MCLC: Bend, Not Break memoir

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: Kevin Lawrence <klawrence at chinainstitute.org>
Subject: Bend, Not Break memoir
*******************************************************

I haven¹t seen anything posted on the MCLC list about Ping Fu¹s
controversial new Cultural Revolution memoir Bend, Not
Break(http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bend-not-break-ping-fu/1111674212?ean
=9781591845522), but I¹ve been loosely following it with interest.
Basically, Ms. Fu¹s memoir claims to ³Š[depict] a journey from
imprisonment to freedom, and from the dogmatic anticapitalism of Mao¹s
China to the high-stakes, take-no-prisoners world of technology start-ups
in the United States. It is a tribute to one woman¹s courage in the face
of cruelty and a valuable lesson on the enduring power of resilience.²

 
Since publication at the end of 2012, Ms. Fu has been featured on NPR
(none other than Tina Brown touts her book
--http://www.npr.org/books/authors/169365863/ping-fu), the Leonard Lopate
Show 
(http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/2013/jan/14/bend-not-break-china-america/
?utm_source=local&utm_media=treatment&utm_campaign=daMost&utm_content=damos
tviewed#.URJ0hG60fAM.mailto) and been featured in Forbes magazine
(http://www.forbes.com/sites/jennagoudreau/2013/01/23/one-womans-journey-fr
om-chinese-labor-camp-to-top-american-tech-entrepreneur/).  The
publication and promotion of the book have in turn garnered harsh
accusations of lies, distortion, and disbelief (for example, see the
always redoubtable Fang Zhouzi¹s take on the book --
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/01/31/1183572/-Bend-Not-Break-A-Lie-in-T
wo-Worlds). 

 
Huffington Post gives Ping Fu a forum to respond to her critics:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ping-fu/.
 
Given the insatiable curiosity the American reading public/media seems to
have for Cultural Revolution memoirs, I wonder if the reaction to this
book will at all change or complicate in any way the conventional CR
narrative structure of oppressed individuals finding salvation by coming
to the U.S. to tell/sell their stories?

 
Best regards,
Kevin Lawrence