Andrew Kwong's 'One Bright Moon': A Reflection on Life's Transience

Marie Kearney: I found it sad. What kept me going was the fact that Andrew Kwong was alive and working as a medical practitioner.

United Kingdom on Jul 24, 2023

Pillgri,,: Accurate descriptions of life under the Maoists CCP. I knew of the conditions that existed from refugees that made it to Hong Kong when they told their stories to the British authorities.
I wasn’t aware that my cousin was one of them and I missed meeting him in Hong Kong by a few years.
This is a great story of overcoming formidable odds in human rights under communist rule.

United States on Apr 18, 2023

spinoza: A touching story about growing up in China during the difficult times when Mao was the leader. The author migrates to Australia and becomes a doctor

Australia on Sep 21, 2022

katrig: Profoundly Moving And Spellbinding Story
One Bright Moon is an exceptionally well written book and a very powerful story of the life of Andrew Kwong and his family. A very Deeply moving story of how the family survive and how the whole family triumph over adversity from rural China to Hong Kong then Australia with part of the family heading to Washington DC after many years of waiting and wanting to leave China and become a family once again together.
Andrews family are hardworking people who are trying to get away from oppression and starvation in Mao's China. Each day they are subjected with political slogans being broadcast over loudspeakers to entice conformity every day. Andrew’s family are members of the intellectual class, and Andrew and his family were subject to unfair levels of scrutiny and police brutality.
Andrew discusses his painful coming of age in Chairman Mao's China and how when he was only seven, he witnessed his first execution. Andrew’s father was put on trial shortly after this and was sentenced and banishment to a re-education camp for three years. This was during the terrible years of persecution and famine known as the Great Leap...

United States on Jul 24, 2022

Pat: So interesting and unbelievable what life was like in China. Very well written and I recommend for readers who enjoy nonfiction.

United States on Oct 08, 2021

Diana: This should be a mandatory read for American students, or anyone who thinks Communism is good. This author and his family lived through the horrors of Communism. Mao was no different than Stalin or Hitler. Highly recommend!!!

United States on Jul 08, 2021

Christine Stewart: This book fascinated me for its description of an intelligent Chinese family’s ordeal under the Chinese Communist Party and how resilience, having goals and hard work can overcome extreme obstacles.

Australia on Jun 12, 2021

R Haren: Deeply moving story of triumph over adversity from rural China (PRC) to Hong Kong then Australia with part of the family heading to Washington DC after many years of waiting and wanting. Hard working people trying to get away from oppression and starvation in Mao's China with political slogans being broadcast over loud speakers to entice conformity. A UNSW Alumni and now General Practitioner on the central coast of NSW, who could not get Australia to support bringing his mother here because of Australia's subtle extension of the White Australia Policy. Well done great read 41/2+ stars.

Australia on Jan 31, 2021

Amazon Customer: The author is a great story teller. As someone with some familiarity with the Cultural Revolution, his stories really hit home.

Canada on Aug 26, 2020

Momo: This is a wonderful book to read in many ways. It is a fascinating story of a young boy who was almost brain-washed to be a red guard in the Chinese communitst party, but through an endless twists of events and human drama one would see only in a movie, became a successful doctor in Australia some 20 years later. The journey of the author is a perfect example of why hardwork,  perservenceand determination will always pay off in the end. The book is more than a memoir of a struggling young boy. In the background, it paints a gruesome picture of how difficult life was in China during the Mao era. I know the picture is honest and genuine because I also have first hand experience of growing up in the early Mao era. Like Kwong (the author), I have vivid memories of being hungry all the time.  I watched with legs shaking when people, some of them from the same village, were tied behind their back and forced to march in procession to be cursed and assulted. I also remembered how I fell asleep on my mother's lap while she was attending the nightly re-education meetings with other villagers. The worst memory of all, my father was classified as a "bad element".  He...

United States on Jun 29, 2020