Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party

by Ying Chang Compestine

Book Overview

The summer of 1972, before I turned nine, danger began knocking on doors all over China.

Nine-year-old Ling has a very happy life. Her parents are both dedicated surgeons at the best hospital in Wuhan, and her father teaches her English as they listen to Voice of America every evening on the radio. But when one of Mao's political officers moves into a room in their apartment, Ling begins to witness the gradual disintegration of her...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312581491
• ISBN13: 9780312581497
• Release Date: September 2009
• Publisher: Square Fish
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.3" x 7.5"
• Age Range: 10 to 14 years
• Grade Range: Grades 5 to 9

Customer Reviews

Book Review for Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party

"Revolution is Not a Dinner Party" is an exciting page-turner not to be read on an empty stomach (read it and you'll see why)! I had a hard time putting the book down and I have actually learned way more about the Chinese Cultural Revolution from reading the book than I have from my history class. Even though this is supposed to be for `young adults' and is written though the eyes of a young girl, I think that it's a book that adults would really like too. My family enjoys reading out loud to each other and we're always looking for books that we would ALL like. I added "Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party" to our list as my choice to read out loud next.

An Eleven Year Old's Opinion

"Revolution Is Not A Dinner Party" is a wonderful story that relates to Chinese history during the time period of the Cultural Revolution. The story is exciting and has many twists and turns that grab the reader's attention. When I read this book, I did not want to put it down. "Revolution is Not a Dinner Party" is written so vividly and with so much care that this is one of my favorite books that I have ever read. Ying Chang Compestine is a fantastic author. I love this book and I recommend it to anyone ages 9 and up.

Revolution Is Not A Dinner Party Review

Revolution Is Not A Dinner Party is a compelling read that all people must read. A story of hope, strength, and redemption, it kept me in my seat. It only took me an hour to read it, so if you have a little time on your hands, this book is a good option. Ling is a young girl growing up during the Cultural Revolution, a period when Chairman Mao enforced all these rules, rations, and ideas upon the public. He especially encouraged young people to turn in their parents, and although Ling can never imagine anyone doing that, she sees terrors that many people don't ever see. The book goes by very fast, all sorts of action take place. Ling's mother grows to apperciate her daughter, and Ling's father overcomes difficulties. I was very sad when Mrs. Wong was taken away; I think she was my favorite character by far. The only point of the book that bothers me is that the author said that the worst abuses stopped in 1969, but all this takes place after. It still seems pretty bad for me. I think the author just wanted to include Mao's death in it, and it just didn't make sense to jump around. Otherwise, this book was very enlightening and was extremely well written. A good book for everyone and anyone.

Revolution is Not A Dinner Party - Maybe not, but it's a heck of a read for the whole family

"Revolution is not a dinner party, . . . A revolution is an insurrection, an act of violence by which one class overthrows another." - Mao Zedong. Ying Chang Compestine's title of her first novel is nothing short of brilliant irony. Ms. Compestine, like her protagonist, Ling, survived Mao's Cultural Revolution (a time marked by constant hunger) to become the author of three cookbooks and a recognized authority on Chinese cooking and culture. It's hard to pick a place to begin in recommending this book. First of all, it is a "cross-over" novel, which, in the trade, means a book for both young adults (10 yrs. and up) and general readership. I cannot think of a better book to be read by everyone in any family. China, and all things Chinese, is a big part of our lives and will be an even larger part of our children's lives. This novel is as fine a start as any to better understand China's recent past. The year is 1972 when the story begins and it ends shortly after Mao's death in 1976. Ling is almost nine years old in 1972, and it is through her eyes that we experience her fear and terror when, "Danger began knocking on doors all over China." Ling is a bright and vivacious only child. She is the great joy of an easy-going father and the consternation of a perfectionist mother. The family lives in a hospital compound where her father practices Western surgery and her mother practices traditional Chinese medicine. The tie-in to our California Bay Area is a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge given to her father by his teacher, a visiting American doctor. It is her father's hope that some day Ling will travel to America and see the Golden Gate Bridge. The picture of the bridge, which would be perceived as a bourgeois symbol to the marauding Red Guard, is finally hidden behind the framed portrait of Mao Zedong on their mantle. When Ling's parents burn books, letters, old photographs and other family mementos, the hidden picture of the Golden Gate Bridge becomes their icon of resistance. Ling's creator not only came to America, but on a clear day, when coming through the Caldecott Tunnel from her home in Lafayette, California, she can now almost reach out and touch the Golden Gate Bridge. Compestine tells Ling's story in language both youthfully direct and emotionally honest. In her father's eyes, Ling could do no wrong. With her mother, it was different: "I believed Mother was unhappy with me because she had never wanted to have a daughter." She wishes her mother loved her "the way I was, like Father did." When Ling's father is taken away by the Red Guard as an enemy of the people, we remember her worry: "How could I learn every one of Mother's rules so I wouldn't upset her?" Mother and daughter must build a relationship to survive. In the ensuing four years, Ling experiences loss, hunger, betrayal, fear and confusion, all topics worth generating lively family discussions. Here's what I recommend: after each member of your famil

Making the Cultural Revolution accessible to children

I was very impressed by the way Ying captured such a complex time in China's history through a little girl's point of view. Her loss of innocence is exemplified in the ways she boldly allows her head to be shaved. She had slowly given up the comforts that she was used to--meat, heat, radio, water, Mrs. Wang's shirt, her father--but was holding on fiercely to her hair, as if letting go of that meant that she was letting go of everything. I worried about this topic being too harsh for children, but Ying was able to add the silver lining in a young girl's world through her loves, like her family and her vision of the Golden Gate bridge.