I don't know if it's the timing and I am currently not into historical fiction or whether this book was just not my cup of tea. I tried, but just couldn't finish. I just did not relate to the characters or the situations.

Quick Take: Mei Xiang, a poor girl from China’s countryside, is swept up in the Cultural Revolution in ways she never would have imagined.

The novel Forbidden City by Vanessa Hua is a look into one of China’s most important recent historical movements, the Cultural Revolution. Mei Xiang grew up in China’s poor countryside during the Cultural iral Revolution. When she got the chance to move to Beijing and perform for the chairman, she took it. She soon found out that she was chosen as a concubine to chairman Mao and as they grew closer, he gave her special tasks.

I appreciated the historical accuracy of this book. The Cultural Revolution is something most people have heard of but most don’t know much about it. This book brings to life the consequences of such a revolution and what it was like for ordinary people and politicians alike.

This book took me a while to get into, it wasn’t until page 119 that I noticed myself pulled completely into the narrative. That being said, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in China’s history and culture.

Rating: 3/5
Genre: Historical Fiction

I really wanted to like Forbidden City, but...😂🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️

Seriously though... the premise sounded just SOOO fascinating.

Mei Xiang is a 16 year old peasant girl in 1960s China, who is summoned to Lake Palace in Beijing to perform some mysterious "duties". Mei was born in communist China, and grew up during the brutal Great Leap Forward period. All she knew in her stort life was hunger, and the non questionable devotion to the Party and Chairman Mao. When the opportunity arises to leave her impoverished village and contribute to "the revolution", naturally she jumps on it.

Soon she learns that the "duties" of the recruits (teenage girls not unlike herself) mostly include dancing with the Party elites at the parties organized when the Chairman is in town. Well, dancing and other things...you know...

Here the novel turns into your typical YA all of a sudden: there is a rivery, a mean girl, a good friend, a "weak" girl who inevitably falls prey to the bully etc, etc... Eventually Mei prevails, and "scores big", as in "attracts the Chairman's attention". She becomes his lover, and a confidant and eventually distances herself from the rest of the girls.

Mei becomes involved in China's Cultural Revolution - one of the most brutal and turbulent periods in the modern Chinese history. She jumps onto her political assignments with fervor, but after a while a realization dawns on her that not all is as it seems.

That's when the second part of her journey begins: away from the Chairman and the communist China, and onto a slow and painful discovery of the rest of the world, and especially of herself.

Sounds fascinating isn't it? Unfortunately, for me the execution did not leave up to the expectations.

First, let me be clear, if an idea of a 16 year old having sex with a 70 year old Mao makes you throw up in your mouth a little bit - then perhaps this book is not for you.

Yep, you heard me, there are plenty of sex scenes and Hua is not witholding any details...💁 I do not consider myself too squimish when it comes to the descriptions of the wierd sex, but let me tell you...I cringed more than once while reading Forbidden City. What's even more disturbing is that the novel is loosely based on the real events. So, in fact, there were the girls, and the dance parties, and Mao did "take them to his bedchambers'' , soo you know....yeah 😖

Second, well to be honest, I did not buy into Mei's character development. I grew up in one of the former USSR republics, and while during my childhood it wasn't nearly as extreme there as in China during "The Great Leap Forward" or "The Cultural Revolution", even I met some people who "bought into" the ideology wholeheartedly. The type of the insight that Mei seems to be capable of even before her "awakening", well, I just do not find it realistic at all...💁 Not because a peasant girl cannot be smart, of course she can be, there are plenty of examples of that in the history. It's just that she knew NOTHING ELSE. And cognitive dissonance is a powerful thing. Once you convince yourself that Mao is a GOD and nothing wrong could ever come out of his mouth, changing your own mind is, well, next to impossible. Even watching your friends and family die from hunger is probably not going to convince you of Mao's wrongdoing. You will just tell yourself that their deaths served a higher purpose etc, etc. Also being smart and all, Mei's actions towards the end of the novel just seemed a bit too impulsive and careless. I'd expect her "rebelion" to be a bit more nuanced and calculated. An "insider" type of thing, a political intrigue perhaps. More plotting, less irrational behaviour such as shouting to the crazed masses? Seriously, if she was smart enough to break the "Chairman spell" that all of China was under, she should have been smart enough not to do things that would get her AND like all of her family almost inevitably killed...

