Falling Leaves by Adeline Yen Mah
P.S. Wrote this a long time ago after reading this book, prolly 2004. Thanks to photo to text technology of my phone, i decided to transfer it here. My book with same cover photo as above was long shared to book drives and the photo above was just grabbed from an online seller via shopee.
Falling Leaves
By Adeline Yen Mah
Soft, 1999 ed., 279 pp.
By Adeline Yen Mah
Soft, 1999 ed., 279 pp.
Falling Leaves and my roots
Falling Leaves is one book I finished off this year. And this is personally, quite an
accomplishment. I did not read any review written about it in the past, or heard it being patronized by my friends. But this book attracted me for some time already, starting when I was still in Iloilo City hooked on law school obligations. And I only bought it late last year when I raided the chain of
National Bookstores in Manila (I'm not sure which branch) after taking the bar examinations.
I instantly felt a strong affinity for it. First, it is an autobiography. I love nonfiction because it
inspires me to better myself by learning the aspirations, ideals and attitudes of the author or the subject. Second, Falling Leaves is about a Chinese daughter. Somehow, I felt a bond with the author because I am a granddaughter of a Chinese whom I never had a chance to know for he died years
before I was even conceived.
inspires me to better myself by learning the aspirations, ideals and attitudes of the author or the subject. Second, Falling Leaves is about a Chinese daughter. Somehow, I felt a bond with the author because I am a granddaughter of a Chinese whom I never had a chance to know for he died years
before I was even conceived.
Last, in choosing books, I have a fetish: I read the dedication page. The Falling Leaves has
this: 'Dedicated to my Aunt Baba, whose unwavering belief in my worth sustained me throughout my tormented childhood; to my husband Bob, without whose love this book could not have been written; and to all unwanted children, in the hope that they will persist to do their best in the face of hopelessness, to believe that in the end their spirit will prevail, and to nurture their childhood traumas into the source of courage, creativity, and compassion." Well, the
page said it all for me to jump on the succeeding pages. It is a sure courageous piece.
this: 'Dedicated to my Aunt Baba, whose unwavering belief in my worth sustained me throughout my tormented childhood; to my husband Bob, without whose love this book could not have been written; and to all unwanted children, in the hope that they will persist to do their best in the face of hopelessness, to believe that in the end their spirit will prevail, and to nurture their childhood traumas into the source of courage, creativity, and compassion." Well, the
page said it all for me to jump on the succeeding pages. It is a sure courageous piece.
Falling Leaves is a memoir of an unwanted Chinese daughter. But I am not to narrate the
whole story here but give you the reasons why I considered it as one of my favorite books. I have no childhood traumas but I have no childhood memories with my grandparents either. So, I felt that by reading the memoir, I could have an intimate understanding of my Chinese grandfather who came in
the Philippines on the early part of the 20th century.
As a memoir, Falling Leaves is vivid. The author wonderfully ushered me to her raw
experiences as a child that I wondered whether they just happened only yesterday, or whether she is just my age (she was born on 30 November 1937). As in one incident, when she was ten years old and won as president of her class and her classmates made a surprise visit to her house, she recounted the prize she got from her Eurasian stepmother.
"Who invited them here?"
"No one did. They came on their own to celebrate my winning the campaign for class president."
"Is this party your idea?"
"No, Niang. I had no inkling of it."
"Come here!" she screamed. Slowly, reluctantly, I approached her chair. She slapped my face so hard that I
was knocked off balance. "You're lying!" she continued. "You planned it, didn't you, to show off our house to your penniless classmates. You thought we would not be home."
experiences as a child that I wondered whether they just happened only yesterday, or whether she is just my age (she was born on 30 November 1937). As in one incident, when she was ten years old and won as president of her class and her classmates made a surprise visit to her house, she recounted the prize she got from her Eurasian stepmother.
"Who invited them here?"
"No one did. They came on their own to celebrate my winning the campaign for class president."
"Is this party your idea?"
"No, Niang. I had no inkling of it."
"Come here!" she screamed. Slowly, reluctantly, I approached her chair. She slapped my face so hard that I
was knocked off balance. "You're lying!" she continued. "You planned it, didn't you, to show off our house to your penniless classmates. You thought we would not be home."
As a historical account, Falling Leaves can be given a chance. The author gave me the 20th
century political and economic milieu in China. From time to time while she talked of her personal story, she transported me to the larger story of China. She gave me accounts of this nature: "On the night of 3 June, PLA soldiers opened fire in Tiananmen Square and arrested the student leaders. In Hong Kong the stock market fell by 581 points in one day. A sympathy strike was called on 7 June. People marched in black and white, mourning the dead in western and eastern colours."
As a literary piece, it can be voted for. Falling Leaves has the element of a novel which holds the reader's interest from first page up to the last. The last will and testament that opened the memoir is the same last will and testament that concluded it. Of course, the ending made me exclaim, "I can't believe it. God, there are people who are just like this." You won't believe that up to her death, the stepmother still plots to ruin the author and her relationship with her siblings.
century political and economic milieu in China. From time to time while she talked of her personal story, she transported me to the larger story of China. She gave me accounts of this nature: "On the night of 3 June, PLA soldiers opened fire in Tiananmen Square and arrested the student leaders. In Hong Kong the stock market fell by 581 points in one day. A sympathy strike was called on 7 June. People marched in black and white, mourning the dead in western and eastern colours."
As a literary piece, it can be voted for. Falling Leaves has the element of a novel which holds the reader's interest from first page up to the last. The last will and testament that opened the memoir is the same last will and testament that concluded it. Of course, the ending made me exclaim, "I can't believe it. God, there are people who are just like this." You won't believe that up to her death, the stepmother still plots to ruin the author and her relationship with her siblings.
Moreover, the chapter headings make me spin with delight until now. They are Chinese
proverbs written in Chinese characters (with the equivalent pronunciation) and English. Take as an example the title in Chapter 32, Lou Ye Gui Gen which means Falling Leaves Return to Their Roots.
proverbs written in Chinese characters (with the equivalent pronunciation) and English. Take as an example the title in Chapter 32, Lou Ye Gui Gen which means Falling Leaves Return to Their Roots.
Reading it aloud while typing this piece makes me sound like a real Chinese, and wish that I have had known my roots more than the pieces of mementos I catalogued for their memory. Someday, I will.
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