Tiananmen Square
'Extraordinary' William Boyd
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4.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
'An extraordinary book. Truly important' William Boyd
'Outstanding ... Intimate as well as epic' Sunday Times
'Poignant and powerful' Daily Mail
'Utterly gripping' The Spectator
'Beautiful and devastating' Irish News
Sunday Times Best Summer Reads 2024
Longlisted for the Authors' Club Best First Novel Award 2025
Shortlisted in the British Book Awards 2025
A STORY OF UNBREAKABLE FRIENDSHIP AND THE PRICE OF FREEDOM
Beijing in the 1970s. Lai lives with her parents, grandmother and youngerbrother in a small flat in a working-class area. Her grandmother is a formidable figure, while her ageing beauty of a mother snipes at her father, a sunken figure haunted by the Cultural Revolution.
As she grows up, Lai comes to discern the realities of the country she lives in. But she also goes through the ebbs and flows of friendships; troubles and rewards at home and at school; and the first steps and missteps in love. A gifted student, she attends the prestigious Peking University; while there she becomes involved in the student protests that have been gathering speed. It is the late 1980s, and change is in the air . . .
5 STAR READER REVIEWS
'Captivating, intimate and so moving, I finished it in tears''Wow! This was a stunning novel''Probably one of the most memorable, poignant, emotional books I've ever read … This will crawl for a while under my skin. Can I give a 6th star?''A brilliant and important read''Beautifully written. I read it slowly as I wanted to savour every word''There is something so deeply touching, tender yet powerful in the writing … This coming-of-age story is compelling, haunting, emotive and written beautifully. By the end, it left me in tears. It is a book I will long remember'
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The pseudonymous Wen debuts with a piercing coming-of-age novel based on her experiences growing up in China and her involvement in the 1989 student demonstrations against the government. Born in 1970, Lai struggles for acceptance from her parents, who wished for a son. Her father, a cartographer, remains scarred by the "fear and uncertainty" of life under Maoism, while her mother refuses to acknowledge that the leaders of the Cultural Revolution were anything but fair. During high school, an elderly bookseller allows Lai to borrow titles by freethinking writers like Camus, Orwell, and Sartre, and she receives a scholarship to attend Peking University. There, Lai comes into her own, linking up with a subversive theater troupe that will end up playing a key role in the Tiananmen Square standoff. Wen generates suspense and pathos in the buildup to the demonstration, even though its tragic outcome is well-known, and she offers keen psychological insights into how Lei's fraught relationship with her parents spurred her to seek her own path. Wen brings the past to life in this deeply personal narrative.
