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The Book of Secrets: A Personal History of Betrayal in Red China
The story of a family in modern China with a history of deceit, betrayal and political intrigue, and the communist party's long shadow over them, from the Cultural Revolution to today.
Following the lives of military intelligence officer Jie and his wife Moon, The Book of Secrets weaves recently found material into a narrative that not only illuminates the shadowy world of intelligence in China, but also the emotional tragedies that political extremism inflicted on those working within.
Drawing on Jie's own vivid biography of his youth, Xinran pieces together his trajectory as he joins the great hope of the Chinese young – the Communist Party – and becomes a loyal cadre until the late 1970s when, as a chief in the security forces, he makes a decision that will poison his family against him.
This is a totally unique behind-the-scenes account of a family torn apart by the Tiananmen Square massacre and the attempts of Jie to finally open up the Chinese system to the people, pieced together from an extraordinary archive of personal diaries and letters.
Following the lives of military intelligence officer Jie and his wife Moon, The Book of Secrets weaves recently found material into a narrative that not only illuminates the shadowy world of intelligence in China, but also the emotional tragedies that political extremism inflicted on those working within.
Drawing on Jie's own vivid biography of his youth, Xinran pieces together his trajectory as he joins the great hope of the Chinese young – the Communist Party – and becomes a loyal cadre until the late 1970s when, as a chief in the security forces, he makes a decision that will poison his family against him.
This is a totally unique behind-the-scenes account of a family torn apart by the Tiananmen Square massacre and the attempts of Jie to finally open up the Chinese system to the people, pieced together from an extraordinary archive of personal diaries and letters.
387 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 1, 2024
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118 people want to read
About the author
Xinran
14 books589 followersXue Xinran, who usually writes as simply "Xinran", was a radio broadcaster in China before moving to Great Britain and beginning to publish books. She currently writes as a columnist.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 28, 2024
This is a difficult book to review, as most biographical literature is. I always feel like I'm judging someone's life. In no particular order of importance, my thoughts:
- This is an incredibly important book, as it gives a rare insight into the inner workings of the Chinese Communist Party during the 20th century from someone who appears to have been working on the inside. From a "reading for pleasure" viewpoint, it can be a bit of a slog from time to time - but that does not detract from the fact that the parts about the political developments are truly fascinating.
- Having some knowledge of Chinese history and culture is very necessary, I think. Even I had to look places and people up, and I supposedly have a BA in Sinology.
- I'm trying very hard to take into consideration the time the narrator was born into, but phew - the misogyny was real, particularly in the latter part of the book. The way he tried to control his wife and made sure she would never get to be happy with her first love ... I know that love makes all of us do strange things, but according to his narration he really treated her like a puppet - and became increasingly upset when she didn't behave as he wanted.
- The suffering of the individual and of families in China due to state suppression really comes through. Mistrust everywhere and the obligation to put the party first in every respect destroys the foundation of love and family bonds.
- This is an incredibly important book, as it gives a rare insight into the inner workings of the Chinese Communist Party during the 20th century from someone who appears to have been working on the inside. From a "reading for pleasure" viewpoint, it can be a bit of a slog from time to time - but that does not detract from the fact that the parts about the political developments are truly fascinating.
- Having some knowledge of Chinese history and culture is very necessary, I think. Even I had to look places and people up, and I supposedly have a BA in Sinology.
- I'm trying very hard to take into consideration the time the narrator was born into, but phew - the misogyny was real, particularly in the latter part of the book. The way he tried to control his wife and made sure she would never get to be happy with her first love ... I know that love makes all of us do strange things, but according to his narration he really treated her like a puppet - and became increasingly upset when she didn't behave as he wanted.
- The suffering of the individual and of families in China due to state suppression really comes through. Mistrust everywhere and the obligation to put the party first in every respect destroys the foundation of love and family bonds.
March 12, 2024
Should be fascinating but written in such a dry, slow way that it was a real slog. The opening chapter in particular describing Jie's family is just reams and reams of writing about furniture? So dull. Apart from the bit about the opium addled uncles and cousins, and the Taoist sex bed his sister discovers in their parents bedroom. It starts to get going a bit more when he goes to University and joins the Party, but still, I found the writing just too dry to hold me interest sadly. It also requires a very good knowledge of 20th century Chinese history upfront, which my poor overworked brain could not handle
August 6, 2024
Daughter, Snow, found a treasure trove of family history stashed in hallowed out dictionaries and similarly thick books. The story began on computer disks and finished with letters her father had written, but never mailed, to her mother.
Snow’s father, the writer. Jie, is high up in in the Chinese government with a career in military intelligence. He can receive dossiers on his wife and seemingly any others of interest to him. He is well educated and fluent in several languages as is his wife Moon.
Jie has a remarkable command of English, particularly for someone who supposedly does not use the language in his daily life. His vocabulary is nuanced; He uses idioms and often quotes western writers and philosophers. The letters do not have dates, but are chronological so if you know recent Chinese history, you can figure it out in general terms.
The narrative begins with Jie’s description of his family’s life in Shanghai in the 1930’s. They had attained a comfortable living standard through work as master chefs and management of dining facilities. He lived with his extended family in a compound of spacious and landscaped courtyards. Some of the structures were rental units. The family had servants.
The early part takes you through the end of the stability that made a middle class life possible for some. The economy teetered under the Japanese occupation and with the help of food distribution the family survived. Economic deterioration continued into the Communist takeover. You see the family lose tenants and sell antiques. The communists began moving people into their courtyard homes.
Jie's parents placed a high priority on education and learning foreign languages and cultures. This protected Jie and his siblings through the rough politics because they had needed and rare skills.
