Publisher's Synopsis
Sounds of the River is the second book in what will be a trilogy of memoirs based on the coming of age of Da Chen during the Cultural Revolution in Communist China. Beginning with his first train ride to Beijing from his farm in suburban China, we rumble along with him in the overcrowded and disease-ridden car to the University of Beijing. Here, the author faces a host of ghastly challenges including poor living conditions, lack of food, and suicidal roommates. Undaunted by these hurdles and armed with his animalistic instincts to learn English and "all things Western," he must compete with every student to win a chance at studying in America at the shrewd and corrupt hands of the almighty professors.
