Colors of the Mountain is a satisfying read. Though I probably never would have read it had it not been for my Nonwestern Literature class, I am glad I did, and found it pretty relatable. It’s a good read, easy to get into and makes you want to finish. Da Chen’s memoir tells his story of growing up in China during the Cultural Revolution. We learn in history class about how Mao Zedong ran the country into the ground with Communism, and how Communism is evil as we know from the Cold War. But most of us don’t learn about way day to day reality was from people living in China, and that even under hardship there is still goodness, and there are still success stories. (view spoiler)[Da’s family was in the landlord class, and they were heavily abused. My own parents grew up in China during the same time, and I’ve heard about how different things were for them at the time, but I had no grasp of the kind of injustice Da’s family went through. The book opens with Da’s early years, and like Da as a young child, we slowly learn of the abuse that he and his family must bear. His grandfather is publicly beaten, his father is sent to labor camps, and he and his siblings are often pelted with fruits, vegetable and rocks by their neighbors. Everything about social standing, the law and schooling is slated against them, merely for coming from a landed ancestry. Da’s siblings are banned from school and forced to work as farmers, given the toughest jobs, where they have no hope for a different future. Allowed to stay in school, Da is “lucky.” Living in the countryside, the only occupation for most is farming. Mao promised a great future build on agricultural productivity and modernization. Instead, they farmed the same way, only, as Da’s dad says, they got paid less. (My history teacher told a story about some Communist village where hardly any farms were productive. Mao himself was coming to tour the area, and in a panic, they salvaged the few healthy plants from each plot and replanted them together in one field. Mao, seeing this single beautiful plot, believed that his Communist model was perfection, and ordered that all farms be operated the same way.) So Da’s only hope for a future is to leave Yellow Stone. Da is a stellar student, but he is bullied by classmates, teachers and the school board for being from a Black family. School is torture for him, and he finds his own way out. He makes friends with a formidable gang, and he enjoys life. He’s humorous, and his memoir is fun to read, despite his difficult circumstances. The book description calls him a Holden Caulfield, and indeed he is a rebel. He’s just cool, with his hoodlum friends and one-upping all his mean classmates. But Da’s life isn’t really about having fun, and in the end he still needs a way to reach his dreams of escaping the dregs of adversity. He has a ridiculous work ethic, and reading the book, I so badly wished him success. It’s not hard to predict the ending, as he is retrospectively writing the memoir, but there is more than just success to his story. He is supported by his friends and family, and his success means as much to them as it does to him. Dia, his chain-smoking and half-insane friend says to him “You gotta make me proud... You could do it man, and you gotta do it for me and f-ing school. Then when you pack up and take the fabulous Fujian-Beijing train, I’ll load a shotgun and shoot the f-ing Head right on his shining skull, that son of a whore”. Da’s success is for himself, his family, and everyone who drew the short end of the stick. It’s a dream come true. (hide spoiler)]
No words in my irrefutably, and yes, conspicuously, vast, or ample, lexicon can viably, without flagrantly, convey my puissant adulation for this irrefutably prodigious memoir. From the throes of interminably, or perpetually, penurious families in the landlord social class, to the fatuous, frivolous transformation from erudite, adroit, astute, fastidious, or scrupulous, polymaths and wunderkinds to intrepid, vacuous individuals in the Cultural Revolution in China, bolstered by its Communist, glib, plausibly incompetent chieftain, Mao Zedong, through the plausibly idiosyncratic, foible-laden life of Da Chen in the sublime, august, prodigious village of Yellow Stone, the reader is able to viably and un-erroneously deduce that rather was conspicuously possessing erudite, adroit, astute, fastidious, or scrupulous, attributes of a polymath and wunderkind, Da Chen begets a somewhat un-embellished, prodigious memoir about his throes, idiosyncrasies, and foibles as an adolescent--like his amelioration from a reprobate conscience to an erudite, adroit, astute, fastidious, or scrupulous, one--and his prodigious academic journey and how his acumen led him to laudable, prodigious accolades, such as graduating from the prestigious, laudable pedagogy institution that is the Beijing Language Institute. But yes, in conspicuous, irrefutable veracity, Da Chen possesses no wunderkind or polymath qualities--plausibly vast, or ample, from it--but, through this memoir, any adolescent--myself included--can vicariously live through Da Chen's pupil life, which beget more viably ample, or vast, space for comprehending. This memoir, rather than serving as a frivolous, fatuous, idiosyncratic memoir, was irrefutably indispensable to me, primarily imputed to the conception that I was in the apex of the transition from a intrepid, in-docile adolescent, to this erudite, adroit, astute, fastidious, or scrupulous, adult. In that conspicuous, irrefutable veracity, it is not abhorrent, aberrant, errant, heretical, indecorous, or in-apposite to avouch that is was a delectation to read this memoir and yes, I would irrefutably recommend it to anyone.
What do You think about Colors Of The Mountain (2001)?
All the way through, I kept thinking that maybe I had read this before and just wasn't remembering whether or not I had -- because it was yet another in the genre of "growing up in Hard Times in China". Which is not to say that I don't find this interesting, 'cause if I didn't I wouldn't read them at all; but they do tend to blur together. Born in 1962 in southern China, child of a family of landlords where were now very much out of favor during the Cultural Revolution, it's a hard life for Da and his family.The father is in and out of labor camps, and at times Da is afraid to even leave the house for fear of taunts, stoning and other abuse from the others in town. Yet the father still is able to encourage his son to learn to play the flute and then the violin, and himself to become an accomplished acupuncturist, which allows him to trade acupuncture treatments for goods and other favors. And he learns Chinese calligraphy from his grandfather. While in between hanging with a gang of cigarette smoking dropouts. Ultimately, Da becomes skilled at English and gains a slot at University because of how high he tests, having been coached for a number of years by an elderly Baptist spinster who lives in the town. You can figure from the back cover that he goes from there (somehow) to Columbia Law School and ends up with a wife and two kids in NY's Hudson Valley. How THAT happened is a mystery -- maybe that's the next book?! One thing that is painfully clear is the capriciousness of the tenets of the Cultural Revolution and its aftermath -- groups of folks are out, then they're in, then they're out. I find myself wondering always how some folks are able to persevere despite such adversity -- is it native intelligence? strong family ties? deep values? destiny?
—pdxmaven
Great book on the study of people and their experiences with Communism. Communism is the biggest scam played on people. The theory may be a "sharing" one but in reality the rich are the only ones that benefit. This was a great story about a young boy in a small village who was ostracized his whole life but with perseverance and the realization that his families honor was at stake, he fought the fight, got an education, went to college and became a well-scholared man. It was touching to read the struggles he had and how he handled them. Amazingly he found much beauty in the simple things in life which sustained him through his trials. The dedication of his family and their closeness was touching. I had expected to learn more about the famine and maybe details about how the people struggled with the ideology of Communism but this book was about a young boy and his view of life in that society.
—Sharon Jones
This story is a testament to the power of family, love, honor, friendships, dreams, hope, human will, and education. When I read this book I found myself laughing aloud, and there were passages that forced tears of joy and compassion from my eyes. The imagery provided a sense of witness, and made you feel like a spectator cheering on the main character as he walked, ran, stumbled and got up. Colors of the Mountain is a beautifully written, thought provoking memoir depicting an inspiring story of courage and triumph over adversity.
—Elle
