Genealogy Books - Bound Feet & Western Dress: A Memoir

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Summary: A Filial Memoir
Comment: From what I've read about Chinese culture, the ties that bind a family together are one of its
strongest and most enforced traditions. "Bound Feet and Western Dress" is an interesting memoir for
the fact that it does not read like a memoir at all. It is the story of a great-aunt told to her
great-niece, who mixes in her own observations about her aunt's life and her experience as a
Chinese-American among her narrative.

"Bound Feet and Western Dress" tells the story of
the author's great-aunt, Chang Yu-i. Born in 1900, Yu-i was the first woman in her family to refuse
to have her feet bound. Despite being modern in this aspect, she is stunted and traditional in her
upbringing, her education, and the way she acts in her first marriage. She is famous for having
perhaps the first "modern" divorce in China and is determined to make it on her own from that point
on. No one in her family truly knows her story until her great-niece asks her to tell it. />
What passes between the two of them may not be a ground-breaking, fascinating story but is
rather a quiet reflection on growing up in a changing time. Yu-i struggles through a great majority
of her life to be both modern and traditional, to do what is 'right and expected' and to do what she
wanted to do. She is an inspiration to her great-niece, a first generation Chinese-American who
feels at home with neither nationality. The intersections of the author's remembrances of past
encumbrances fit nicely with Yu-i's struggle to bridge the past with the new. "Bound Feet and
Western Dress" offers a poignant look at the role that women have played in China and how they are
defining themselves today.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Irritating narrative, badly written book
Comment: The idea was good but Natasha simply didn't have the talent to put it in written and understandable
text. She switches all the time the "I", got me confused about who she was talking about, her or her
aunt.She mixed both stories, suddenly she wants to explains her "great destiny" (narcissism) at the
same time as she tells the strory about her great aunt. Those second, third, fourth, xth brother's
wife, sister, uncles, all irritating narrative. I really tried to like the story, to pick and read
and just gave me headaches trying to figure it out whose story she is talking. Go back to school. I
don't know how the editor accepts this kind of book to be published, need a lot of editing. Maybe
someone in the publishing house is her relative.

Customer Rating:

Summary: A good book, because it is a true story.
Comment: I enjoyed the auuthor's simple writing style. The story is about a woman who decides whether or not
to make her own life, or allow it to be decided for her. The best thing about this book, is that it
is a true story. The book was fast reading, and very inspirational. I would reccommend it.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Why Am I Famous
Comment: This woman Natasha is suffering from the WAIF (why am I famous) syndrome. She has accomplshed
nothing beside a stupid degree from Harvard (her family is loaded obviously. Her grandfather and
father, chinese, went to Japan after the war. Why? Where did their money come from? Any
patriotic chinese would not go to Japan after the war. They must be special.) So, she dragged up
this great aunt who had been married to a poet for a few years. This great aunt has done nothing
except what most good chinese women of her generation would do----swallowed bitterness, did her duty
etc--- I was a child in Hong Kong when I heard about the letter Yu-I's son wrote about her proposed
re-marriage. Everybody said her son was brilliant and a loving son. Yu-I herself never complained.
I left Hong Kong after she emigrated so I know.

This Natasha went on endlessly about her
'suffering.' Poor thing, if chinese waiter speak to her in chinese , she would have a fit.
Likewise the other way round. She did not have the grace to talk properly to a chinese ex-change
student thousands of miles away from home (chinese people are not a novelty to her, she said.) She
complained about chinese people with bad teeth and bad English, unlikely her posh family. Well,
from what I can see from the photo, her whole family is preety ugly. What is more, they are
self-centred, full of self-importance, selfish, and stupid. What with her father talking about
producing 'pure chinese children.' Of course, Natasha herself will never marry a chinese. This is
the real her. Trying to glamorize herself by some digging of past 'romance and glory.' She does
not give two figs about the suffering of the chinese people in China like the aids village or
millions of child workers working in desperate condition. She is so stupid that she mentioned
Yu-I's war profiteering (buying dye used for army uniform and holding it back until the price had
increased a hundred fold.) I am so sick I can puke.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Get a Life
Comment: This woman Natasha is the most irritating thing I have come across in a long time. Her own life is
so stupid and boring, but she insists us to know how a million years ago she was called chinky and
whatnot. She brags about her family (evidently a family ritual) endlessly. From what I can see,
her family is stupid, selfish (war profiteering by Yu-Yi if you ask me), boring. Yu Yi has
accomplished nothing neither. She went through what most chinese women went through in terms of
humuliation, abuse, etc. But she had enough to eat and did nothing to help poor people. I am
chinese myself. I am just sick of Natasha's story. To give credit to Yu Yi , she never whined
before this was dragged out of her.

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