Review: "Do not come home, I will not welcome you."
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 12 4, 2012
With these words, Ling's mother hands her daughter the uniform of a Red Guard and pushes her to the train.  It is the Cultural Revolution in China, and Ling's parents are educated and professional.  They have been called to go to one of the many education camps in the country to labor and learn the ways of the revolution.  Everyone knows this is just short of grinding slavery, and her parents want to spare her.Once on the train, Ling misses her old life in which she was a ballerina.  The train is full of Red Guards who bully the civilians and are met with fear.  They commandeer food and supplies.  Ling is repulsed.It seems that with every dictator comes the demand for the people to change themselves to fit his view of proprietry.  People are often forced to choose between themselves and a false front, one often lacking in their true values.  This train is truly the train to nowhere, on which Red Guards ride and eat for free, often for weeks.The decision point for Ling comes early.  I liked her character development and the story is an important one to understand.  However the short format prevented any depth exploration of the consequences of her decision.  Some of her thoughts are a bit superficial for my taste, but overall I enjoyed the book.