In any case, I feel really bad, because I know that it took the author 14 years to research and write this novel. But, unfortunately, I felt a tad too distracted by constantly pointing out (to myself mind you 😜 ) all the inconsistencies of Mei's behaviour in the book.

Still, Forbidden City is a fascinating read, and Vanessa Hua deserves applause for writing such a unique novel, AND for such a detailed portrayal of one of the world's most powerful leaders, of whom we (let's be honest) know close to nothing here in the US. I sure learned a lot about the history of the communist China, and I googled quite a bit while reading Forbidden City. As always I am grateful for the learning opportunities that reading fiction provides.

Thank you Ballantine Books, Netgalley and the author for the gifted eARC

I felt a great deal of compassion for those suffering through Mao’s rule. The decade of research Hua undertook was undeniable, the reader feels the tension, violence, devotion as well as disappointment of people. Mao’s power and proclivities are not surprising.

I completely enjoyed the description of the time and place. Mei was a young girl caught in the web of what she was taught to believe, gave so much of herself while losing even more and when she realized what was truly going on her heartbreak was felt. Mei possesses gobs of loyalty and devotion, extremely courageous.

“What was it like for a peasant girl to get swept into the patriotism of those times and to meet a man she’d been raised to worship as a god?”

Fans of historical fiction and Chinese history will find Hua’s accomplished writing paired with considerable research with delight in this story and be awestruck by Mei. An impressive reading journey I thoroughly relished.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book, however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

The concept of this is interesting, but I’m not sure exactly how historically accurate it is. Vanessa Hua saw a picture of Chairman Mao with some girls and based most of this story off of the memoir of a physician who was granted amnesty in the United States in exchange for telling lies about Mao. So, if you do read this, take it with a grain of salt. I’m not saying it didn’t happen, but I’m not going to say that it did either. Anyways, enough about that, let’s talk about the book itself.

This is a difficult book to read straight from the beginning. Watching a teenager start to engage in a relationship with a 60+ year old man, is a bit difficult. Not to even mention that that man is Mao Zedong. It’s clearly discussing how brainwashed people were in relation to the party, but that doesn’t make it any less difficult to read. Something worse than it just being difficult to read is that it was boring. Really boring. Constantly putting me to sleep boring.

This felt a bit aimless for a vast majority of his book and the pacing was slow. Mei is hidden away in the Chairman’s bedroom for a majority of the book, trying to ride a revolution to fame, and obsessing with the “mean girl” of her troupe. This really made the whole thing drag. I was hoping for more glimpses of the Cultural Revolution and not just small glimpses of it. By the time we got to the big reveals of the story, I was just so over it.

Overall, for me this was lackluster at best. I think that there were a lot of liberties taken with the history surrounding this book, even if the author researched it for ten years, and if you take liberties you should at least make the book interesting. I’ve read a lot of history books and the best part of historical fiction is that it should be more readable than a straight up history book. Honestly, if you’re looking for a book related to the rise of Mao Zedong and the Cultural Revolution, might I suggest To Live by Yu Hua instead? I have to admit that I was planning on reading Vanessa Hua’s past work, but this has made me rethink that. We’ll see and if you pick this up I hope that you enjoy it a lot more than I did.

Sadly this didn’t work for me as a fan of historical fiction. I couldn’t connect to the writing style which pulled me away from the story. It might work for fans of historical fiction but it wasn’t to my taste.

