Wild Swans is the right book for the readers who are interested in Chinese history and culture. It is an
autobiography written
by Jung Chang.
The story is about the family of Jung Chang over three generations in China, from 1909 to 1978. It is very historical in account, and although her story is full of hardships and downs, pains, challenges, she describes it with level-headedness.
Until Jung is born, and this is contained in more than 200 pages, everything is written entirely in the form of "my great-
grandmother did this, her daughter did that, my father did this, my grandmother, my mother …" In other words, there are no names given in particular, but the relationships are there, intact, and because names are not specific, the reader will have to focus on who is who – whose grandmother, or mother or daughter, is being discussed.
The heaviness of the story slows down the reading pace if one has to absorb the story, however, it is interesting reading and one can't help but feel sympathy to find the tragic way of life in China over the last hundred years or so.