Falling Leaves (Penguin ELT Simplified Readers: Level 4: 1700 Head Words: Intermediate)

My Fasicination with Chinese literature lead me to this book and I must say my curiosity paid off. I cannot articulate how much this book moved me every chapter was filled with happiness and sadness. This book really put things into perspective for me, it really showed just how strong the human spirit is. Wonderful book.

I started reading this book fully expecting to be told the story of an unwanted child from a poor, probably rural, family and the hardships they all suffered. I couldn't have been more wrong.

Adeline Yen Mah is brought up in a very wealthy, well respected family in both Shanghai and Taijin, further north. She lived in big houses with servants and a Father who was an extremely clever business man. Sounds ideal, but that couldnt be further from the reality. Adeline was the last born of 5 children and her Mother died 2 weeks after she was born. Adeline has still never seen a photo of her Mother to this day. Not long after her Mothers death, her Father remarried a half Chinese, half French young woman who was to become her step mother and this is where her nightmare stars. The 5 step children are kept in a different part of the house and treated like second class citizens in their own home. Adeline, who was blamed for the death of their mother, is also bullied and beaten by her own siblings who constanly gang up on her. Her Father and Niang, the step mother, make Adeline's childhood a pure misery.

This story goes from Adeline's childhood in China to her time as a student in England and then her move to America. All the while she puts up with the awful treatment dished up by her family as sne is so desperate for love and acceptance.

A very sad true story and one that needs to be told.

This is an amazing book, even more so when you consider it is a a true story! made me laugh (some) and cry (lots). A true classic.