Chinese Cinderella

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When I think about it, Adeline’s Yen Mah’s book would be the first autobiography I ever read. I remember reading it in the early stages of high school, before I stopped reading altogether, and absolutely loving it; while also thinking it was one of the saddest stories I’d ever read. Having now reread it as an adult, I still feel this way. And still adore it.

Chinese Cinderella chronicles Adeline Yen Mah’s childhood from kindergarten through to university as the youngest, and unwanted, daughter from a first marriage. Tormented by her openly hateful stepmother, ignored by her father, and shunned by her siblings who blame her for their mother’s death, Adeline pours her efforts into study and keeping her troubled home life a secret from her friends. With only her Aunt Baba and her grandfather supporting her, life for poor Adeline is a true Cinderella story, which means that after all the exclusion and torment, there is the promise of a happy ending.

Chinese Cinderella is very simply written, ideal for younger readers beginning to branch out into non-fiction. It’s the story’s events, dramas, and the promise of hope for Adeline that keeps you in a flurrying frenzy of turning pages. Sophisticated and eloquent with a gorgeous tone of childhood innocence, I adore this book because it is a fairytale made real. Chinese traditions and its histories, both ancient and modern, help establish the drama and reflect the changing cultural attitudes that characterised the country at the time: the book covers WWII, the Chinese Civil War, and the rise of Communism, all told through the words of a growing child.

Image credit: Goodreads

Adeline’s story is inspiring as a Cinderella story that brings about its happy ending through the heroine’s own hard work and courage to carry on: a beautiful and relevant message for both boys and girls even to this day. Being so intimate with the protagonist, you actually feel the happiness, dread, and sadness of the events she’s describing and the reading experience is completely shared between reader and narrator, making it very powerful and very immersive. It’s truly beautiful.

Chinese Cinderella is the autobiography of Adeline Yen Mah, the bestselling author of Falling Leaves. It was written in 1999 and published by Penguin Books Australia.