The Cooked Seed

September 15, 2013

Here Min (Pearl of China) continues her memoir, which began in Red Azalea. Because she had no job prospects in China and was even called Madame Mao's Trash, in 1984 at age 27 Min moved to Chicago to attend college though she knew no English. She describes her struggles with a new culture and language and the constant demands of working several jobs for very low pay just to survive. She describes being raped and nearly strangled to death while sharing a dump with an emotionally disturbed man. She marries a rather lazy artist, has a child with him, and divorces him. Her break comes when the first volume of her memoir is published and her literary career is launched. The latter part of this work discusses her interactions with her daughter and meeting and marrying her second husband, a Vietnam vet. Actress Angela Lin reads this second memoir with interesting accents. VERDICT Recommended for Min fans, memoir fans, and those with an interest in China and the immigrant experience. ["After spending her formative years in a labor collective in Mao's China, Min is unable to see failure as an option for either her or her daughter. Her declarative prose slowly reveals the enduring bravery of an immigrant who refused to dwell on hardship," read the review of the Bloomsbury hc, LJ Xpress Reviews, 4/12/13.--Ed.]--David Faucheux, Louisiana Audio Information & Reading Svc., Lafayette

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