The Bitter Sea

Charles N. Li wrote a powerful memoir displaying the difficulties he experienced from childhood to adulthood, from his family’s extreme downgrade from a wealthy family to an impoverished family living in the slums of Nanjing, to being denied of entering college due to his father’s status in China. Li demonstrated his emotional struggles throughout his book, from his separation from his nanny, his attempt to become closer to his distant mother, to his constant strive for acceptance by his father.

Li’s memoir seemed incomplete at various points in the book; in many instances, Li jumped from one event to another without any subtle transition. His division of the book into five parts helped aid the reader in terms of figuring out Li’s whereabouts, but other than that, the reader was left struggling to figure out what other events happened between every division of the book.

However, I still thoroughly enjoyed reading Li’s memoir since his detailing for what was mentioned was well-written; I enjoyed reading about the adventures he had with his friends in Nanjing, the extermination of the Four Pests in his reform school, as well as his reunion with his father at the end of the book. Although English was not his first language, Li managed to pull off successfully an intriguing memoir of his journey of how he became who he is today.