Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah
 Jul 15th, 2004
Advantages:
It's a beutiful and tragic story, your constantly feeling sympathy towards her and feel lucky that you weren't brought up like that .
Disadvantages:
It's makes you feel really down although it is very interesting .
Recommendable:
Yes
Detailed rating:
Would you read it again?
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About me:
bored?!
Member since:13.07.2004
Reviews:25
Members who trust:8
Review rated by 24 Ciao members on average: very helpful 
This review received a counterstatement by a party concerned
Read Comment
This book was one of the best I have ever come across.
It is Adeline Yen Mah's tragic life, her very sad biography, how she was bought up to feel like she had no existence and very unwanted. The story starts off by telling us about Adelin's birth, born the fifth child to an affluent Chinese family her life begins tragically. Adeline’s mother died shortly after her birth due to complications bought on by the delivery, and in Chinese culture this marks her as cursed or ‘bad luck’.
This situation is enforced on her so much that when her father’s new marriage took place to a lady who has little affection for her husband’s five children. She displayed overt antagonism and distrust towards all of the children, particularly Adeline, whilst favoring her own younger son and daughter born soon after the marriage. The book outlines Adeline’s struggle to find a place where she feels she belongs. She found a strong relationship with her grandfather as everyone else denighed her that love. Her Grandfather YeYe is what really gave her the strength to go on.
Also her Aunt Baba, a women who looked after her was the closest thing to a mother she ever got.
Some examples of the creulties faced by her, is when she was a little child, and every child in her family was given a chcken. Because she had to be the last to choose, she got the smallest there, PLT, she named it. She loved it so much it was one of the closest things to her. Because there family dog had training lessons, not to bite and be friendly. Her stepmother chose PLT to demonstrate that the dog was obedient. But everyone knew that the dog would just go up to it and savagely rip it to pieces, and sadly it did. Even with Adeline's pleads no- one did anything. And it wasn't only actions of creulty but words to, as Adeline was let out of her boarding school (her parent couldn't even bare to look at her) to go to her grandfather's funeral, Niang (her stepmother) shouted out Adeline is becoming ‘uglier and uglier as she grows older and taller.’ An unnecessary and crushing remark made at such a difficult time.
Adeline suffers constant rejection from her stepmother but perhaps it is the indifference of her father that crushes Adeline more brutally. Most telling is the scene in the plane in which her father remembers neither her real name nor her birthday. She is a forgotten child to him. ‘I’m nothing. Less than nothing. A piece of garbage to be thrown out.’ Thats what she mentioned in the book, it is really depressing, to know she feels that way. That is how her family consider her, and a family is supposed to support and love you.
Adeline put her concentration towards her work, she entered a sto competition, knowing she wouldn't win, and had no chance of it.
Her fathers' collegue one day saw an article done by the surname "Yen Mah" and asked her father if he knew Adeline. Her father showed the slightest bit of recognision. It was the first moment her father had ever showed her some emotion... how "proud" he was. He sent her to study. The book really is magnificent, it is an absolutely true story, which is a constant reminder through out the book, as it shows her real emotion, this is one book worth reading.
Followed by this is Adeline Yen Mah's "Falling leaves" to tell you about her life afterwards. It is not as good as this one, but it still shows she did not find happines, she met a dead end realationship with an abusive partner.
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24.03.2005 00:06
sounds ok but not my kinda thing. Em x
03.10.2004 19:51
I really liked this book. Great review. Hazle
16.07.2004 15:29
It sounds like she deserves a happy ending!