The Book of Secrets

Reviews / Votes

The Book of Secrets [is] a particularly rare thing: a candid, insider account showing just how much the party knew and how much it covered up. * Cindy Yu, The Spectator * An extraordinary firsthand account of Communist Party machinery at its most brutal and paranoid. * Sunday Telegraph * No one has done more than Xinran to tell the truth about the lives of ordinary people in twentieth-century China. Her Book of Secrets is a tale of horror, redeemed as always by the story-teller's warmth, grace and narrative grip. * Hilary Spurling, author of Burying the Bones * Xinran has written an exceptional, heart-wrenching account of the emotional tragedy of one family at the apex of Chinese Communist politics. A unique insight into life inside one of the world's most powerful and secretive organisations. * Julia Lovell, author of Maoism: A Global History * Xinran's talent is to survey the vast tidal waves of history and focus in on the human lives floating rudderless in their wake. This is a wonderful and compelling read. * Tim Clissold, author of Mr China and Cloud Chamber * Xinran recounts an epic journey through China's recent history with a rare passion and clarity. The tale is seen through the tragic experience of a once powerful family, whose suffering she describes as though it were her own. * Patrick Marnham, author of The Man Who Wasn't Maigret * The Book Of Secrets is the remarkable story of [a] deeply dysfunctional family. * Mail on Sunday * A youthful faith betrayed and a deep love unrequited make for the most poignant of stories. * The Tablet * 'In modern China, all human lives are being re-carved under the knife of the party,' writes Xinran, who has spent the past two decades telling stories like this one that show the price paid in human terms. -- Hilary Spurling * The Spectator Books of the Year *