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Title: pretty awful
Review: The only thing of value in this book is the background--China and the way things worked or didn't work in that country before and after Mao. But even that becomes tedious. The characters are about as interesting as stacked wood because wooden is what they are. You learn nothing about them from the way they act or speak. Everything is developed through questions they ask themselves and similar techniques that would earn a "C" in a college writing course. I think the author's background is what won him the award--not the book. After all it is chic of us to heap such honor on a recent arrival to our country. Nothing against that at all but lets be honest about it.
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