What surprised me the most, was the brutality shown toward women/wives and “girl babies”. In my opinion, they weren’t considered human. They were treated worse than cattle. They were to “serve” and nothing else.
Some of the things related to Chinese culture I had heard of previously…the bride moving in with the groom’s family, the insignificance of girls, the one child policy…what I did not realize was that this was still so prevalent in the post WWII period and the intensity with which this existed. I did learn new things regarding history in this time period. Most about the civil war and the rise of communism and the brutality that existed. This was underscored throughout their journey. I actually followed their journey on the map which I found very helpful. Interesting points made about Hong Kong and the British prior to its return and Taiwan under Nationalist rule.
Yes! I enjoyed learning so much about Chinese culture - I knew there was a preference for boys/sons but didn’t know much beyond that. I also wasn’t familiar with the war in the 40s. Absolutely fantastic historical fiction (based on true story) - so well written!