Opens a western reader's eyes to yet another variation of the expectation that women exist to serve men and are treated as chattal; to the depths of deprivation and abuse and fear that Mao's communistm caused; and to Chinese cultural norms before and after life under Mao, and as emigrants.

For comfortable middle-class American women for whom the ennui of the housewife constitutes their biggest challenge, this is comparative analysis writ large.

Unforgettable. I read it over five years ago and it has earned a permanent place on my bookshelf.