Tiananmen Square

WOW Tiananmen Square an autobiographical novel by Lai Wen depicts her coming of age in Beijing which took Lai over thirty years to finally write her story. I found Lai's story to be both beautiful, moving and courageous.

Lai's story starts from her childhood in the poorer part of Beijing in the 1970;s and an incident involving one of her friends taking the blame for a misdemeanour she committed as a child would haunt her throughout her life making her feel afraid of standing up for herself.

I adored the elderly bookseller she befriended whom she addressed as Uncle who introduced her to many great authors when he loaned her his books.

Lai is witness to the atrocities which unfold in Tiananmen Square in 1989 when students marched in protest to having curfews imposed on them at university. Lai also marches alongside them in solidarity joining them in hunger strikes.

Communisism and martial law rear their ugly head and tanks are brought in to stop the protesters and lives are lost as they are gunned down. The government have spread lies that the students were planning to attack them and were enemies of the state.

I loved it when Lai's grandmother tells Lai to be strong inside like Cinderella the hurt chicken who became strong thanks to grandmother's nurturing.

A memory wall where relatives of the disappeared pinned up letters and poems depicting what had happened to them in the Cultural Revolution was bulldozed but this would not erase the memories of the ones left behind. Lai's own Father wrote an inscription for her on the wall.

I found this a fascinating read detailing life in China in the run up to June 1989. I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in Chinese history of this period.

What an absolutely fascinating book. At the start I found it hard to keep up with the story but that was probably more me than the book and I am so glad I persevered because as the story unravelled it was mesmerising and so engrossing. A remarkable read

Tiananmen Square was a captivating and thought-provoking tale which cast a light on the life of young people in Beijing in the 1970s and 1980s. I was caught up in the characters and events right from the start and the story held my interest through to the end as we followed Lai during her formative years and got a sense of the political situation in China at that time. I am giving this book 4 stars.

An autobiography that culminates in the events of 1989 in Tiananmen Square. An interesting read. I am pretty familiar with Chinese history and culture but it was fascinating hearing about a regular person's upbringing. The Tiananmen Square bits don't kick in until nearly the end and then it's a real kick in the gut. I remember this very well and visited the area a couple of years later where, extraordinarily , nothing at all was visible or marked the atrocity in any way. Nothing. There is one revelation about the identity of a certain person and if this is true it needs to be shouted far and wide.
I would have liked more political detail about the ending but I think the author wrote this more as a memoir so that's fine

This is a remarkable book with an important story. I can understand why it’s been so long in the making; it’s an incredibly personal memoir and Lai Wen has shown exceptional courage in drawing upon her life experiences to document some of the realities of life in China during and after the Cultural Revolution.

It’s difficult for westerners, used to alleged freedom, to understand what it’s like to live in a totalitarian and oppressive regime. Lai has captured many of the intimacies of day to day life as well as some of the atrocities. We are largely familiar with the photo of the young man holding a flag in front of the tank in Tiananmen Square. He didn’t live long after that photo. Along with another estimated 10,000 students, he was slaughtered by Chines soldiers ( mainly brought from the North of China ), to subjugate further revolution.

Kai tackles a very complex and difficult era with compassion and honesty in this truly moving account, It gives those of us on the outside an opportunity to glimpse the rigours of living under a Communist regime and understanding of a culture entirely different to our own. It’s very well written and there is much joy as well as sadness and although the subject matter is often challenging, I have to say I really enjoyed this.

An important book. I learnt many things about China. Well written and draws you in to the story and lives leading up to Tiananmen Square. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

This is a good story that is autobiographical and tells the story of the author. She is a talented writer and I'm curious as to what she writes next!

Tiananmen Square by Lai Wen is a deeply compelling, humanising and heartfelt account of the life of a young person in Beijing leading up to the terrible events of June 1989 and one of the most poignant images of the late 20th century

This book is absolutely fascinating and it is a significant reminder that history told from the perspective of people who lived it gives a deeper understanding than when it is told from the perspective of thos from the outside. Yes, you get a certain level of understanding from observers, but to truly understand, an account from a person who lived it, grew up in the regime and experienced social change as it happens, gives a more holistic, deeper insight

A fantastic account and essential insight that an autocratic government regime is never representative of all of the people it controls.

Thank you very much to Netgalley, Swift Press and the author Lai Wen for this very important and illuminating ARC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

Lai Wen's novel, Tiananmen Square, will bring to mind in most western readers mind that famous image of tanks rolling towards a protestor during the protests and massacre of the 3rd of June 1989. It immediately frontloads the reader with an expectation. The novel does feature those events, but it spends a long time getting there, because this is not the story of those events, but of a girl, growing up in China. She loves to read, her world is expanding, and Lai Wen beautifully shapes her on the page. Much here feels very autobiographical, authentic and is at times moving. It is easy to mistake this as memoir than fiction.

Lai Wen is a very fine writer and this was a fine novel. It is simple human stories such as these that can shine a new light on major events, and for anybody interested in the human story of Tiananmen Square and China in the late 70s to 80s, this is perfect.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

Deeply personal and moving account of a young girl growing up in 1980's Beijing. The student protests of April to early June 1989 in Tiananmen Square provide the historical backstop for the period and mark Lai Wen's final coming of age. It is beautifully written and filled with characters that showcase both the very best and the very worst of humanity. Highly recommended. Definitely one of my two favorite books of 2024. Special thank you to Swift Press and NetGalley for a no obligation digital advance review copy.

I enjoyed this book a lot and felt it was a good balance between an autobiographical account and the actual events of Tiananmen Square. It was interesting to learn about Chinese culture and how even the older population supported the students. The characters are well defined and I loved Po Po and the influence she had on Lai and also her brother .
Definitely recommend this book - thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

I found this book fascinating. I learnt so much about the times and hardships. Loved the characters although very emotional from start to finish. Loved reading Lai story and how she grew up all the things that happened in her life and how she overcame things and dealt with hardships.

Everyone knows, or should know, and never forget, what happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989. I was perhaps at an age where the gravity of the situation passed me by. But subsequently, I've been to China many times and studied their economic strategy, so I was very keen to get my hands on this book. To understand what brought the person to stand in front of a tank so defiantly.

So this book, written some thirty years later, is the journey that led to that moment, seen through the eyes of a young girl growing up in communist China. Part memoir, part novel, deeply personal writing.

It is beautifully written. You feel you not only know the characters, but I have images in my head of their appearances. You know the individuals so well by the end that it invokes strong emotion, and I very rarely get emotionally entangled in book characters, but I did cry at the end!

The revelation around who stood in front of the tank and why is a major surprise, and indeed describing that would be a spoiler. So I highly recommend this book not only for the journey, but for the end scene.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Tiananmen Square follows Lai Wen growing up in Beijing during the 1970s and 1980s, during a period of the political unrest and social change. Written as a mix of a memoir and novel, we follow her from her childhood in a poorer part of the city to her studies at Peking University and the protests of 1989.

A compelling and insightful account of a turbulent period in China's past, it’s a fascinating book, one that has really made me reflect on how privileged we actually are! It’ll be a read that stays with you some time after you finish reading it.

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.

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

Part memoir, part novel, this is an extremely impactful book charting the life of Lan as she grows up in Beijing. I’m ashamed to know that before reading this I had very little idea of the atrocities committed in Tiananmen Square or why they occurred, so this book hit harder than perhaps it would have done if I were already aware.

It’s a beautifully written, atmospheric book that stays with you long after reading.

With thanks to the publisher for access to this ARC.

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'.

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!

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!

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.

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 ✨.