A refreshingly unsentimental evocation of the hidden lives of the billion-plus who exist in China's scattered northern coastal villages. Little Dog - orphaned, taken in by silent, harsh grandparents, fish her whole life - discovers, when 7 years old, an unknown thing: Happiness and that her real name is Coral. Finally, she lands in Bei-jing, 18 years old, finding a different, freer but still hidden-away life. A satisfying, informative read.
(Joan Jackson - bwl 36 September 2006 ) |
