"Inconvenient Memories" by Anna Wang

Inconvenient Memories:

A Personal Account of the Tiananmen Square Incident and the China Before and After

By Anna Wang

Review:This was a gem of a non-fiction piece, and one of the most fascinating, that I got to read in recent time. A breathtakingly wonderful narration of the events that built up to Tianenmen Square protests incident in Beijing, China, commonly referred to the June Fourth incident or simply the 6/4 incident. It's wonderful that Wang hasn't stopped with focusing just on the protests, but allows to have a glimpse into the aftermath of what occurred, and how it impacted everyone involved, with the effects lasting for decades and generations for some people. For those of us who are new to Chinese history, this is a beautiful eye-opener from Wang. 

We get to read a lovely memoir that covers a whole platitude of other aspects as well. Starting from when she was born in 1966, moving into the care of her grandmother after having been abandoned by her parents (I particularly loved the fables narrated by the grandmother, which are so vivid that we can't help but visualize those), it's captivating to read through Wang's growth and development, as her ideals, beliefs, and values progress, as she discovers the socio-economic system, the regimes, and the policies. Peking University, where she pursues a major in Microelectronics, is where she discovers the nuances in politics, and gets thrown into the midst of the Tianenmen Square protests to cover the updates for her employer. As the reader, one is able to empathize with her heart-wrenching angst as she recalls the days of gore and gruesome fear. Wang then allows us to get to know the rest of her life till date, as she tends to her family, traverses continents, achieves milestones, earns success, and lives it all up. 

I'd absolutely recommend this book to lovers of memoirs and politico-philosophy. 

Many thanks to Smith Publicity @Smith Publicity and Anna Wang for gifting me a copy of this book for an honest review.

About the Author:

Born and raised in Beijing, China, Anna Wang received her B.A. from Peking University and is a full-time writer. She has published nine books in Chinese, including two short story collections, one essay collection, four novels and two translations. An English translation of her short stories, Beijing Women: Stories, was published by MerwinAsia in 2014. Inconvenient Memories is her debut book written in English. She resides in California.




Connect with Anna on Twitter (@AnnaWangYuan) and on her website, https://www.annawangonline.com/




Inconvenient Memories: A Personal Account of the Tiananmen Square Incident and the China Before and After was released in May 2019 by Purple Pegasus Inc, and is available for purchase in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats via Amazon.