{"product_id":"the-bitter-sea-coming-of-age-in-a-china-before-mao-isbn-9780061709548","title":"The Bitter Sea: Coming of Age in a China Before Mao","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis haunting, illuminating memoir tells the remarkable true story of a young Chinese man’s coming-of-age during the tumultuous early years of the People’s Republic of China.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this exceptional personal memoir, Charles N. Li brings into focus the growth pains of a nation undergoing torturous rebirth and offers an intimate understanding of the intricate, subtle, and yet all-powerful traditions that bind the Chinese family.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBorn near the beginning of World War II, Li Na was the youngest son of a wealthy Chinese government official. He saw his father jailed for treason and his family's fortunes dashed when Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists came to power in 1945. He watched from his aunt's Shanghai apartment as the Communist army seized the city in 1948. He experienced the heady materialism of the decadent foreign \"white ghosts\" in British Hong Kong and starved within the harsh confines of a Communist reform school. Over the course of twenty-one tumultuous years, he went from Li Na, the dutiful Chinese son yearning for a stern, manipulative father's love, to Charles, an independent Chinese American seeking no one's approval but his own.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLyrical and luminous, intense and extraordinary, The Bitter Sea is an unforgettable tale of one young man and his country.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHow does a boy survive when his family, and his entire country, collapses around him?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eA Family Torn by War:\u003c\/b\u003e Follow the son of a high-ranking official in the Japanese-collaborationist Nanking Regime as his father is jailed for treason, plunging the family from a guarded mansion into the slums of Nanjing.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eComing of Age in Mao's China:\u003c\/b\u003e An unflinching look at the rise of the People's Republic, from witnessing the Communist army seize Shanghai to the brutal reality of life in a reform school.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eBritish Hong Kong:\u003c\/b\u003e Experience the culture shock and decadent materialism of the British colony through the eyes of a young refugee navigating a new world and language.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eA Son's Story:\u003c\/b\u003e At the heart of this memoir is the powerful, lifelong struggle of a boy yearning for the love of a stern, distant, and manipulative father.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e | \u003cp\u003eBorn near the beginning of World War II, Li Na was the youngest son of a wealthy Chinese government official. He saw his father jailed for treason and his family's fortunes dashed when Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists came to power in 1945. He watched from his aunt's Shanghai apartment as the Communist army seized the city in 1948. He experienced the heady materialism of the decadent foreign \"white ghosts\" in British Hong Kong and starved within the harsh confines of a Communist reform school. Over the course of twenty-one tumultuous years, he went from Li Na, the dutiful Chinese son yearning for a stern, manipulative father's love, to Charles, an independent Chinese American seeking no one's approval but his own. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLyrical and luminous, intense and extraordinary, \u003cem\u003eThe Bitter Sea\u003c\/em\u003e is an unforgettable true story of a young man, his father, and his country. \u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e“Wrenching memoir of growing up in China during a time of war and upheaval.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Li’s memoir is not just an account of a turbulent period of Chinese history. It is also the heart-rending story of a father-son relationship in which ambition proves more powerful than love . . . Li Na’s story overlaps with so much of the drama of modern China that it provides a compelling firsthand view of history.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eChristian Science Monitor\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Despite his father’s selfishness and cruelty, Li eventually established a warm relationship with him. His stormy narrative ultimately becomes a journey to reconciliation, as Li makes peace with his father, with his heritage and with China itself.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“This brilliant memoir is as much about modern Chinese history as it is about familial relationships. Recommended for all public and academic libraries with collections on China or the immigrant experience.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“[A] fascinating and at times heart-wrenching read...witty, sensitive, and profound.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSanta Barbara News-Press\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper Perennial","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44887794548965,"sku":"NP9780061709548","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780061709548.jpg?v=1730227484","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-bitter-sea-coming-of-age-in-a-china-before-mao-isbn-9780061709548","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}