Written by the wife of former ambassador to China, Winston Lord, whe was present in the spring of 1989 as CBS reporter for the Tiananmen Square Massacre. Much of the book is presented as voices of family and friends relating their trials thru the maze and terror of Chinese party policies, particularly the Cultural Revolution in 1966-1976. She brings peasant and intellectual together, as their descriptions of their perplexity and suffering differ little. However, the book itself is a maze of time zones, especially in regard to her own history. I found it increasingly difficult to keep it all straight. Would have been much better in a normal linear form. I think she sacrificed clarity for style. Interweaving is popular now, but here it doesn't work. But she shows quite well a society where one day's solid ground is tomorrow's quicksand.

Bao Lord's book is a montage of stories about her family and friends in China against first, the backdrop of the Cultural Revolution, and then Tienamen Square in 1989. There have been many books that have come out in the 1990's on the Cultural revolution, an unimaginably painful period of 10 years in China during which Mao Zedong turned the people against one another as a way of deflecting challenges to his own power. The country descended into chaos as the Red Guard, basically a group of millions of teenagers set loose, destroyed everything in its path. Thirty million people died during this period! It is hard to imagine living through what Bao Lord's characters have endured--betrayal by relatives and friends, the death of a child, imprisonment for no reason, torture, the destruction of education, art and culture--it goes on and on. Many of these stories are told in the characters' own words, transcribed from audio tapes sent to her by people who wanted their stories told. The stories of Bao Lord's own family are equally absorbing, especially of her grandmother, who defied tradition and paid the price.

I listened to the audio version of this book, read by the author. Generally I find that professional readers do a better job, but this book was an exception--Bao Lord reads with great emotion in a slightly inflected voice but otherwise no acccent. She does an excellent job.

Anyone traveling to China is well-advised to read several memoirs of modern China. It is easy to look at China today and see rapid modernization, signs of free enterprise, and a bustling economy. Books like Bao Lord's remind us that China has a long way to go.

This is the most amazing book I read in a while, in touch me in all the ways possible. I simply love this book so much. It is a story telling that one could not be found anywhere else. Bette Bao Lord surpasses Amy Tan with Spring Moon. Peerless in its artisry and beauty, Lord has done wonders.

This book is about a Chinese girl named Shirley. She had to move China to Brooklyn New york when she was about ten years old. It was difficult for her to move to America because she was Chinese and didn't speak very good English, and she didn't have that many friends. The book tells about how she comes to love baseball and how her favorite player is Jackie Robinson. At the end of the book she gets to meet Jackie Robinson. This book is ok, but not great. The interesting parts are when it is about baseball. For example, Shirley listens to the radio when it tells about the baseball game. The games she listens to are the Brooklyn Dodgers games and she especially likes hearing about Jackie Robinson. You can learn a lot about Jackie Robinson by reading those parts of the book. When it isn't about baseball the book isn't as interesting. I recommend to people who want to know what Jackie Robinson did. It also tells about what it is like to be a Chinese person in America and that might be interesting for some people to read about.

"In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" is about a Chinese girl named Shirley Temple Wong who moves from China to America by ship to join her father.

When she gets there, she does not like it. She cannot speak English. She is the only 8 year-old and goes into the fifth grade because she thinks she is 10.

Shirley eventually makes friends and learns about baseball. Jackie Robinson is not one of the main characters but he means a lot to Shirley.

She gets beat up a lot by a girl named Mable with surprising results.

It is a good book that I would recommend to people who like real life stories.

This book is about a little girl named Shirley Temple Wong, who lived in China for most of her life with all her relatives. But then she and her mother move to America to live with her father. It is very different for Shirley there and at first people are mean to her. But Shirley makes two good friends and she likes her friends a lot.

Shirley's favorite thing about America is that there is baseball and Shirley falls in love with baseball. ESPECIALLY Jackie Robinson!

I recommend this book to people who like books that are set in an earlier time than now. I also recommend this book to people who like baseball, because this book has a lot of baseball in it.

Spring Moon, by Bette Bao Lord, tells the story of a woman living in a world bound by tradition. It takes place in China during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The main character, Spring Moon, tries to find herself in a society torn by revolution. In the face of conflict she discovers herself and she realizes that som of the old traditions of her family are not realistic for the new China her people are fighting for. Bette Bao Lord writes in a very descriptive style, sometimes loosing the reader in the maz of adjectives. Thought the book was sometimes confusing, it had well-rounded characters, and a highly developed plot. Although the plot was intruguing, we felt that the book was too long. There were also many good things about the book too. Such as, the historical excerpts at the beginning of each chapter which made it easier to under stand the reading. The book revealed information about Chinese history, culture, and Chinese traditions, eventhough the book was fictitious. Spring Moon: A Novel of China, received mixed reviews from the people in our group and we all agree this book is not for everyone. But if you enjoy reading long books with intricate plots, than we recommend this book for you.

Nothing short of a holodeck will take you back to 1900's China unless you read Spring Moon. I would not be surprised to see this book on a list of required reading for anyone studying Chinese culture. A tale of love, war, family ties. It is all there. The plot, while difficult to follow for light readers, is engaging and thoroughly entertaining. Not for the weak at heart, but if u are willing to devote some time (it is near 6oo pages in paperback) you will not be disapointed!

Every member of our book discussion group (all women) liked this book--almost unprecedented in the last 3 years. Bette Bao Lord poetically relates the story of civil war and social change in China from 1892 to the early 1970s through the life story of Spring Moon, who lived a privileged life in a family of scholars. Names like Bold Talent, Glad Promise, Lustrous Jade and August Winds hint at the destiny of those who bear them. The bound feet of Chinese women are referred to as golden lilies. This beautiful language conveys an action story of social revolution, love, treason, and intrigue. Each chapter begins with a quote from Chinese history, legend, or poetry to put it into cultural perspective. An entertaining and enlightening read

I have to say that this book greatly described how the Chinese Revolution affected the people and the country in general. I also have to say that this book is better appreciated if you know about the revolution IN DETAIL. I also have to make a comment that I don't think the people who read the previous reviews knew much about what happened in China in the early 20th century. The compassion in the book is real and the events more. I read this book at the beginning of 8th grade...which means I read it before I turned 14 and I think this novel deserves better appreciation than people gave it.

It might be judged sentimental, perhaps even labelled wooden and contrived. But I found it nonetheless to be a great read. Bette Bao Lord manages to create an emotional universe in which her characters are not only believable and their fates compelling, but also tells a story which is touching in the way good stories should be.

It is a love stories with many twists and turns. The story is of lasting friendship but is very tragic. The characters were well developed that created a realistic atmosphere. This novel is accurate in depicting the "Liberation" of China. I would recommend this book for any one who is a fan of historical fiction. Beautifully written.