Ich glaube, alles in allem ist das ihr livre à clef -- ich habe kurz vor dem Jahreswechsel "Sky Burial" gelesen und war auch davon schon sehr beeindruckt, aber inzwischen denke ich mir, ich hätte es möglicherweise umdrehen sollen ... hier lernt man doch auch eine ganze Menge darüber, wo Xinran "herkommt" und wie sich ihr Interesse für das Thema entwickelt hat.

It's challenging, yes; all the more so because it's nonfiction and you can't help trying to put yourself into these women's places, only to realize that this is impossible, but even going by the extent your mind *is* able to translate her narration into something you can imagine, it makes your heart bleed for these women's fates. Even Xinran herself, who suffered cruelly in her childhood, repeatedly says that she wept for her interviewee or comments that she didn't know how to react to what she was told (and that is *not* hyperbole). But of course, that is precisely why this book is so very necessary.