Feather in the Storm: A Childhood Lost in Chaos
This is a fascinating but problematic book:fascinatingfor its narrative of personal survival through chaotic times, glimpses of childhood during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, and as a case study in adult reconstruction of traumatic childhood experience;problematicbecause it is presented as memoir "in the unadorned, heartrending voice of a child." All recollection is reconstructed, but by calling this a memoir, are we diverted from seeing it, perhaps properly, as historical fiction? Wu has a story to tell, but Engelmann's role is unclear and inspires wariness. The book draws equally on oral history, adult memories, and the narrative techniques of survival tales and conversion stories, veering painfully close to formula fiction and feeding a relentlessly negative stereotype of rural life. Capitalizingchaosthroughout casts Wu's story as a cosmic struggle, and personal stories cast as cosmic struggles have enabled more than one cultural revolution by diverting attention from what Steinbeck called "bad things made by men." Such simplifications will draw readers, one hopes, to search further for a China beyond stereotypes.Steven SchroederCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved