2018/02/17

BOOK REVIEW:
ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE EAST BY XIAOLU GUO

Title: Once Upon A Time In The East
Author: Xiaolu Guo
Published: 2017
Language: English
Pages: 336
Rating: 4/5


Summary:
This is the memoir of the artist, filmmaker and author, Xiaolu Guo, who grew up in China and eventually made her way to the West, settling down in London.


Review:
Wow, this was such an interesting read!

The book starts off with Guo's childhood, where the first two years she's living with a peasant couple in the mountains (who are not related to her) and eventually moves to live with her grandparents. She doesn't meet her parents until she's six. Guo brings us along on her recollection of this time and it's so incredibly vivid. She's extremely observant and coupling that with now writing this from an adult perspective, makes for a fascinating read.

The writing is excellent; it's bold and honest, but also lovely in a lot of ways. I especially enjoyed reading about her relationship with her grandmother and her parents, and her thoughts around feminism, toxic masculinity, life in China and identity and home are just so interesting to read about.

There's something so raw and sincere about this book that I think most people would really like this, even if you don't know who Guo is. Before this, I only knew her as the author of that one book I liked, but her life is so fascinating, I don't know how one can not be interested in it. Very well worth the read.
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You can read more about it on Goodreads
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