The Book of Secrets: A Personal History of Betrayal in Red China

‘An extraordinary firsthand account of Communist Party machinery at its most brutal and paranoid’ --Sunday Telegraph Picked as Hilary Spurling's Book of the Year in The Spectator. The spellbinding story of the secret life of a spy in modern China, drawn from an extraordinary archive of personal diaries and letters. Following the lives of military intelligence officer Jie and his wife Moon, The Book of Secrets weaves recently found material into a narrative that not only illuminates the shadowy world of intelligence in China, but also the emotional tragedies that political extremism inflicted on those working within. Drawing on Jie’s own vivid biography of his youth, Xinran pieces together his trajectory as he joins the great hope of the Chinese young – the Communist Party – and becomes a loyal cadre until the late 1970s when, as a chief in the security forces, he makes a decision that will poison his family against him. This is a totally unique behind-the-scenes account of a family torn apart by the Tiananmen Square massacre and the attempts of Jie to finally open up the Chinese system to the people, pieced together from an extraordinary archive of personal diaries and letters.

Table of Contents:
Foreword – Words on the Night Breeze Snow’s Story Xinran, December 2018 PART ONE: The Tapes 1 A Family Fragmented by the Chaos of War 2 Tsinghua – An Awakening of Love and Faith 3 Questions of Career and Faith PART TWO: Jie’s Letters to his Wife Moon 4 1951–4 – Fantasy and Romance 5 1954–7 – Confusion and Disruption 6 1957–66 – Betrayal and Adversity 7 1976–2009 – Resurrection and Death 8 2010–17 – The Final Messages Afterword – Xinran Acknowledgements Index

About the Author :
Xinran is a British–Chinese author, journalist and activist. Her first book, The Good Women of China (2002) became an international bestseller and The Promise was shortlisted for the Society of Authors Translation Prize. In August 2004 Xinran set up ‘The Mothers’ Bridge of Love’ (MBL), which reaches out to Chinese children all over the world. By creating a bridge of understanding between China and the West, MBL ultimately wants to help bridge the huge poverty gap that still exists in China.

Review :
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. An extraordinary firsthand account of Communist Party machinery at its most brutal and paranoid. 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. 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. 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. 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. The Book Of Secrets is the remarkable story of [a] deeply dysfunctional family. A youthful faith betrayed and a deep love unrequited make for the most poignant of stories. ‘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.