At school Jie meets his first love, Laura. Her story demonstrates the vulnerability of Jews at this time.
Later, when he meets Moon, he falls deeply into a lasting love. You see how their life and his unrequited love for her are influenced by the politics of the time.
Despite their marriage, Jie and Moon are moved separately about the country for their work. When spies alert him to Moon’s behavior with a German advisor at her workplace, it appears Jie uses his power to disappear him. This may be the root of Moon’s cold treatment of her husband.
You see the minefield of working in an authoritarian system, where a small slip up can have life and death consequences. The ability to leak about someone’s family or friends having had wealth or status before the revolution is a form of power. At times, despite their critical jobs, Jie and Moon are investigated (at different times) which is both humiliating and isolating.
Jie navigates this system somewhat unscathed until the Cultural Revolution… Did Moon have a hand in his eventual banishment to a work camp?
Among the many descriptions of the time and place one of the best is that of Jie’s of working in the desert. Along with examples of daily life, you see how the team, which has security, can do nothing about bandits.
The personal toll of totalitarianism is seen when Jie’s brothers, who live in the US, visit. They are both engineers and the Party wants to see what knowledge they can get from them. Jie is more or less scripted for this visit and not allowed to see his brothers alone.
The book is very good In presenting a portrait of a childhood in 1930’s Shanghai. It shows how a family endured the Japanese occupation and then the stress of living in a system that fosters paranoia. While the episodes are those that a system like this breeds.
If Jie was writing in English, he has spectacular command of this second language. No translator is named. Given the many years of surveillance and the volume of paper this must have taken, it is hard to believe these letters survived in hollowed out books. Jie was taking a tremendous risk in writing them… and hiding them for so many years. For these reasons, I am not sure I buy the whole story as a true non-fictional portrait. I am skeptical of its provenance and maybe its interpretation, still - I see the book's value as a glimpse of what life could be like for a party official at this time in China’s history.
Snow’s father, the writer. Jie, is high up in in the Chinese government with a career in military intelligence. He can receive dossiers on his wife and seemingly any others of interest to him. He is well educated and fluent in several languages as is his wife Moon.
Jie has a remarkable command of English, particularly for someone who supposedly does not use the language in his daily life. His vocabulary is nuanced; He uses idioms and often quotes western writers and philosophers. The letters do not have dates, but are chronological so if you know recent Chinese history, you can figure it out in general terms.
The narrative begins with Jie’s description of his family’s life in Shanghai in the 1930’s. They had attained a comfortable living standard through work as master chefs and management of dining facilities. He lived with his extended family in a compound of spacious and landscaped courtyards. Some of the structures were rental units. The family had servants.
The early part takes you through the end of the stability that made a middle class life possible for some. The economy teetered under the Japanese occupation and with the help of food distribution the family survived. Economic deterioration continued into the Communist takeover. You see the family lose tenants and sell antiques. The communists began moving people into their courtyard homes.
Jie's parents placed a high priority on education and learning foreign languages and cultures. This protected Jie and his siblings through the rough politics because they had needed and rare skills.
At school Jie meets his first love, Laura. Her story demonstrates the vulnerability of Jews at this time.
Later, when he meets Moon, he falls deeply into a lasting love. You see how their life and his unrequited love for her are influenced by the politics of the time.
Despite their marriage, Jie and Moon are moved separately about the country for their work. When spies alert him to Moon’s behavior with a German advisor at her workplace, it appears Jie uses his power to disappear him. This may be the root of Moon’s cold treatment of her husband.
You see the minefield of working in an authoritarian system, where a small slip up can have life and death consequences. The ability to leak about someone’s family or friends having had wealth or status before the revolution is a form of power. At times, despite their critical jobs, Jie and Moon are investigated (at different times) which is both humiliating and isolating.
Jie navigates this system somewhat unscathed until the Cultural Revolution… Did Moon have a hand in his eventual banishment to a work camp?
Among the many descriptions of the time and place one of the best is that of Jie’s of working in the desert. Along with examples of daily life, you see how the team, which has security, can do nothing about bandits.
The personal toll of totalitarianism is seen when Jie’s brothers, who live in the US, visit. They are both engineers and the Party wants to see what knowledge they can get from them. Jie is more or less scripted for this visit and not allowed to see his brothers alone.
The book is very good In presenting a portrait of a childhood in 1930’s Shanghai. It shows how a family endured the Japanese occupation and then the stress of living in a system that fosters paranoia. While the episodes are those that a system like this breeds.
If Jie was writing in English, he has spectacular command of this second language. No translator is named. Given the many years of surveillance and the volume of paper this must have taken, it is hard to believe these letters survived in hollowed out books. Jie was taking a tremendous risk in writing them… and hiding them for so many years. For these reasons, I am not sure I buy the whole story as a true non-fictional portrait. I am skeptical of its provenance and maybe its interpretation, still - I see the book's value as a glimpse of what life could be like for a party official at this time in China’s history.
April 3, 2024
Unfortunately I just couldn't get into it. I can't put my finger on why...
September 16, 2024
Crazy (and frighteningly sad) stuff...The first half was a little slow, but the letters were a very quick read.
December 4, 2024
2.5 rounded up - invested enough to finish it but wish we had direct input from the others esp Moon/Nightingale
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 29, 2024
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Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
If you have any interest in China, or the Asian culture, past or present, you will gain a lot more understanding from this book. Although it includes a lot of history and many details about the people, politics and culture, it is written in a way that draws you in and keeps you reading.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
If you have any interest in China, or the Asian culture, past or present, you will gain a lot more understanding from this book. Although it includes a lot of history and many details about the people, politics and culture, it is written in a way that draws you in and keeps you reading.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews