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Falling Leaves: The Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter |  | Author: Adeline Yen Mah
Publisher: Broadway
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
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Seller: Books Squared
Rating:  365 reviews
Sales Rank: 11892
Media: Paperback
Pages: 278
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.9
ISBN: 0767903579
Dewey Decimal Number: 305.488951073092
EAN: 9780767903578
ASIN: 0767903579
Publication Date: April 6, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
Snow White's stepmother looks like a pussycat compared to the monster under which Adeline Yen Mah suffered. The author's memoir of life in mainland China and--after the 1949 revolution--Hong Kong is a gruesome chronicle of nonstop emotional abuse from her wealthy father and his beautiful, cruel second wife. Chinese proverbs scattered throughout the text pithily covey the traditional world view that prompted Adeline's subservience. Had she not escaped to America, where she experienced a fulfilling medical career and a happy marriage, her story would be unbearable; instead, it's grimly fascinating: Falling Leaves is an Asian Mommie Dearest.
Product Description
Born in 1937 in a port city a thousand miles north of Shanghai, Adeline Yen Mah was the youngest child of an affluent Chinese family who enjoyed rare privileges during a time of political and cultural upheaval. But wealth and position could not shield Adeline from a childhood of appalling emotional abuse at the hands of a cruel and manipulative Eurasian stepmother. Determined to survive through her enduring faith in family unity, Adeline struggled for independence as she moved from Hong Kong to England and eventually to the United States to become a physician and writer.A compelling, painful, and ultimately triumphant story of a girl's journey into adulthood, Adeline's story is a testament to the most basic of human needs: acceptance, love, and understanding. With a powerful voice that speaks of the harsh realities of growing up female in a family and society that kept girls in emotional chains, Falling Leaves is a work of heartfelt intimacy and a rare authentic portrait of twentieth-century China.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 365
 An Amazing Story! August 18, 2000
Roz Levine
73 out of 80 found this review helpful
In 1937, Adeline Yen Mah's mother died giving birth to her. Because of this, she was considered "bad luck", tormented by her siblings and shunned by her father. Her father soon remarried a beautiful, young Eurasian woman who was cruel and manipulative. She treated all five of her stepchildren badly, but saved her real hatred for Adeline. Falling Leaves is the powerful, riveting memoir of emotional abuse and isolation that Ms Yen Mah suffered at the hands of her stepmother. At this point, most would say, "Why would I want to torture myself by reading a book about child abuse?" The answer is simple...Adeline Yen Mah didn't just survive her childhood, she triumphed. With great wisdom and insight, she tells a story not just about her life, but the life of China, before and after the cultural revolution and how both were changed forever. Despite her miserable childhood, she excelled, became a doctor, married and found freedom and a new life in America. This is an amazing, compelling story, told by an amazing woman who was not only able to put the past behind her, but was able to celebrate life and move forward.
The agonizing story of a dysfunctional Chinese family. January 28, 2001
E. Bukowsky (NY United States)
25 out of 27 found this review helpful
Adeline Yen Mah, in "Falling Leaves," accomplishes many things. She has written a searingly honest memoir of her miserable childhood in China. In addition, she provides a colorful and lively description of the customs, history and social upheaval of China from roughly the late 1800's until the 1970's. Adeline was the daughter of a prosperous businessman, Joseph Yen, who was happily married to a woman he adored. He had five children, the youngest of whom, Adeline, is the author of this book. Tragically, Adeline's mother died of an infection shortly after she was born, and Adeline never knew her mother. To compound the tragedy, Adeline's father soon married a woman so cruel and so inhuman that she was comparable to the stereotype of the "wicked stepmother" in the story of Cinderella. "Niang," as Jeanne Prosperi Yen was called by her stepchildren, was a "control freak". She manipulated her husband and children; she verbally and physically abused the children who were "out of favor" with her; and she used money to control the family dynamics even after her death. Adeline's story is how she managed to grow up whole in spite of a loveless childhood. She turned for solace most of all to her beloved "Aunt Baba," who loved Adeline unconditionally and was truly proud of her, and Adeline took great delight in doing schoolwork, which brought her great intellectual and emotional satisfaction. Mah brings alive a large cast of characters, stoically recounting many tales of deep sorrow that must have wounded her greatly. She makes the streets of China come alive with her vivid descriptions of the sights and sounds of such cities as Shanghai, Tianjin and Hong Kong. "Falling Leaves" is an intensely psychological and personal memoir. It must have been difficult for Adeline Yen Mah to bare her soul as she did. The result is an unforgettable story of a terribly dysfunctional family and the courageous young woman who had to come to terms with her often tragic life.
