Rating: 
Summary: I could not put this one down!
Review: For anyone who is embarking on learning about the culture and history of China, this is a great place to begin. Xinran tells stories of various women in China that she meets through her radio show, and shares unbelievable accounts of the extreme repression that we in the western world can only imagine. Imagining this is something you will do with aching in your heart and sadness. It is truly a great read!
Rating:
Summary: An amazing book
Review: I am forever looking for it's match and failing to find it. This book consists of many seperate stories horrifying yet beautiful in the amazing strength of the human character. It is definately a must read. It raises the bar on what you would hope for in a book. It is most soul enriching to understand just what some people must face... for family....for government....for themself. It is beyond explaining. You have to read it to understand the feelings it envokes. THE must read.
Rating: 
Summary: Solid but unexceptional
Review: I think one's opinion of this book is inversely proportional to how much s/he has read in the field of China studies. If a person in not well-versed in Chinese sociology, s/he will undoubtedly find this a riveting read that is deeply moving and perhaps even shocking. But for most people who are widely read in the field, this book fails to rise above the standard oppression-of-women stories that other China-related books encompass. In fact, for those who have read several Chinese women's memoirs, this book will not even be as emotionally involving as those book-length stories, since the vignettes in this book are short and largely unrelated. The format of the book is definitely a strength for many readers, as it makes the book "read" much faster, and makes it a good "subway" read since the stories are relatively stand-alone and short. However, it is also a weakness, as it keeps the reader from being as emotionally drawn as possible to the various speakers. Book-length memoirs are probably a better format for stories like these, that are in part meant to shock the reader out of Western complacence regarding the Third World. Overall, this is probably a better women's studies books than an Chinese studies book--the stories almost could have happened anywhere in the Third World, and indeed anywhere where power is unevenly distributed and overconcentrated in the hands of men.
Rating: 
Summary: Good book but just one point to make...
Review: Once I picked up the book and began reading, I couldn't put it down. The stories of these women who are so different, and yet so much like us, made me weep, laugh, and be astonished at their lives and history. Xinran Xue is a gifted writer who captures the poignancy of these womens' lives, whom she came to know through her radio program in China. In a time when most reporters would have left well-enough alone, she goes out into her world to interview women from all walks of life, and expresses their stories of incest, brutality, achievement, and daily survival with a simplicity that is dynamic and powerful. This book is a MUST-HAVE for anyone's library.
Rating:
Summary: What a wonderful, heartbreaking, fascinating book!
Review: Once I picked up the book and began reading, I couldn't put it down. The stories of these women who are so different, and yet so much like us, made me weep, laugh, and be astonished at their lives and history. Xinran Xue is a gifted writer who captures the poignancy of these womens' lives, whom she came to know through her radio program in China. In a time when most reporters would have left well-enough alone, she goes out into her world to interview women from all walks of life, and expresses their stories of incest, brutality, achievement, and daily survival with a simplicity that is dynamic and powerful. This book is a MUST-HAVE for anyone's library.
Rating:
Summary: A good book
Review: This book is a real eye-opener to the treatment many Chinese women recieve from their husbands (and fathers). Xinran does a good job of telling the stories without letter her emotions surface and take over. I'd like to note: somebody else made it sound like these women are treated this way because China is communist, or because Chinese people aren't "free" (I would go into detail on what freedom really is, but that would take up too much space). It isn't the government but rather the men and the culture that are responsible for these women's hardships. In the US (and most other Western countries as well), rape does occur, sometimes often, as do spousal abuse, etc etc, but generally this isn't because the people of these countries aren't free. One may also note that none of these countries are communist, yet many of their women suffer.
Rating:
Summary: I really recommend this book.
Review: This book is for someone who wants to broaden their knowledge of women in China. In general, it can also broaden one's perspectives on life. The writing style is average, not too good, but not bad. The content is what makes it a good book. The true stories of these women can be overwhelming and will stay with you and affect the way you see the world. If you have a weak heart, this book might be too much for you, because it is really really sad. Overall, it is a book well worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: Page Turner Alert!!!!!!!!
Review: This book was written so beautifully. It was very sad but depicted the strength of not only Chinese women but the Human spirit in general.
I have an adopted daughter from China and I will give her this book when she is old enough to understand it.
Rating:
Summary: "Modern" China
Review: This startling collection of stories offers a remarkable insight into the lives of women in the country that threatens to become the most powerful in the world in the 21st century. Communism promised equality for all in China, but like all political systems it is no match for traditions and customs that have lasted for thousands of years. These stories painfully explore what happens when the modern and the traditional collide, crushing women in the middle. Living in a culture where revealing the most personal aspects of our lives on TV is a daily occurance, it is hard to envision how revolutionary Xinran's radio show "Words on the Night Breeze" was in China. For the first time, women had an anonymous way to tell their stories to the world, and what spilled out was heartbreaking. There were stories of true disaster, like the mothers who suffered through a devastating earthquake and watched their families swallowed up whole. But these things happen in every country. Much more disturbing to me were the stories of arranged marriages by party officials--in this nation of "comrades," a woman still has no choice but to stay with a husband who is lord and master, and treats her much as her female ancestors must have been treated long ago. Or the story of the young girl who is abused for years by her father--when her mother finds out about it she is told to put up with it to avoid angering him! Stories about the massive cruelties of the Cultural Revolution abound--I never cease being surprised and shocked at the pain this country visited on itself during the rule of Mao in the 1960's. Surely things are changing, one asks. But after reading about the university student I wasn't so sure. Women in university are the cream of the crop. But Xinran is shocked to learn that many choose what sounds like a new twist on an ancient tradition--they become "personal secretaries" to high powered businessmen, some foreigners, who need help navigating the Chinese system. They are totally cynical and businesslike, and view these relationships as a way to earn money and security. Woe to the woman who falls in love with her boss, however--she is cut off as cleanly as a concubine might have been abandoned in ancient times. This is a painful, sobering book. Progress and freedom are elusive concepts, and again and again after reading of other parts of the world, I realize how lucky Americans are that we got to "start fresh" a mere 200+ years ago. This is a wonderfully written book, well deserving of 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Heartbreaking stories very well told.
Review: What struck me the most with The Good Women of China: Hidden Voices is the unpretentious way the stories are presented. No where does Xinran leave me with the impression that she is 'milking' the stories for all they are worth in order to gather sympathy from the reader. Instead she leaves me with the impression that she is almost reluctant and embarrassed to tell the stories she presents. Stories that each have in common that they are equally heartbreaking.
Speaking for myself I can only say that every one of those stories touched the fibbers of my heart..
Undoubtedly no one in the Western World is unaware of the suffering that comes with being a woman on most continents, yet it is a whole different story to be confronted with actual reports of the fate that befell a number of woman simply because they possessed a number of xx chromosomes; a reminder that to this day having a set of xy chromosomes makes you into an instant winner and a set of xx chromosomes into an instant victim on most continents.
To me these stories made me realize how privileged men are in not only China but in most parts of the world, and as such made me realise the long way we have to go before women are treated as equals.
It is because of the unpretentious presentation of the stories and the content of those stories, which I found to be without flaw, that I rate The Good Women of China: Hidden Voices with five stars. And warmly recommend it to those interested in hearing what being a woman in China can get you in some very unfortunate but not rare cases.
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