Bound Feet and Western Dress a Memoir

Chang, Pang-Mei Natasha

ISBN 10: 0785702741 ISBN 13: 9780785702740

Synopsis

"In China, a woman is nothing." Thus begins this harrowing dual memoir that braids the story of Chinese-American Pang-Mei's own search for identity with the dramatic tale of her great-aunt, Chang Yuyi, born at the turn of the century in tradition-bound China. In alternating voices, Pang-Mei captivates the reader as she tells the story of Yuyi's battle with her mother to stop the painful foot-binding process, the first in a series of rebellions that marked her extraordinary life. This deeply textured portrait of Chinese life in the perilous years between the fall of the last emperor and the Communist Revolution captures, above all, the struggle of fiercely independent women emerging from centuries of customs and ideals, both subtle and pronounced.

In pitch-perfect prose and vivid detail, "Bound Feet And Western Dress" is about the power of storytelling as Yuyi confides her innermost dreams and demons with her brilliant and assimilated American-born niece in this splendiferous literary debut.

About this title

Review:

"'Exquisite...This is an enthralling tale of a woman who achieved independence despite great odds'" (Publishers Weekly)

"'Ms Chang [tells] her story with unassuming delicacy...A touching, bittersweet evocation of China'" (The New York Times)

Book Description:

A rich and evocative dual memoir of a first-generation Chinese-American and her great-aunt.

About this edition

• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0785702741
• ISBN 13: 9780785702740
• Binding: Library Binding