Stones of the Wall

Hodder & Stoughton General Division 1987. 1987. Softcover. 8vo softcover 336pp. good. From Publishers WeeklynOne comes to care very much for the characters in this novel of modern China by a former Red Guard who now teaches literature at the University of Shanghai. As students and intellectuals during the Anti-Rightist Campaign of 1957 and the ensuing Cultural Revolution, Sun Yue, her husband, their friends and teachers fell into different political factions that attacked each other in ideological forums. These public accusations often led to personal and political humiliations and sometimes resulted in years of exile to the countryside for "reform through labor." After the fall of the Gang of Four in the early 1970s, Sun Yue and others who had required "rehabilitation" return to university jobs and begin the struggle to reconcile their political histories with their personal lives. Zhao Zhenhuan, Sun Yue's former husband, wants her to forgive him for abandoning her, their daughter and his own beliefs. He Jingfu, a philosopher trying to publish a controversial book on Marxist humanism, has never lost his love for Sun Yue, whom all look to as one who held true to her youthful ideals in ways they did not. Chapters narrated by these characters and others build an eloquent portrayal of their efforts to achieve personal happiness without betraying ideological convictions. Unfamiliar names and events demand close but fully rewarding reading. This is a very human, deeply moving love story. nCopyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.nnFrom Library JournalnSet in Shangai in the years after the Cultural Revolution, this moving novel intimately and painfully reveals how the excesses of ideology betrayed a generation of China's intellectual citizenry. It is the story of Sun Yue and He Jingfu, two "rehabilitated rightists," as they struggle to renew their personal lives amid the daunting influences of the past, and under the purview of their former accusers. The tensions of this struggle and its effects on character and spirit are convincingly and dramatically detailed. Each character is like a stone in the Great Wall, living out an "old, impressive and tortuous history." This is a highly reflective work combining psychological depth and human understanding with an intense but controlled style of expression. Highly recommended for most libraries. Carol J. Lichtenberg, Washington State Univ. Lib., PullmannCopyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. .