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starred review Library Journal
Belle Yang, author of Baba: A Return to China Upon My Father's Shoulders, returns to the rich lore of her father's homeland in this story of Baba's [Father's] flight from his native town during China's civil war, lavishly illustrated with her vibrant paintings. |
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 After the defeat of Japan in World War II, China is plunged into a civil war between Communist and Nationalist forces. The old and respected Manchurian House of Yang is toppled in the chaos, and seventeen-year-old Baba, the Yang's fourth and most audacious son, is forced to leave Manchuria and his family behind. He journeys south on blistered feet, plagued by constant hunger. As the Communists overrun the crumbling Nationalist army, suspicion and paranoia become the norm, and Baba must outrun the tide of silence and betrayal engulfing the countryside. From Beiping, he ancient capital, to the great Yellow and Yangtze Rivers, on to splendid, decadent Shanghai, he is swept up in a desperate exodus fleeing the Communist takeover, witnessing examples of rare courage and generosity as well as incidents of monstrous connivance and geed. When the southern provinces fall to the Communists, Baba is forced to abandon the mainland for the island of Taiwan. By turns poignant and exuberant, The Odyssey of a Manchurian is an unforgettable story of an individual's struggle to survive in a world torn asunder. Beautifully rendered in word and image, it gives us the tumult of history as seen from a dusty road, a packed train, a queue for a meal.
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