Becoming Madame Mao

By: Anchee Min

Narrated by: Andi Arndt

From the best-selling author of Red Azalea, this extraordinary novel tells the stirring, erotically charged story of Madame Mao Zedong, the woman almost universally known as the 'white-boned demon,' whom many hold directly responsible for the excesses of the Cultural Revolution. Bringing her lush psychological insight to bear on the facts of history, Min penetrates the myth surrounding this woman and provides a "convincing, nuanced portrait of a damaged personality" (Entertainment Weekly) driven by ambition, betrayal, and a never-to-be-fulfilled need to be loved. With all the compressed drama and high lyrical poetry of great opera, Becoming Madame Mao is a "remarkable accomplishment.... Madame Mao is finally given her own voice" (Ha Jin).

©2000 Anchee Min (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Engaging and Informative

This was a terrific way for me to learn about important 20th Century events and people about whom I knew very little before. This book made accessible and real to me things that everyone should know!

First person to third

The story was a little confusing because it kept switching from first person to third person with no warning and made some parts of the story hard to follow . Overall it was a good book and plenty of detail and it was a great glimpse into the life of the chairmans last wife. Enjoyed reading about her early begins and her fall from power after Mao died .