At age 15, Mei Kiang, the youngest of three daughters born to Chinese peasants, longs to be a "model Revolutionary" for Chairman Mao. When recruiters come to her village, she is chosen to become a member of the Chairman's dance troupe in Beijing. One thing leads to many others. Mei finds herself chosen by the Chairman to dance with him, and subsequently finds herself in his bed and mistress to a powerful man more than four times her age. The whole thing reeks of "Me Too". But to a peasant girl obsessed with the Chairman and her role in the Revolution, it is heady stuff. Not only that, she is trained by Teacher Fan and Secretary Sun, works alongside the Chairman, and finally gets enough to eat every day. Honeymoons like this can't last forever. The Chairman is a difficult and capricious man who suffers from depression and insomnia and hunger for power.. A six-month train journey across China with the Chairman opens Mei's eyes, at last, to what really is going on in China. FORBIDDEN CITY refers to the Lake Palaces once the home of Chinese emperors and now the Chairman's base--opulent buildings on the edge of Beijing where the Chairman lives like an emperor. It is the story of Mei's harrowing and triumphant journey both within the walls and without as she navigates palace intrigues and the horrors of the Cultural Revolution she helps to precipitate. It's an insider's look, based on years of research, into the life of a secretive dictator and his minions and the terrible legacy he leaves his people. It is one hell of a story! Thanks to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for a review copy of this book. #NetGalley #Forbidden City

Written about a very unique historical time, Chinese rebellion. Mei is taken from her village to be a"dancer" which also include dancing with officials and sex with the Chairman. As much as I like historical fiction I didn't have a story line that appealed to me.

Vanessa Hua’s Forbidden City, a work of historical fiction set during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, tells the story of Mei Xiang, a young teenage girl who is plucked from her rural village to become one of the elite, all-female dance troupe who perform for the upper leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, including Chairman Mao, himself. Mei Xiang becomes the mistress of Mao, known for his many extramarital affairs with young women, and eventually, Mao grooms her as a propaganda tool for the Party. Eventually, disenchanted by the hypocrisy and cruelty of the Communist leadership, Mei Xiang breaks away for a life of freedom. Thanks to Net Galley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was very interested in reading about China under Mao’s reign. However, I found it hard to connect with Mei. Some of her actions I did not like. I also found the plot tended to drag. Still, I recommend this for fans of Anchee Min, Pearl Buck, and Amy Tan.

Book review: Author rises to new heights with 'The Forbidden City'
By ASHLEY RIGGLESON FOR THE FREE LANCE–STAR 22 hrs ago


When I read Vanessa Hua’s début novel, “A River of Stars,” I was not sure where she would go next. So, imagine my surprise when I read her newest work, “Forbidden City,” a historical novel set around China’s Cultural Revolution. While I liked “A River of Stars,” I loved “Forbidden City.” Hua has risen to new heights.

“Forbidden City” follows a 16-year-old girl named Mei Xiang. Born in 1949, Mei wants nothing more than to leave her village home and become a “model revolutionary,” someone so famous that her story is known all over China. When a party official comes to town to choose a girl to be taken to the capital, Mei makes sure she will be chosen. Soon, she is off to Beijing, where she works as a dancer, attending parties where she mingles with some of the country’s highest officials. She quickly catches the eye of a character known as “The Chairman.” It is common knowledge that The Chairman beds these girls, and, in some ways, Mei Xiang is no different. Yet, The Chairman also plans to use her in the political machinations he undertakes to stay in power. Mei Xiang is soon caught in a web of political intrigue that she does not initially understand. And her actions have disastrous consequences.
Hua uses her characters’ circumstances to explore power dynamics, guilt, redemption and legacy.

Yet she also excels at character development, and she strikes a careful balance in her storytelling. While readers will not always like Mei Xiang, the author refuses to let us fully blame her for the consequences of her actions. On the contrary, Hua successfully makes the case that Mei is a product of her time.

Additionally, Hua’s writing is so assured that I felt involved in the story from page one, and Mei Xiang’s singular voice will stay with me for a long time. And while her earlier novel has some comedic elements, there is none of that here. Rather, Hua shows herself to be a promising writer with extraordinary range.

And though it would help to have some knowledge of Chinese history going into this book, “Forbidden City” is a meticulously researched and textured novel in which there are no easy answers. Instead, Hua’s novel is utterly original and haunting—well after the final page is turned.

