Under Red Skies: The Life and Times of a Chinese Millennial

Karoline Kan was born in 1989, the year of the Tiananmen Square massacre: her generation has always been caught between China's authoritarian politics and its hyper-modern technology and economic boom. In her quest to understand the shifting sands of global, connected China, Karoline turns to her family, who have survived Maoism and its legacy by breaking with tradition. Navigating a society beset by poverty and often violent political unrest, the Kans swapped rural villages for crowded city streets in search of a better way of life. Now a journalist, Kan recounts gripping tales of her grandmother, who struggled to help her family through the Great Famine; of her mother, who defied the One-Child Policy by giving birth to Karoline; and of her cousin, a factory worker scraping by on less than £1 per hour. An ambitious millennial pursuing her career and personal life in a time of dizzyingly rapid social change, Kan discovers her own story's roots in the China of previous generations.

About the Author :
Karoline Kan is a former New York Times reporter who writes about millennial life and politics in China. She's currently an editor at China Dialogue. She lives in Beijing.

Review :
Bracingly forthright . . . there is much to admire in Under Red Skies. It’s enjoyable to get to know Kan on the page; she tells moving family tales as well as poignant personal stories and serves as an engagingly candid guide to the fascinating generation she is a part of.’ 'Kan presents a heartfelt introduction to China’s recent history--and a firsthand dispatch from its millennial generation, a perspective all too rare in English-language publications. … For those seeking to understand the future of China and U.S.-China relations, voices like hers are an essential part of the conversation.' 'The gripping autobiography of a generation--and a superpower--caught between tradition and ambition.' 'A riveting blend of coming-of-age story, family history and cultural commentary, encompassing vast generational differences and the urban-rural divide.' 'Her memoir allows us a peek into ordinary Chinese lives through the eyes of one of those adaptable millennials . . . it will help any reader understand the China beyond the headlines.' 'A remarkable multigenerational memoir that clearly explores 'the real China-its beauty and ugliness, the weird and familiar, the joyful and sad, progressive and backward at the same time.' 'This tale vividly illustrates the breadth of the changes China has undergone in recent decades . . . Kan's candidness about Chinese culture and her experience, always mediated by affection for her country, makes this an invaluable resource to Western readers interested in Chinese life.' 'Kan's story is an impressive one.' 'Karoline Kan's intimate portrait of growing up in contemporary China opens a new window onto a country going through lightning-fast change.' 'Poignant, humane, and insightful, [Under Red Skies] brings the extraordinary story of the last fifty years in China vividly alive. The Kan family's struggles to survive and prosper through many adversities, largely inflicted on them by government, are a moving testament to the resilience and determination of three generations of women.' At first glance, Karoline Kan's Under Red Skies is a simple coming-of -age story. A young girl from a poor family grows up, goes to university, falls in love and gets her heart broken (repeatedly), and finally triumphs as a journalist. But contained within is a sharply observed critique of all that is dysfunctional in Chinese society. You can learn more about modern China through this compulsively readable memoir than from many weightier tomes.' 'Vivid and humane, Karoline Kan's memoir of coming of age in China is richly revealing and contemporary, shaped both by the pain of history and the hope for the future - at turns bold and vulnerable, like China itself.' 'I couldn't put this book down. 'Under Red Skies' is a pioneering coming-of-age memoir from a young Chinese author who compellingly narrates the fervent story of China's shift from farm to city while she lives it, breathes it, and feels it so that the reader does so, too.' 'Karoline Kan's Under Red Skies is an engrossing account of a rapidly changing China seen through the eyes of an imaginative, ambitious young woman. . . An intimate coming-of-age story, this book should be read by anyone seeking to understand the aspirations and frustrations of young people in China today.' 'Under Red Skies is a beautiful look at the struggles of China's fast-changing society. In Karoline's inspiring and heartfelt stories of her family, she voices how much Chinese people have overcome. This book should be read by people from all corners of the world if they want to know the real story of China.' 'A fascinating memoir about three generations of Chinese women. Whereas classics like Wild Swans end with the Cultural Revolution, Under Red Skies picks up where Jung Chang leaves off in this look at contemporary Chinese life and history as it changes before our eyes.' 'With her revealing and introspective account of growing up in post-1989 China, Kan fills a void in contemporary literature on the country. While the profound societal shakeup that unfolded during that period has left everyone of her generation with a remarkable story, few have possessed such skill and courage in telling theirs.'