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Friday, December 18, 2009

Mao's Last Dancer

Mao's Last Dancer, Li Cunxin

I read this last week, needing a book to give myself a break after a busy few weeks/months and knowing I needed something that wasn't too intense. This was a great choice.

I'm sure most of you already know the vague outline of the book. A young boy in rural China in the 1960s is given the chance be trained for the Chinese Ballet. He becomes one of the best in the country, and ends up defecting to the USA in the 1980s. He goes on to be one of the best ballet dancers in the world, marries an Australian and ends up in Australia with his family.

It is a fascinating insight into China under communism, especially in the 1960s-80s. As G's heritage is Chinese and therefore our children are Eurasian, I found it particularly interesting. His childhood and his devotion to his parents is wonderful to read, and even though I have no real knowledge or interest in ballet, but I loved the whole story.

I may even hire the DVD now!

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