Ashley Riggleson is a freelance reviewer from Rappahannock County.
More Information
THE FORBIDDEN CITY

By Vanessa Hua

(Ballantine Books, $28, 368 pages)

Published: May 10, 2022

Forbidden City by Vanessa Hua tells the story of young Mei Xiang and her life with Chairman Mao at the Lake Palaces in Beijing. Mei Xiang is only sixteen when she leaves her family behind in poverty and squalor and becomes part of a troop of young girls selected to entertain the Chairman and other leaders. Hua deftly describes Mei's cunning as she works to become the Chairman's mistress and confidant. Once ensconced at the Chairman's side Mei ultimately longs to become a famous model revolutionary . Forbidden City is a cautionary tale about getting what you wish for. Power can be abused in many ways.

Thank you to Random House for the ARC of Forbidden City.

This is an excellent historical fiction novel set during the Cultural Revolution in 1966 China. I enjoyed reading from the perspective of the 16 year old girl who, when she catches the eye of Chairman Mao during one of her dance troupe's performances, gets caught up in his personal, romantic and political life as he tries to assert his power during the cultural revolution.

Although the imbalanced power dynamic and extreme age difference definitely gave me the ick, it was incredibly interesting to learn more about the potential relationships Mao Zedong had with women during his time in power and how he used them to further his political agenda.

It is very evident that the author researched this topic extensively. While the plot was a little slow at points, I was still very invested in the overall story and would absolutely recommend it to people who enjoy historical fiction.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance eArc copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Mei, a teenager in a rural Chinese village, gets recruited for a secret, but oh-so-important role in the capital. She demonstrates the kind of spirit and dedication that the revolution required, and yet finds herself as part of a dance troupe whose role is, well, pretty much what you'd expect when you have a bunch of powerful men around. Mei catches the eye of Chairman Mao, and the story thus unfolds into her personal evolution in all the senses. She matures with age and experience, and in this process the scales fall from her eyes and she begins to see things around her with a kind of clarity that wasn't afforded to her before.
Vanessa Hua's gift in this novel is the way in which she writes Mei's perceptual shifts. They are developmentally appropriate, and also appropriate to the historical context. Mei's stubbornness, idealism, etc. came across as authentic, and so did every other change that occurred within her character. She grows up right on the pages, and gains maturity, insight, and weariness in a genuine manner.
Overall, this was a unique perspective and approach to exploring this particular portion of China's history. Imagining the inner workings of the uppermost echelons of the Community Party through the eyes of Mei had the added value of shedding light on the fact that there are certain populations' experiences and stories we haven't always gotten to hear.

Set in 1960's China, Mei jumps at the chance to accept a mysterious duty in the capital. When she learns that the job is to dance with Party Officials, she makes her way to the Chairman. She becomes his confidante, and must fend off other girls and deal with his wife, who has her own agenda. When things change, she wonders if she chose the correct side.

Really enjoyed reading about a topic I am not very familiar with. A very grand and cinematic setting and a very absorbing tale of the cultural revolution of China through the eyes of a young girl. Highly highly recommend this book.

I didn't finish this book. It was too hard to read about the sexual exploitation of young girls by those in power. This is not a criticism of the book in any way, but a statement about my own sensitivities right now. What I read of the books was outstandingly well written, and (obviously) evocative.

Thanks for the opportunity to read and review.

I was so excited by the premise of Forbidden City. The main character is a young girl who is recruited to entertain Mao Zedong in 1950’s China.

Although I was so excited to learn more about this topic, Forbidden City really didn’t have much of a plot until the very end of the book, and it was a struggle to finish.

Thank you Random House Publishing, Ballantine Books and Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for allowing me to read this ARC!

Content Warning: death (including that of children), murder, violence, misogyny, rape, sexual assault, grooming, minor/adult relationship, torture, parental abuse.


It's 1965. China is on the edge of its Cultural Revolution, a plunge off a precipice that will lead to even darker depths than anyone can imagine. Mei Xiang is on the edge of revolution, too. She makes a decision that will not only lead her into Chairman Mao's inner circle, but will have repercussions that she could never even begin to imagine. Not quite sixteen, she is chosen as one of the many young girls to be in the "cultural troupe" that will dance not only with the most elite members of China's Red Party, but Mao himself. What Mei doesn't realize is that Mao is as quick to choose a girl as he is to discard her, and the competition is shockingly cruel. By chance, she becomes the girl that Mao takes on as his mistress and his protégée, but there's a steep learning curve as Mei goes from wanting to be a revolutionary hero to realizing just how deeply the darkness in Mao's party goes...

