This subject matter in Twin Sisters still highly controversial for anovel in China.
This book reveals an army cadre seducing a girl that comes fromdeep in the author's memories from her childhood. She was author'sneighbour who gave up her virginity in an attempt to gain hermother's freedom, a beautiful girl with a slightly pale face, often intears at home; this is the prototype of YingLi. YongHong is a typicalrepresentative of the Red Guards who denounced the capitalist roaders,and traitors, who often were family members or neighbours; creatingmany grievances, and injustices.
This book differs from most accounts of the Cultural Revolutionthat label the "Red Guards" as a "sin" or criminals; this book explainsfirsthand the motivations, influences, mentality, and personal growthof the fanatical Red Guards.
Twin Sisters, reveals the characters of many different people ingreat depth; Lian was a woman who's good intentions were betrayedby the party, lost the love of her life, and lived with life-long regret,and suffering. Zhang was disabled in a battle on the Russian frontierdue to the incompetence of his captain and later died at the hands ofhis wife. Crippled Sun was a veteran of the Korean war that had costhim a leg, became a hero, and the work group leader in his village;who went on to recruit and abduct women as incentives for the villagemen to produce more. LinLin was a college professor who lost hisposition because of his wife; he went on to become a refuse collector,and was subsequently accused of being an anti-revolutionary andcondemned.
The innocence of juveniles, justice, and the goodness of people areportrayed in depth; as are the rivalry and confrontations of opposingfactions of the Red Guards, as well as life in the countryside versus thecity.
It is acknowledged by historians that history has usually beenwritten about leaders, and the victorious; that history has been writtenby or for the winners. Twin Sisters is a departure from the traditional;depicting the real lives of common people impartially in historicalcontext.
Because the subject matter Twin Sisters is still considered "toosensitive" for Chinese publishers it has not been published in bookform in China yet. I hope that this book will give English readers thesame surprises, insights, and delights as the Chinese who have read it.Twin Sisters has received great acclaim on the web in China, andamong Chinese living in North America.
