Very good reading for those who love history which is told in a simple way, thrue a live story of an Europen - China couple and their children at the beginning of the 20th century ; and for those, who are always seeking the real truth and are never satisfied with just one point of view.

All the masses of people who loved "Wild Swans" will love this one too. It gives a slightly different perspective on the same situation. Gives less recent history, but more information on colonial exploitation in pre-communist times than Wild Swans does. This author has written a few other books too.

This was a book of romance and intrigue. I read it in 3 days and enjoyed it thoroughly. It leads us through the life of a woman who discovers life. Who finds a way to live that she had never known before. And in reading about her discovery I made some discoveries of my own! I don't want to tell you more of the plot, but I will tell you it is a good read and worth it!

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This novel tells a tale of self-exploration, romance, and finding ones self. It is spiritual, yet objective. Suyin Han does a magnificent job of helping me to know and understand the culture of the nepalese. She seeks out the falsities of faith, and the importance of love.

The Mountain is Young tells the story of Ann Ford, a young women who married for security, not love. When she takes a teaching position in the small city of Khatmandu, she discovers herself again, and the importance love has on ones life. Not only love for a significant other, but love of nature, love of yourself, and love for all things living. This novel will give you a whole new understanding of life and is definitely worth the read. If you can get your hands on this novel, I suggest you do so.

Here is what it reads on the back of the book
ABANDONING HER PASSIONLESS MARRIAGE TO COLONIAL CIVIL SERVANT, JOHN FORD, ANN JOURNEYS TO KHATMANDU, LAND OF GODS, TEMPLES AND SNOW PEAKS IN A VOYAGE OF SLEF-DISCOVERY AND SPIRITUAL AWAKENING.

AGAINST THE EROTIC AND DEEPLY MYSTICAL BACKDROP OF KHATMANDU SHE LEARNS THE REALITY OF LOVE, WITH ITS PAIN AND SACRIFICE. HERE SHE MEETS THE MAJESTIC UNNI MENNON, WORSHIPPED BY HIS OWN PEOPLE, RESENTED BY THE EUROPEANS. AND AS THEY STRUGGLE AGAINST THE RIGID MORALITY OF EUROPEAN COLONIAL STANDARDS AND THE MAN-MADE PERVERSION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, THEIR REMARKABLE STORY-AND THE STORY OF KHATMANDU- UNFOLDS.

I could not help but make a smile on the words of the first commentator. Actually, I was also greatly touched by that great film 'The Love is Many Splendored Things'. I also was puzzled why the original book was out of edition. I realized why it was not when I checked out an old copy from a big library: well, it was a kind of poorly written love story and was nothing else.If you doubt my words, please check out the book from some library. I, for the sake of fairness, must add that other books by the same author, such as 'Eldest Son,' were interesting and instructive to me.

I have read and re-read this book for many years. I love the way the Han Suyin describes all the details of her surroundings. Having lived in Hong Kong as an ex-pat I believe she paints an accurate picture of the complex relationship between caucasians and Chinese living in Hong Kong. The book is wordy and gets off to a slow start but it is well worth the read. It is a fairly mild romance with a strong message attached. If you are looking for a more intense romance, try Han Suyin's fiction "The Mountain Is Young".

I think the book is better than the movie. How can you translate some words to the big screen? There is no way. Han Suyin has a way with the words that goes straight to the heart.

My only regret is that the book is out of print.

This is one of the few books available in English about Zhou Enlai, one of the most fascinating and least understood political figures in modern Chinese history.

Unfortunately, author Han Suyin and editor Paul De Angelis fail to bring to life this enigmatic figure who was in many ways responsible for guiding a broken China out of the ashes of Civil War and steering her away from the ill-planned social and economic policies of Mao Zedong.

Han comes from the propaganda school of China writing. In the 60s and 70s she penned forgettable books on the successes of Chinese Communism and the predicted triumph that never happened.

Blame it on the political climate of the day, but unfortunately many of the writing skills and editorial standards learned at that time are still present in the biography of Zhou Enlai. Legitimate interviews and quotes are seldom cited or even identified, while liberal doses of hearsay and legend (especially from the Long March period) are treated as fact. The story of the young man who rose through the ranks of the CCP hierarchy to become the No. 2 man to Mao all too often reads like a rather lengthy party biography with a few doses of insider gossip thrown in for good measure.

More importantly, readers seldom get a chance to see the man behind the public image. The all-important early years are treated as a series of dates and accomplishments in the expatriate CCP cell in France, and his childhood is barely mentioned at all.

His story begs more personal details and impressions from the people who knew him, but Han sticks mainly to the official version of Zhou and the party line on the political struggles of the time. It's a pity, because Han interviewed on several occaisions Zhou's widow and could have used her memories to paint an interesting, behind-the-scenes picture of this powerful figure. For instance, in the Long March period Zhou emerges as a man skilled in the art of compromise - what made him this way? The author either failed to ask the right questions or chose not to include them in this biography.

Other problems include a stiff writing style, a poor story structure, a mediocre translation and editing effort, and an irritating and often incorrect mix of Romanization systems used to spell out Chinese names.

The editor and publisher deserve some of the blame for not developing the idea with the author. They also deserve criticism for accepting and printing a manuscript that clearly needed some major changes.

It didn't have to be this way. "Wild Swans" is proof that great biographical works can be produced by Chinese writers in English. Too bad the people behind Zhou Enlai's only readily available profile in English did not see "Wild Swans" as an inspiration.

Han Suyin writes an amazingly detailed account of one of the greatest statesmen of the twentieth century. Her prose is fluent and engaging, and the questions which she raises throughout the biography help the reader to grasp a fuller picture of the secretive man whose powerful politics saved China from Western military aggression. For those who are unfamiliar with the history of modern China, Ms. Han patiently describes the events which surrounded and preceded Premier Zhou. She painstakingly describes the politics of those who affected him, and she demonstrates how Zhou led the founding of the world's most populous nation.

Outside of the American media's depictions of Chinese human rights violations and inflitration, few Americans are familiar with matters relating to China. Here is a factual inside account of modern China shown with both its strengths and foibles. Ms. Han writes from her personal interviews with Premier Zhou and his colleagues, and she presents a full picture of both his accomplishments and mistakes. She is careful not to err on the side of exaggeration, though it is apparent that she, like most Chinese in China, revere their nation's former Premier. Americans, especially those who wish to understand the history between China and the U.S., should find this book interesting.

Actually, I'm writing a review about the review that erroneosly lend me to purchase this book. The review you have on file states this book is about an american female reporter in VIETNAM during the war. This book is about China at the end of WWII, not the Vietnam war!

COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN. IT KEPT ME WONDERING WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT. BASED ON ACCOUNTS OF A FEMALE AMERICAN JOURNALISTS EXPERIENCE, DURING THE VIETNAM WAR. THIS BOOK HAS A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING IN IT. - ADVENTURE,POLITICS,ROMANCE,BUSINESS,GEOGRAPHY, WAR, RACISM AND STATISTICS. WOULD LIKE TO FIND A COPY OF THIS BOOK !

I read this book because I am hoping to visit Tibet. I had earlier read Love is a Many Splendoured Thing by Han Suyin. I found "Lhasa: An Open City" to be a very pro-China account of Tibet. So in that sense it was disappointing. The language was uninspiring. However, if you retain your objectivity, there is a lot of useful information about Tibet and it is definitely worth a read on that account.