The Cooked Seed
Author(s): Anchee Min
In 1994, Anchee Min published Red Azalea, a memoir of growing up during the violent trauma of the Cultural Revolution. It became an international bestseller. Twenty years later, Min returns to give us the next chapter, as she moves from the shocking deprivations of her homeland to the sudden bounty of the promised land of America, without language, money or a clear path. With the help of actress Joan Chen, Anchee applies to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She shows a portfolio of her self-taught brush paintings at the US consulate and is granted an entry visa, but once in America, Anchee finds she is on her own, forced to survive by her wits and indomitable spirit. She teaches herself English by watching Sesame Street, has five jobs at once sleeps in unheated rooms in desolate neighbourhoods. As well as her struggle to understand her new country - the food, the warm showers - Anchee suffers rape, collapses from exhaustion, marries poorly and divorces after giving birth to her daughter, Lauryann. Despite her tough, lonely journey, Anchee finds that it is Lauryann who will save her and root her, finally, in America. As a child, Anchee understood herself as a mere 'bolt on the great machine that was Communism'; in America she learns how to succeed in a radically different culture despite bitter hardships and countless setbacks. The Cooked Seed is an unforgettable story.
Product Information
The sequel to Anchee Min's internationally bestselling memoir, Red Azalea, in which she leaves China for America, struggles to find her way, her voice and her love - and succeeds in all
A wild, passionate and fearless writer New York Times Praise for Red Azalea: 'This is not just another book on the Cultural Revolution ... A riveting account told in language that is distinctly Min's yet accessible to any heart Amy Tan Historically remarkable ... Intensely moving Sunday Times Mysterious and moving ... Brave and uplifting Independent Harrowing ... Memorable. Her prose is as delicate and evocative as a traditional Chinese brush painting Newsweek A story of changing times as China moves through war and revolution ... a powerful paean to love and friendship Daily Mail on Pearl of China A terrifying and moving account of growing up in China's Cultural Revolution ... a beautifully written account of a mass psychosis and a testament to the courage, powers of survival and ability to love in the face of appalling privations Shena Mackay
Anchee Min was born in Shanghai in 1957. At seventeen she was sent to a labour collective, where a talent scout for Madame Mao's Shanghai Film Studio recruited her to work as a propaganda film actress. She moved to the United States in 1984. Her first memoir, Red Azalea, was published in twenty-seven countries. She has since published six novels, including the Richard & Judy choice Empress Orchid, The Last Empress and, most recently, Pearl of China. She lives in California.
General Fields
- :
- : Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
- : Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
- : 01 June 2013
- : 234mm X 153mm
- : United Kingdom
- : 01 May 2013
- : books
Special Fields
- : Anchee Min
- : Hardback
- : 973.049510092
- : 368