Feather in the Storm: A Childhood Lost in Chaos

by Emily Wu, Larry Engelmann

“It is my hope that this memoir may serve as a reminder and a memorial to all of the children who were lost in the Chaos,” Emily Wu writes at the beginning of Feather in the Storm .

Told from a child’s and young girl’s point of view, Wu’s spellbinding account–which spans nineteen years of growing up during the chaos of China’s Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution–opens on her third birthday as she meets her father for the first time in a concentration camp. A well-known academic and translator of American literary classics, her father had been designated an “ultra-rightist” and class enemy. As a result, Wu’s family would be torn apart and subjected to an unending course of humiliation, hardship and physical and psychological abuse. Wu tells her story of this hidden Holocaust, in which millions of children and their families died, through a series of vivid vignettes that brilliantly–and innocently–evoke the cruelty and brutality of what was taking place daily in the world around her. From watching helplessly as the family apartment is ransacked and her father carted off by former students to be publicly beaten, to her own rape and the hard labor and primitive rituals of life in a remote peasant village, Wu is persecuted as a child of the damned.

Wu’s narrative is poignant, disturbing and unsentimental, and, despite the nature of what it describes, is filled with the resiliency of youth–and even humor. That Emily Wu survived is remarkable. That she is able to infuse her story with such immediacy, power and unexpected beauty is the greatness of this book. Feather in the Storm is an unforgettable story of the courage and silent suffering of one small child set in a quicksand world of endless terror.

Genres: China, Nonfiction, Memoir, History, Biography, Asia, Autobiography

352 pages, Hardcover

First published October 3, 2006

Reviews

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of those books that make me never, ever want to bitch about anything ever again.

[Julietsangchan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this a long time ago and it taught me so much about my culture and history. So haunting.

[Linda Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love reading about all things Chinese. The people and the culture fascinate me. I've read many books both fiction and memoir about the Chinese way of life. Feather in the Storm is Emily's story of her life and that of her family while caught in the middle of Chairman Mao's Cultural Revolution.

What struck me the most while I read this story is that this was all happening in the 1960's and 70's. Emily is the same age as me. There I was going to school, shopping in a well stocked grocery store and having a carefree childhood. On the other side of the world, Emily is denied the ability to read books, food is rationed and she's shuffled from town to remote village and back again at the whim of the Communist party. I was safely tucked into my same cozy bed each and every night. And when my parents made me clean my dinner plate by saying, "There are starving children in China," they didn't make that up. They had watched the evening news.

Much of this story is tough to read. Emily is a sweet and loving girl who makes a lot of friends along the way. And she learns how to discern between the good and the bad, or in other words how to play the game. She reaches her breaking point many times, but she gathers her inner strength and keeps on going.

Feather in the Storm is a story that is a history lesson with a personal touch. This memoir is a true testament to the strength and resiliency of the human spirit.

[Carrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Non-Fiction - Kind-of depressing book about a girl in China during the cultural revolution. I felt like it was missing an 'afterward' because the book ends while the author is still in China, but you know she currently resides in CA. I would have liked to have known how to got to America and if her life changed or improved after the Cultural Revolution.

[Veronika Steff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Autentická a zároveň čtivá výpověd o životě v Číně v druhé polovině dvacátého století, zejména o jejím zaostalém a neuvěřitelně chudém venkově: https://milyctenarskydenicku.blogspot...

[Aime · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW!
This book had me crying through out the reading and left me speechless at the end!
To really imagine this being someones child hood memoir is insane, compared to the 90's child hood this is devastating but again we're pretty safe, and sadly where she lived wasn't. Her living situations, her friends she'd lost and mainly just the events and things she saw at a young age made my jaw drop! i feel like it takes a very strong person to share their story; but the way she shared her story really made me feel like i was right there next to her helping her fight and stay strong.

[Phil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shocking insights into a girl's life under Mao's dictatorship. The storyline is very straightforward and does not get over-emotional at any time, so it seems creepily bleak and neutral sometimes - just like the conformist Chinese society. Nonetheless, the author never fails to add her very personal note and shows the reader how the citizens actually thought about their lives.
A mind-boggling eye-opener to us Western people who take a civilised life in freedom for granted and will struggle to believe that such events took place only decades ago (and partly still do).

[Janna · Rating 5 out of 5]

The true story of a young girl growing up in China during the Cultural Revolution. Although some may find this book too sad or disturbing, I found it very compelling and difficult to put down. This is fairly recent history, paralleling my own growing-up years, so it was quite poignant as I considered my own privileged childhood as I read it.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was by accident that I read this during the 50th anniversary of the Revolution. The story flowed well and I couldn't put it down. Emily's childhood/teenage years were extremely difficult as her parents were intellectuals and she spent most of her childhood away from them. Her story is amazing.

