A review by gannent
China Witness: Voices from a Silent Generation by Xinran, Julia Lovell, Nicky Harman, Esther Tyldesley

3.0

This book is an interesting look at the lives of the older generation in China. Each chapter starts off describing the person or persons that the author is interviewing, followed by a transcript of the interview. I personally was not a huge fan of the straight transcript format, but that's just a personal preference. The people she interviewed were extraordinary, and their stories were fascinating. Sometimes I wished for more analysis to go with the interviews. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the more "human" side of history, that is, day to day experiences of the average person rather than those at the top. I would also recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about recent China, with the caveat that you would want a solid background in the history of China in the 20th century, since the author discusses important events without giving much background.