"Tiananmen Square" by Lai Wen is probably one of the most memorable, poignant, emotional books I've ever read. Despite knowing how it would end in such a tragic way, the tension towards the end was difficult to bear. More than a testimony of a very dark moment in history, it's a testimony on the rite of passage from childhood to adulthood, with all its depths, pains, fears, and doubts, aggravated by the oppression of an authoritarian regime. It's about a cultural reality that many of us know so little about. This will not be everyone's cup of tea; it's not a historical account nor a political essay. But it's powerful and emotionally raw. I felt the narrator's voice very engaging and approachable - I felt quickly deeply immersed in the narrative due to Lai's beautiful, natural, and uncomplicated speech. This will crawl for a while under my skin. Can I give a 6th star? Thank you Netgalley and Swift Press for such an amazing ARC!

Tiananmen Square by Lai Wen is told from the point of view of Lai. The book begins when she is around 12 years old and we follow her through to university.

I really enjoyed the first 3/4 of this book, it was interesting to read about the cultural differences as she grew up and the expectations. I felt a lot of empathy for Lai as she seems quite lost and unsure of herself for a lot of the book. The characters are very well written and whilst not the most eventful book it still managed to keep my interest.

I found the last quarter a bit of a chore and ended up skimming if I’m honest. I feel at this point the story got very repetitive and some of the characters were very annoying.

I would definitely read another book by this author.

A coming-of-age story set in Beijing in the early eighties, its title tipping the reader where it is going to end, Tiananmen Square is an oddly pitched book. The student uprising of 1989 is the endgame, so when we join the teenage schoolgirl Lai we can see how the increase in her political consciousness is always going to be foreshadowed. It is primarily a picture of growing up in a China shifting from hardline Maoism to the more relaxed economic socialism of the eighties. Lai's parents were touched by the Cultural Revolution: her Dad is described as beaten down by it, and her mother is disillusioned and clashes with her daughter. Her maternal Grandmother also lives with them and is mischievous and twinkling and - well the problem is that all the characters are very archetypal. Those are archetypes for a reason, but the book is written from the perspective of someone who is a literature teacher who left China in 1989, there seems to be little self-reflection from the character as to how ordinary the setup is. This is interesting as the book wants to be a peak behind this core historical moment, but how much of an insider's voice can we trust when everything else feels quite cliched?

This also stretches to her arrogant boyfriend who is rightly identified by her grandmother as a bit of an arrogant twat (and I think the audience were way ahead of her), and also the kindly old bookseller, giving her the magical escape of books from her daily routine. Even in that case she moves from a book or Norse Myths to Orwell's 1984, and the Moby Dick, Hemmingway. It is never stated if she is reading these in translation, and Chinese literature is rarely mentioned - it all seems more like she is trying to impress the reader than really delving into the tricky texts. When she gets to University we get a new bunch of stock characters, not least the anarcho-japester Madame Macaw who never convinced me and I worked out their role pretty instantly because this wasn't just going to be a story culminating with the Tiananmen Massacre, but we'd get an insight into the most famous moment of the protest. And since her political boyfriend had been set up from the beginning, the nominal twist here is easy to see.

Tiananmen Square is an easy read and Lai the character and Lai the writer are good company. But it never really gets below the surface of the political upheaval in China at the time, and because the coming-of-age story around our narrator is so predictable I didn't trust anything dressed up as revelation.

This isn't my usual type of book to read, but I wanted to delve into a time that I had only seen on the UK news as an 8 year old, not understanding really what had happened or why, other than it was something awful. Lai Wen starts her memoir by introducing us to her family and background, there is a lot of detail about her loving relationship with her grandmother and the fractured relationship with her mother and father. She introduces us to society in China at that time and the important role of politicians and how that was reflected in the daily lives of ordinary citizens, including the reticence of both her parents. As Lai grows up, we see her friendships develop and change, she comes across as shy, not a person who would 'rock the boat' in any way. A scholarship to university develops her perspective, as she meets other students and makes new friends. Political undercurrents in China unfold and Lai draws our attention to the students and their reactions and desire for change. We see the protests through her eyes; the comradery of the students, the citizens who join, feed and defend them and eventually those first days in June, which end in students and citizens being killed by soldiers as they 'defend' Tiananmen Square. These last images are the ones I remember from the news. This wasn't an easy book to read, but it wasn't as dry as I had expected. Lai is full of warmth and curiosity about life, trying to find herself amongst the expectations from family, teachers and friends. It has opened my eyes to a controversial and hidden past, where 'official' accounts differ wildly, a past that is still felt in Chinese society today.