Beautiful Story! March 10, 2000
Christina Coulter (Florida, US)
31 out of 36 found this review helpful
This was one of the most touching stories I have ever read; it is beautifuly written and heartrenching, yet warms the spirit to hear of such a strong soul! I cried at the injustices Adeline suffered at the hands of her father and especially her step-mother. I was also moved to tears by the injustice endured by her family at the hands of the angry mobs in revolutionary China. I was overjoyed and excited for her in her triumphs. I came to feel love and care for this amazing young woman from China, a place so foriegn to me. I came to better understand what compels others to do things not in their own best intrests in order to gain the acceptance and affection of a loved one. I believe we should thank Ms. Adeline Yen Mah for her courage and strengh and her gift to us, that of sharing her amazing spirit with her readers. I encountered great difficulty putting this book down, and when not reading I found myself thinking of the story! A wonderful literary expierience for anyone!
Falling leaves return to their roots. September 21, 2006
A .J. Casper (USA)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Adeline Yen Mah was born in a well-placed, moneyed Chinese family prominent in the elite of Shanghai and later on in booming Hong Kong. Her mother died shortly after her birth, and she was always blamed for her death. Her father then married Niang, a beautiful Eurasian who is evil (particularly to Adeline), but nonetheless a formidable force in the Yen household.
Under Niang's harsh regime, her step-children become "second-class" citizens in the house, living in separate quaters. Adeline, encouraged by Aunt Baba, focuses especially on her studies, and eventually attends medical school abroad. Her "A-studded" report cards become symbols of a better future. Aunt Baba suffers a great deal during the Cultural Revolution, and this is worsened by Niang's cruelty. Her endurance till death mirrors that of Adeline, and their union in the end illustrates this.
A word often used in this book towards the end is "rapprochement", usually appearing italicized. This suggests sentiments of constantly wanting to be accepted by her family. This never happens, in spite of all her success and efforts of uniting a broken family. Her siblings plot against her, and she inherits nothing from her father's vast empire. This is indeed a testament of the human ability to endure in dire conditions.
Take the time to read this April 17, 2000
15 out of 18 found this review helpful
Despite what some have said about this book in the review section, this is an excellent book. I was almost brought to tears when Adeline recounted her troubled childhood. Ultamately, this book is about a child's struggle for the one thing money cannot buy. Love. Several people who reviewed this didn't like the book because she was rich and had all her basic needs provided for growing up. True she was lucky enough not to have been one of those babies wrapped in a newspaper and left for dead, or one of the children caught and sold into prostitution like so many other unlucky Chinese girls. The point is that all she wanted was love and acceptance from her family, even her stepmother who treated her like dirt, and she became a success in spite of that. Even after becomming a success she still wanted to feel loved and accepted by her parents and did all she could to try and achieve it. The fact that her parents where rich and she turned out to be well off herself has nothing to do with the story when you break it down to its simplest componants. She was the youngest daughter in a Chinese family in the early 1900 peroid of China where men were westerners and Chinese men were considered far superior to Chinese women. That was one strike against her. Her mother died from giving birth to her causing her to be looked down upon even more. Second strike. Her father remaried a woman who wanted nothing to do with her newly inherited step children. In spite of this and all her hardships and troubles she encountered, she made it, that's all that matters, and that story, which is beautifly written and will touch your heart, is what makes this a good book.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 365
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