Yuan Yang’s Private Revolutions: Coming of Age in New China is quietly revelatory. One of the new intake of Labour MPs, the author was born in China, moved to the UK at age 4, and returned to China as an adult when working as a journalist for the FT. The book is a history of four women of her generation who became friends and contacts during that period. It’s a gripping read as the women have extraordinary stories. It’s also a powerful reminder of how much the country has changed within a generation – a rapid transformation that can’t help but have had an impact on people’s psyches. The word ‘revolution’ is not hyperbole. It reminded me a bit of a 1986 book I read decades ago by John Hooper about Spain, in which he pointed out the pyschological impact on young men from conservative villages of going to work as waiters or similar in the new resorts of hte Costa Brava. So I warmly recommend Private Revolutions, a fascinating read and a different perspective on a country we will have to learn more about in the years ahead.