[Vi · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautifully written. a very good read.

[Katarína · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best non-fiction book I have ever read. The writing style is beautiful and the translation in Czech is also very well done.

[Miriam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gives another, more personal perspective to what we have learned about the culture revolution in school or through textbooks.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book I've ever read. It was so heartbreaking.

[Nicole Subk · Rating 5 out of 5]

finished this book in one day as i was travelling. literally the most haunting and gut wrenching books i’ve ever read, i frequently had to take a pause and put the book down after certain passages.. but her story telling and recount of her childhood is so captivating, she describes things in such detail i genuinely felt as if i was experiencing her life with her. there are so many absolutely devastating moments in the book and i haven’t been able to get it out of my head, so if you don’t like to read violence then i wouldn’t recommend you read it. It also taught me so much about socialist/communist china and as one reviewer said already: “made me never want to bitch about anything again”

One bit which really upset me was the discovery of Xiaolan’s mother, I had to put down the book for a good hour after that and i felt almost sick in my stomach.

Some other reviewers say that they found that the story was portly written but i couldn’t agree less! i was very emotionally invested in each character and the coming and going of Emily’s close friends all hurt. Near the end of book, when Emily account her experience with Yiping, I almost started crying tbh, it was so very sad and her village friend’s (can’t recall her name, something starting with a D) suicide only furthered the melancholy ending of the book

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can really appreciate the trauma and history in this book. I picked it up at the library because the cover was intriguing and mentioned "a stolen childhood". I also personally loved being surprised at the underlying element of faith! That being said, I did learn from it and am empathetic to her suffering (SO awful and couldn't imagine having lived that life), and it was a fairly easy read in terms of flow and descriptors though at times it was a bit choppy, but that comes with the territory and didn't bother me much. What did bother me was a particularly explicit, graphic bit that I felt didn't need to be so to convey the point and left me feeling really gross. Maybe that was the point? I also didn't like that the book ended with her on the bus to Wuhu and never elaborated on what happened afterward. I would have liked to know what her future ended up looking like without having to google to nicely tie it all up. I feel that that wouldn't have taken away from the point (a harrowing childhood and the horror that was Mao's reign) of the memoir, rather emphasized the interwoven theme of "wait and hope".

[Nadino · Rating 3 out of 5]

The true story of a girl growing up in China during the Cultural Revolution is a story worth telling. There are not a lot of books or movies covering this time period so we have to appreciate this one even more. It gives you a good glimpse into their everyday lives, how food was always short, how they can get randomly attacked and/or raped, how they are relocated over and over again, it getting worse every time.

While the story had so much potential to be a heartbreaking, moving memoir it, unfortunately, fell flat for me. The writing was kind of bad, there was no emotion, it was really cold and detached. There was no connection to any of the characters so I honestly didn’t care about any of them. It read like a story written by a school kid. The timeline was confusing, it was never clear which year we are in, how old everyone is, how much time has passed. The ending was way too abrupt, I wanted to know what happened after Mao’s death.

To me, this was a missed opportunity. It has the bones to be a great book but it just didn’t come through.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Feather in the Storm is a beautiful memoir and an insightful look into life in China during Mao’s Cultural Revolution. Despite the brutality and atrocities, Emily and her family endured unjust trials over and over again in a seemingly hopeless life. It was a joy to see this obviously kind, loving girl make friends, stay true to goodness, and fight to maintain her inner strength to keep on going. Both her mother and father are a testament to true parental love and loyalty in a time when there wasn’t much.

I’d love an update on the family and what happened after this memoir. I keep thinking of them and also all the people that touched Emily’s childhood.

This is one of the most horrific yet fascinating times in history. I’m grateful this was recommended to me and I highly recommend it as well as an important read!

(Side point for those who don’t typically read nonfiction or memoirs: this book is fast paced with short chapters and is extremely captivating!)

[Jim Bogue · Rating 4 out of 5]

A companion piece to her father’s memoir of the same period, this book tells the story of a young girl’s life during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. As friendly students turn into slogan repeating thugs and colleagues stab each other in the back the government lurches into insanity.
Families are split and intellectuals are sent into the countryside where most peasants see them as a burden. Emily tries to simultaneously not starve, take care of her family, and if possible find friends. And she is twelve.

[Jan Kubiznak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Popis kulturní revoluce v Číně pohledem dítěte. Neřekl bych, že je něčím mimořádná, navíc závěr knihy vyšel trochu do prázdna. Když srovnám s Posledním Maův tanečník od Li Cunxina, tak mě tato kniha zaujala rozhodně méně. Zde je autorka z řekněme protirežimní rodiny, i když - kdo by se vracel z USA v padesátých letech do komunistické Číny?

