[.ca] The Water Lily Pond: A Village Girl's Journey in Maoist ... (ISBN 0889204314)

Everything had value except the lives of girls and women:
Han Z. Li's The Water Lily Pond: A Village Girl's Journey In Maoist China is the true story of a young girl's adolescence and womanhood in Maoist China. Han Li recounts life in a small rural village, where everything had value except the lives of girls and women as reflected in such incidences as a childhood friend who drowned herself rather than live in an arranged marriage, and a gentle neighbor who hanged herself after her husband beat her brutally for not bearing a son. Han Li tells of having the opportunity to attend a university, yet being subject to harsh urban snobbery and "student-thought spying" that made the ability to hide one's real thoughts central to personal survival. A tale of how political change in the Maoist regime had deep and lasting effects upon ordinary people, The Water Lily Pond is a poignant and compelling insight into that old Chinese curse of "living in difficult times".

Anne of Green Gables of China:
If you enjoyed Anne of Green Gables, Han Li's The Water Lily Pond will be a very special treat. This story will touch your heart. Many times throughout, I was moved to tears or laughing out loud by the compassionate and insightful scenes of life in a China few westerners have ever glimpsed. As with many stirring novels, the little daily events truly enrich one's life in the reading of this gem.