A long but informative book that set the scene re China at that time really well
It gave the reader a good insight into how life was then and described the characters lives and feelings etc
It maybe needed to be a bit shorter to keep the readers full attention but I did enjoy it

Tiananmen Square by Lai Wen is a powerful and poignant novel. The story chronicles Lai’s coming of age beginning in 1970’s Beijing, where as a young girl she lives with her parents, younger brother and grandmother in a small flat in a working class area of the city. Her grandmother is a formidable presence in her life and her humorous, uncompromising characters shapes Lai’s own ambitions. Alongside her friends, an early encounter with the police is also a defining moment in Lai’s life as she comes to terms with the boundaries of her country, her city, her home, her friendships, her love and her education. When Lai wins a scholarship to Peking University, her world is opened up further to new ideas, thoughts, friends and revolutions. The protest events of 1989, from which the novel takes its name encapsulates the hopes and aspirations of a generation of young students who paid the ultimate price for their courage and commitment. The story captures these events through the personal perspective of our central character and her friends which makes it both vivid and compelling. The writing is beautiful and dynamic but I feel the novel lagged slightly in the middle before regaining momentum for a stunning final third. It is an epic of intimate moments and touchstones that shape a persons life for fans of literary fiction. Emotional and evocative 4.25 Stars ✨.

A great insight into China in the early 80’s. Thought provoking read. I really enjoyed this, more than I thought I would. Thanks NetGalley and publishers for the arc of Tiananmen Square by Lai Wen.

For me the book started off really well and I found the details of life in China during the early 80’s really interesting. As the novel progresses however I started to become a little bored. The central characters like Gen and Macaw seemed a bit superficial. I couldn’t visualise them at all With regards to the events leading up to and including Tiananmen i felt they were a little drawn out. I think that the book was a bit too long and maybe that was why my interest started to wane.

Tiananmen Square is the story of Lai who grows up in Beijing under the control of the Communist party. The book explores her relationships with her grandmother, parents, brother, love interest and friends she makes through out her years. It is a coming of age tale and I did enjoy reading about different countries and cultures this is an area I haven't read about before so everything I read was definitely new to me. Lai seems to feel quite alone during her life. I think the book was quite long in my opinion and could have been shorter but the writing and pictures built of that life will leave an impression on me.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6421033925

This is a difficult one to review. As a coming-of-age story, it was great. I loved reading about the protagonist's childhood and her relationships with her family and friends, and those parts of the book really rang true. As a book about the Tiananamen Square incident and the politics surrounding it, I'm not so sure. Everything was dealt with at a very superficial level and I couldn't really work out what was fictionalised and what was drawn from the author's own experience (and to the event that things had been fictionalised, I also couldn't work out if I was ok with the terrible things that had happened to real people being appropriated in that way). Perhaps that superficial treatment was why the ending didn't pack the emotional punch for me that it really should have, whereas the death of a single individual earlier in the book made much more of an impact. So mixed feelings, but clearly a very talented author and I would be very happy to give another of her books a try.

Thanks to her, NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This is a thought-provoking novel that gives insight to quite a few important life-issues. Namely: Growing-up, Family relationships, friendship, decision-making, and Chinese Culture.

I loved the description of her family from a young girl growing up's perspective. Who could fail to admire "Po Po" - an amazing character!

The author's friends were all so different and interesting. It showed that important aspects like susceptibility to peer-group pressure varies over time.

I had little or no knowledge of Chinese culture but this book opened my eyes and showed that (politics apart) there is more similarities than differences.

I believe the ending was so so clever! I wonder if that is what really happened in Tiananmen Square!

I've recently read a few books on North Korea so thought this would be an interesting read into Chinese culture.
It took a while to get into, but that's probably more me than the book.
It was a really good read and I would recommend to anyone interested in the subject.

This reads like a memoir but I don't actually know if it is or not. Either way I very much enjoyed this book. It starts off when Lai as a young child living with her parents, her brother and her rather strong willed grandmother in 1970s China. At an early age Lai experiences a few hours in policy custody for breaking curfew and this has a long lasting effect on here. We watch her as she enters her teenage years, does extra classes for children who are considered suitable for university and developers a romantic relationship with her childhood friend. The latter had me wanting to sit Lai down and tell her to dump this guy. It's so hard for young people (and maybe older people too!) to see when they are being taken for granted and not being treated as equals in a relationship!

For me, the whole premise of the book is leading up to the events of the student protests (and subsequent deaths) at Tiananmen Square in 1989. How the protests arose and how students who weren't necessarily overtly political but who just wanted dialogue got involved. At university Lai is befriended by a unique group of students none of whom would fit in the mainstream.

