While not perfect, it fills a beautiful gap in English-language literature on the plight of individual families during China's turmoil in the 20th century. To read how much society not only changed, but how war, politicization and indoctrination affected everyone down to the smallest individual is humbling and distressing. To see the amount of personal vindictiveness, manipulation and downright lack of hope in the lives of ordinary Chinese gives you new perspective on how the Chinese view their government today. Because while China today isn't perfect, you can see how after the instability and downright terror faced by families only 50 years ago, today's communist party is an entirely different animal.