Prior to picking up this book, I had basic knowledge of Chairman Mao, the Cultural Revolution, and China's Communist party, but my knowledge of his personal life was definitely lacking. Through the eyes of the brave, independent Mei, we become privy to the workings of Mao's relationships and life, but I think what sets this book apart from others that deal with relationships between a famous (or infamous) man and a woman (or, as in this case, a girl) is that this is squarely Mei's story. While it does offer us incisive commentary on the man Mao is and the man he believes he is, our heroine drives the narrative and also fearlessly fights against the ever-constricting rules imposed upon her.

Although the relationship between Mao and Mei is portrayed as what it is -- a much, much older man, preying on a little girl -- it also does a fantastic job of conveying Mei's feelings to you without romanticizing the twisted "love" that Mao supposedly feels for her. It also impressed me that you see Mei as she grows into that awkward stage of somehow being both woman and child, growing up but still being young and vulnerable to the manipulation of adults. I loved that Hua expertly weaved in the repulsiveness of Mao and his predatory behavior to this girl, all while making it clear to us how she falls under his sinister spell.

I must also praise the side characters, because while they remain on the outer edges, they nonetheless impact Mei and the narrative. Secretary Sun has to be the first mentioned: in spite of the fact that this novel is told solely through first-person, he is complex, deep, and his emotions -- his darkness and his light -- are plain to see due to Hua's wonderful character crafting. The gradual build of his relationship with Mei felt authentic, and it was obvious to see why he was the one she sought out time and time again. While both Mei and Sun act as foils to Mao, I think it's also worth remembering the role he plays in Mei's story, and how the adults in her life continue to fail her, no matter how much they claim to like her or understand her.

Mei's main rival, Midnight Chang, didn't quite get a chance for the same depth (mostly since she spends the majority of the novel off-page), but it was so fascinating to see her play this character of the revolutionary heroine that Mei longs to be. I loved that there were moments where it was obvious that in another place, in another time, perhaps she and Mei would've become not enemies, but friends and allies. Mei's teacher, Mao's clever, imperious wife, and some of the other characters Mei encounters (however briefly) also leave lasting impressions.

I think that some people will find this story a little slow, perhaps even meandering, but for me, there's a strength in the way that Hua lingers over the smaller details of Mei's life with Mao, hidden away in the Lake Palaces or traveling with him to see where he was born. The portrait Hua paints of Mao's inner vulnerabilities and insecurities, Mei's political training, and the suffocating sensation of being trapped constantly with Mao in his paranoia is powerful, oftentimes uncomfortable. There were some moments where I thought things could've been trimmed or moved a bit more quickly, but overall, I think the impact of forcing us to sit with Mei as she goes through her mixed, conflicted feelings is painfully effective.

The pacing is not perfect, but I can't stress enough how fantastic this story is in its characters, plotlines, and the way it brings history to life.

Highly, highly recommended!

It's 1964 and 16 year old Mei is eager, thrilled even, for the chance to become part of a dance troupe in Beijing- to leave her village behind and maybe, maybe see the Chairman. She has no idea what she's in for. This is, know in advance, more graphic than you might expect as it explores a ficti0nal relationship between Mei and Mao who is depicted as a pedophile who exploits the young women who, like Mei, are brought to him to dance. Mei, who barely reads and writes, it tutored by Secretary Song and others to become part of a plot to undermine the President by posing as a university student but that turns very ugly. Hua uses Mei to explore how people can be turned into mobs- first with her peers and then with university students. The Cultural Revolution in all its viciousness finally opens Mei's eyes to not only the cruelty of the system but also her role in what has happened to her friends, her family, her nation. Periodically Mei turns to the reader and addresses "you" but it's not obvious who that is or was (I'm pretty sure I know but...) This is dark, even grim, and those familiar with Chinese history will know what's looming ahead but Hua doesn't telegraph it. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. Interesting read and a fascinating character study of Mei.