This memoir is not overly political nor does it provide any sort of political analysis but I think what it does do is provide an explanation to the lead up to the protests and the more than reasonable ask of the students who just wanted a little bit more control over their own lives! I was 17 when these events occurred so I remember seeing it on the news. Reading this story reinforced the sadness I feel whenever I think of this event (or events like it); the complete over reaction of a dictatorial government, the complete shock and disbelief of those being fired on and sadness for those who died.

Thank you to Net Galley and Swift Press for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book follows Lai as a teen as she grows up in Beijing with her parents, grandma and little brother. With political tensions as the core theme of this story, we also get to know Lai and her relationships, particularly with her grandma. When tragedy strikes in her family, Lai’s grappling with her studies, her greater involvement in politics and how she feels about herself. This is a great coming of age novel with so many key themes, it really took me on a rollercoaster!

Tiananmen Square

by Lai Wen


Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: General Fiction (Adult),Literary Fiction,Women's Fiction

I'm old enough t0o remember the events surrounding this novel.
I love books that are about lives in other cultures but sadly this wasn't a great fit for me.

Its a good story, well written but just didn't pull me in. I found Lai quite a selfish character, and hard to like. At other times she was very innocent and the dangers of what they were proposing didn't seem to have occurred to her.
Her friends were a strange group, I found it hard to get a sense of any of them. I think maybe that's my biggest issue, the characters just didn't feel real, I couldn't empathise with them, didn't connect with their problems.
That's on me – not all books suit all readers and I tend to enjoy those based strongly around characters and their every day lives. I can see others love this book, but for me it was just an OK read.


Stars: two and a half, it was a good book, just not a good fit for me.

ARC supplied by netgalley and publishers

I enjoyed reading 'Tiananmen Square' and found the story both engrossing annd compelling. Although the events of the 1989 protests are infamous I think a lot of people don't know exactly what happened or the events that led up to it in the years before. It was very interesting to see how the political climate was heating up and how the youth mentality was starting to ask questions. I did find the pacing a little unbalanced as the actual events of Tiananmen Square seemed to arrive in quite a hurry with the majority of the book following the educational journey of Lai Wen. I also found the writing to be slightly inconsistent. It was mostly very immmsersive and readable but every now and then certain phrases, images or word choice were slightly jarring. I will say however, that Lai Wen's ability to replicate the atmosphere leading up to the protests was so tangible. The rising tensions and anxieties were palpable in her writing.

I didn't know that this book is actually based on the author's life - although, I should have guessed from the names! This raised some significant questions and for me is ultimately why I'm giving this novel three stars (I wish I could give it 3.5!). In. many ways it makes the vivid images and raw emotional descriptions that much more compelling. However, I am now wondering how much of the novel is autobiographical and how much is imagined. I assume that the author did in fact grow up in Beijing and attend the Tiananmen protests. However, I now understand the ending even less than I did on my first impression. I won't include any spoilers, but the final reveal is an extremely bold claim if the author is infact claiming the final few lines to be factual. It would be very shocking and change our understanding of one of the most memorable images in recent history. If it is an imagined embellishment I feel it really takes away from the authenticity of the text and goes against the intimate, raw, vulnerable and honest account of 70s and 80s Beijing which is what I enjoyed most about the text.

In any case, I would still reccomend this book to anyone with an interest in this time period as a first hand account of this highly censored and secretive time is a privelage to access.

This is an incredibly moving book which shows life in Beijing in the 70's and 80's through the eyes of Lai, a young girl coming of age. At times she struggles to find her place in life as she compares her relationship with her family to that of her friends. We watch her grow up in the political turmoil of the era leading to the horrors of Tiananmen Square when the young students rail against the regime's dictatorial control . Beautifully written, this book opened my eyes to China in the same way as 'White Swans'.

A very detailed account of student life before the protests in Tiananmen square ,it was really chilling .

I remember the student demos held in Tiananmen Square in the late 1980s, especially the lone figure standing in front of the tank as it rolls ominously towards them. This novel, drawn from the author's experiences growing up in China reimagines how one student, Lai, finds herself in the Square as the demonstrations grow. The story deals with her complex relationships with her family and friends as well as the impact of the Chinese Revolution and its aftermath.
i found that I could not put this book down; I was intrigued by the history as much as the storytelling.

Autobiography and fiction mixed together to give a view of Chinese life from the perspective of a young girl growing up in the 1970-80s. Wen lives in apartment with her grandmother, parents and brother. We are gradually introduced to her friends, some who have so much less than her and at least one who comes from a more affluent family. All adults are still affected by the traumas unleashed by Mao’s Cultural Revolution. Their children however retain their spirit and desire for more say over how their lives are run.

An interesting version of what happened on Tiananmen Square is spoiled by the final interpretation of the Tank Man.