[Evita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Die Kulturrevolution aus der Sicht eines Kindes, ein Mädchen aus einer "schwarzen Familie". Das ging mir um einiges näher, als vieles, was man sonst über Grausamkeiten der chinesischen Geschichte lesen kann.

[Raphael Arndt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great historical narrative, breathtaking. Contemporary witness Ximao Wu leaves me speechless.

[Xiaojuanwu · Rating 5 out of 5]

For us,is hard to believe back then how people survive from a chaos in the country. Emily Wu describes her life under Mao governing, her family and her face so much situation that we can barely imaging. Her family is total torn apart because of Mao's Cultural Revolution. Her father was criticized by society because he had sort of relationship with foreign country and became a class enemy in China. Emily Wu not just had to help herself to survive, but also her siblings. During Cultural Revolution, she had experienced some things she could not imaging what would happen to her when she grows up. For example, she had a friend, Chunying, got married. Several time Chunying had gave birth a girl, the family threw them down the river. By the time, Emily Wu heard about this bad news and went back to river, it was frozen due to the cold winter. Things not just this horrible. More circumstance were seem by her own eyes in later.


I got frustrated when the story describe how the girl was not important back in the day. It promoted to put myself into Firdaus' character shoes (a protagonist from Women at point Zero By Nawal El Saddawi), and feeling of hating men being dominated to the society. Now, I can feel how overwhelming Firdaus was that women were considered as low power.

Why are men having so much power than the women?

However, I do feel sympathy for Emily Wu that she is a strong girl for fighting every obstacle at her period at very young age. I can see though my imagination that how difficult her life is to her.

I would recommend this book to anymore. The character, Emily Wu, is demonstrating how to stay strong and have good self-esteem when a situation is on the way.

[Rebekka Steg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emily Wu delivers a spellbinding, captivating, but also a very scary story in "Feather in the Storm". Scary and haunting, because it is a true story. We see the world Emily Wu grows up in, through the eyes of herself as a child. "Feather in the Storm" is written through a child's perspective, and therefore also through a child's innocence and very down to earth way of seeing and comprehending the events taking place. It shows the cruelty and horrors taking place during the Culture Revolution and afterwards. Especially for the black families, the educated people and even more so the innocent children of parents that aren't "red enough" for the Chinese communist regime. Emily Wu sends a powerful, thought provoking message through "Feather in the Storm", but not only about the hardship so many Chinese families and children had to endure, but also the importance of hope, hope for a change and hope for better times.

[Ange · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hard to rate when the topic is just plain not an easy one to read about. This book gave me nightmares though. I dislike how graphic her bad experiences were. The author grew up in China during the Cultural Revolution and though I appreciate her unique perspective (she was young and she experienced both the city life and the country life), and I appreciate that reading about difficult subjects expands my understanding of the world and various cultures, I am not sure I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read about China during that era. There are others out there that did not give me nightmares.

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read other books in the Cultural Revolution before. Even though I get the concept that Chairman Mao had, technically, saved China in a way, I can't get over that fact his was worshiped like a god even though he allowed for such horrible things. In those other books I read, I just couldn't see how they could talk about the negative stuff they are seeing, yet still worship and love Chairman Mao.

I love how this story is real and that she wasn't as devoted to Mao. She was smart and loved her family. I find the book amusing at times because it was such a intense storyline that was really easy to read.

[Cyberikat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before I finished this book, I had no real idea what was going in China, decades ago. It's still alarming what's happening there now, but what was happening in the past as well.
I really admire the people, who survived such a hard times and I feel with the author. I love how the book is written. Truthful, shocking, clutching your heart.. I admire there was still a place for jokes, however sarcastic they were. Books like this should be mandatory to read.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a random pick recommended by Amazon. It was a very interesting story. There are a few parts that reference children starving that are a bit upsetting - but how do you write about this era in China without that? It was well written. I read it nearly a year prior to writing this review, so it's not as fresh in my mind as it ought to be.

[Pam Rasmussen · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the tradition of "First They Shot My Father" (the memoir of a girl growing up in the Khmer Rouge's Cambodia), this beautiful first-person story tells a tale that is at once both deeply sad and inspiring. What this woman withstood -- and more than that, overcame -- during the years of Chairman Mao in China is unbelievable, and yet it's true. Which gives hope to all of us.

[Megan Moody · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got stuck around 30% of the way through, but managed to get through the book. I have only read one other book about the Chinese Cultural Revolution, so this was not entirely new information, but still astounding nonetheless. Hard to believe that education could be seen as a bad thing ... wait, I guess that's what Palin supporters believe.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this was an eyes opening book. In my opinion the text was really easy to understand. I didn't know earlier that it was so terrible to live in China in those days. It was sometimes really sad but sometimes it was pretty funny. I think this book was really good and I would gladly read this book again.