I've been curious about the book because i saw some people talking about it, another urge after the netflix show, so went to check a little the book.
I haven't read much about chinese revolution, so i became intrigued, the cultural revolution was really like that or it was exaggerated?
i sometimes watch a guy that lives on china, he says the current standing of the people today is that thr cr was a mistake because it destroyed many historical artifacts.
well, the post became more about the cultural revolution than the scifi piece itself.
FWIW, the cultural revolution doesn't really factor that much into the books. Maybe it plays a larger part in the adaptation, I haven't seen it yet. The CR makes for a dramatic start to the story, but a lot of people seem to be really focused on that aspect in the wake of the Netflix release, I assume because people like to fight about China. I haven't read the books in a while, but my recollection is that the story mostly takes place in the present/near future, with the CR stuff being more narrative backstory.
I don't know much about the cultural revolution, either, so I can't speak to whether the portrayal in the books or adaptation is accurate. My guess, just based on my own modest level of media literacy, would be that the nuances of the portrayal are probably lost on those of us who aren't immersed in Chinese culture, and that what we see in how it's portrayed is going to be different than the intent of the author or the perspective of the original audience.
If it doesn't factor that much into the book, what purpose does it even serve to be there? Sure you say it's 'narrative backstory'; but then, so would be a thousand other historical events which happened prior to the start of the story. It must be more than that, else there's no reason to spend so much time and detail on it in the first place.
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