solid as the walls she had to climb and I have personally learned a lot from her writing.

[Remy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Book!

An amazing story written by an amazing woman. Rae Young does a wonderful job painting the story of her life. Her well written prose easily allow readers to picture and imagine the events described in the book. A book which is both interesting and eye opening. I recommend this book to people interested in biographies, China, the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, Chinese Communism, and/or people interested about life in China from ~1950-1979. In general, I think this is a good book that most everyone should read to help goster understanding among people and countries.

[Leo46 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting memoir of a former Beijing student Red Guard who also participated in the "sent-down" youth program. One of the many popular authors that "escaped" the cultural revolution to tell their story to the West according to Shuyu Kong, which already tells you the conditions and ideological biases Yang has in writing this. However, truths of the GPCR still inevitably shine through as she actually lived there and some stories are just really interesting, but readers still get the xenophobic trope of the GPCR being an 'orgy of violence' as their takeaway a lot if you just look at the other reviews.

[Katie Ely · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a must read for young people excited about socialism and communism. The author was also very excited about the new Communist party in the 1960s. She truly believed that everyone would be treated equally and have the same amount. She soon learned how very wrong she was. Within three years, there was a great famine in the land. (Although the media lied about it!) Instead of capitalists having power over the workers, now party leaders had power over the workers and there was nothing they could do about it. She soon fled to the USA. Her memoir reveals the horrors of communism.

[claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really well-written and fascinating story, but I wonder if at times Yang's writing prowess was used to almost distance herself from her actions. For instance, the uses of we, the italics, etc. I find it hard to feel remorse for her after her actions, especially as someone whose family was harmed during the famines and Cultural Revolution. Nonetheless, I understand how easy it is for young people to be manipulated into these actions. There is no easy moral answer, but the book is certainly interesting and worth a read if you're interested in a narrative from this time period.

[Paula Freire · Rating 4 out of 5]

É realmente incrível o que ocorreu na China durante a revolução cultural. As memórias da autora nos contam como a idéia de chacoalhar as estruturas sociais da China foi abraçada com fervor pela população em geral, especialmente os estudantes. Acompanhar o mea-culpa de quem participou tão cegamente de ações estranhíssimas nos ajuda a compreender um pouco do que hoje acontece em vários países. Vale demais a leitura!

[Lance · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned a lot about this period of Chinese history, but that’s not saying much because I was (and still am) very ignorant. This helped make much of this book interesting. However, I didn’t like the writing or the structure of the memoir. I’m glad I read it, but I wouldn’t recommend it unless you want to read about the cultural revolution in China or if you’re super into that piece of history already.

[LiLi Xiong · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very human and nuanced telling of the cultural revolution in China. I learned so much and would highly recommend if you’re interested in learning about this era from someone who actually lived through it. I appreciated how honestly Yang wrote about her experiences, and that it wasn’t the usual “communism bad capitalism good” propaganda that we often see in books about this period, despite Yang being highly critical of Maoist policies.

[Matthew Sun · Rating 4 out of 5]

read this as an entrypoint for learning more about the cultural revolution. the prose is accessible yet engaging, though in places i found the sequence of events hard to follow, esp bc the author often switches between internal monologue & narrative description. definitely looking forward to continuing to learn more abt this period in Chinese history through more reading, recommendations welcome!

[Mbhc · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was astonished by this book when I first read it, it showed me the real China during cultural Revolution. But what shocked me more is the story teller is actually more lucky than most ordinary Chinese people who are never able to tell their own story. I feel so sorry for all the Chinese people who suffered, including some of my family members.

[Savannah Millar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was exceptionally moving, but also exceptionally dark at times. The lines between victim and abuser become blurred. The shocking truth of political reformation is revealed. The disparity and tragedy is truly harrowing. The strength and courage of this woman is unbeatable and unfathomable. It's an insane book, and both heart breaking and heart moving. I hope more people find this book, and I especially hope more young people find this book.

[Meg C · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Cultural Revolution told from the perspective of a young girl. The story is touching but it is also told from a single perspective when there were so many others at this time in China. The reliability of Yang as a narrator made me give it a 3 star rating since it did not feel all-encompassing.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great great memoir. Probably one of the most interesting I’ve read. Honest and sheds light on difficult to grasp historic moments.

[L · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[William Acharyya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well that was… sad.

[May · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a set text for my class but I read the whole thing and really enjoyed it!

[Jami · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful book, good perspective on a completely different culture for those of us in the u.s.a

[Arantxa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written, and an incredible story. In a time when it is easy to pass judgment on people, it is important to have books like these in which an honest account can be told. One of the biggest takeaways as a reader is that change is possible— people join causes for a reason, and when it turns out that you were a part of something that you’d rather forget than retell, you can still make the choice to share and hope it cautions others.

Now this book, while incredibly well-written, is difficult to read because of the heartbreak, missed opportunities, lost relationships, misguided actions, and participation in outright horrors. It is an honest account about people who lived through the Chinese Cultural Revolution and a woman who, at a young age, found herself struggling to comprehend events in and beyond her own life. Her story pleads the reader to see that while she discovered her generation was trying to revolutionize China, they ended up “eating spiders” instead of crab.

[Andy Zhang · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some greatnesses in this book that I think every Chinese should at least take a look at it, for it is the buried past that we share.

[Jia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rae Yang really brought forward the patriotism, the passion and the crazed reverence for Mao and change during the cultural revolution. As they say, you can't write about something real enough until you've lived through it yourself.

Picked it up in my school library on a whim because of its title, and am glad I did.

Rae Yang lived through the cultural revolution, growing up with it, believing in it and partaking in it. Those who knew the cultural revolution of China would know what a mad time it was. It was a whole 10 years unlike any other in Chinese history. Many's lives were changed in a day, by a passing word or action. In this period of time the whole social structure of China was turned upside down. Engulfed by the sayings and the vision of Mao Zedong, the whole country's youths became fervent agents of change, aspiring to rid the country of capitalists who would only stand in the way of a better future for all China's people.

I can't encapsulate the fervour of that time into this review, and I don't want to because I could never capture the engaging spirit of the memoir. All I can say is, pick it up and let yourself live through the revolution through Rae Yang's eyes. Feel her pain and her pride, feel her conflicting feelings about duty to country and duty to family, let yourself know what it meant to live then.

Great book that will leave you petrified for a moment after reading the whole thing. I read the whole book at one go and reflected upon it for weeks to come. Astounding and candid.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rae Yang's autobiography is quite a remarkable, impressive account of being a member of the Red Guard during China's Cultural Revolution during the 1950s and 1960s. The story shows a multi generational values and class values. Her childhood was spent in Switzerland as a privileged child of diplomatic parents before they moved to Beijing and joined the cultural revolution. The book is dramatic in its recount of that period in history. Rae Yang appears to be brutally honest. I didn't rate it higher as there were a number of times the minute detail and recollections made me scan paragraphs or sections. I felt the book needed editing.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

My mom recommended this book, since she knew the author and shared many of her experiences of growing up in post 1950s Beijing. It's a startling honest account as the author remembers her grandparents, her parents lives, and how she became caught up in the Red Guard fervor of the 1960-70s. I'm told it's the one memoir by a Red Guard in which the person actually confesses to have been in groups that killed people. A very personal and on the ground perspective into China's path over the last century.

[GWC · Rating 3 out of 5]

A memoir of the Cultural Revolution from someone who started as a true believer and daughter of party officials. This one is more balanced and the author less acrimonious than others I've read. The title comes from a witty story by Lu Xun and refers to brave folks who teach us through their experimentation and failure which seems to apply to both the author as a person and China as a nation.