Under the Hawthorn Tree

This book was definitely a trip.  Firstly, I'm glad Miss Heather put it on her reading list.  From first glace this book is very unassuming.  Just a picture of a young girl and boy running near a hawthorn tree.  Luckily I'm not one to judge a book by it's cover because this book is quite the little gem.  It made me thankful for being born when and where I was.  Being born in Canada has made me so fortunate and blessed, which I lose sight of from time to time.  I've never had to work overly long hours for pennies and I haven't really had to worry about anything in life besides my grades when I was in school.  I will admit that I have been very fortunate.

The book takes place in communist China in the early 1970s right after the cultural revolution, or as I like to call it the cultural devolution.  During that time people were very weary of the labels which they could potentially be given as a result of mear speculation or if someone with influence didn't like him or her.  Class labels were important and it was frowned upon for people to be interacting with people in a lower class.  To me this seems absolutely ridiculous, but it is important to not that this actually happened in China.

The young girl "Jinqui" (is that the spelling?) is such an inspiration.  During her summers she would work as a temporary worker doing hard labour in order to support her family.  The majority of people I know have had a cushy life without any sort of hardship.  Everyone I know was born into a life of priveledge compared to this girl.  No one has ever had to wonder were their next meal was going to come from, or what they were going to cover themselves with if it rained since they had no roof over their heads.  This book indeed put things into perspective for me.

At the end of the book I was left with the impression that this book was actually a completely true story because of the fact that the author used a pseudonym.  A pseudonym, according to wikipedia, "is a name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from his or her original or true name." The fact that the author uses a pen name adds to the intrigue of the story. 

There were points of the book that added to my cynicism of men (do not even get me started).  Yet, by the end of the book I had a renewed sense that everything happens for a reason, even if it isn't easy.  This book was a bit slow at times, and a bit hard to follow with the non-western names, but I think if the characters did have western names it would have taken away from some of the charm of the book.  An emotional roller coaster, but one which I think I needed in order to realise what actually matters in life. With so many different intricacies and multiple layers to the plot, I would definitely reccomend this book to anyone looking for a renewed appreciation of their life.

Through my research, I discovered that this book was actually turned into a movie in 2010.  I am going to try and find it this weekend! I'll keep you posted :)