Red Azalea

When Anchee Min left China in 1984 her knowledge of English was minimal. She tried to write this autobiography in her own tongue, but found it impossible. Only with the emotional freedom granted by a new language could she find her means of expression.

This powerful and candid memoir immortalises her coming of age in the Red Guard, the harbouring of illicit love amidst a regime bent on human alienation and her recruitment from rural hard labour into Madame Mao's burgeoning movie industry.