Last Kiss in Tiananmen Square

✍ Scribed by Lisa Zhang Wharton

• Book ID: 100268772
• Year: 2011
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 159 KB
• Category: Fiction
• ISBN: 0615567622

✦ Synopsis

Last Kiss in Tiananmen Square is a novel based on the 1989 Tiananmen Square Pro-democracy movement. The novel follows a young woman, Baiyun, a junior in college, trying to reconcile her upbringing while in the midst of the rising political movement in Beijing, China.

Baiyun grew up in a strange and cold household. In order to cope with her dysfunctional family, Baiyun worked as hard as she could, eventually getting herself in the prestigious Beijing University.

Baiyun joined the Pro-democracy movement to vent her frustrations. While protesting, she met the man of her dreams, Dagong, a handsome and charismatic factory technician who was orphaned at birth and lost his only relative during the Cultural Revolution. But even Dagong couldnt fully take Baiyun away: his face reminded her of one of her mothers lovers, both attracting her and drawing her back.

Last Kiss in Tiananmen Square is a coming-of age story set against the historic and devastating era in Chinese history. With the cultural significance and family bonds of The Kite Runner, this book explores the way in which ones past is never forgotten.

Review

From an Amazon Reviewer:
This novel works on many levels. In addition to being a simple love story with a backdrop of world events, it's a close-up look at the lasting effects of the Cultural Revolution on everyday Chinese families and an intriguing exploration of historical events. It's truly a must-read for all audiences.

From another Amazon Reviewer:
Lisa Zhang Wharton's "Last Kiss In Tiananmen Square" put a face and a personal story to the history of the 4 June 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre. That pure, beautiful face belongs to the studious bookworm Baiyun.

From another Amazon Reviewer:
I love the Chinese voice that Lisa Zhang Wharton writes with. Her experience as a Chinese woman comes across in her story, and it feels almost auto-biographical.

From Goodreads:
Extremely insightful drama of one of the most historical events in modern Chinese history, as seen through the eyes of a young college student. A must-read.

About the Author

Born and raised in Beijing, China, Lisa Zhang Wharton is a graduate of Peking University and University of Minnesota. She is an engineer by education and an author by avocation. She has previously published several short stories about life in China and the United States in various literary magazines. Her short story "My Uncle" has won a second prize in a WICE sponsored Paris Writer's Workshop. "Last Kiss in Tiananmen Square" is her first full-length novel. She lives in St. Paul, Minnesota with her husband and son.