I enjoyed reading about Jin Xing's life as a dancer in China and New York. I felt there was too much telling and not enough showing in the book but she is a dancer, not a writer. She was so brave to do what she felt was right for her even if it meant losing everything. It is an inspirational story.

This should have been an interesting book, but finding the author of a personal memoir unlikable dampens one's interest. The book jumped around in such an inexplicable fashion that I checked to see if it was an abridged version. It wasn't.

I bought this book because I wanted to see how a chinese man who wants to become a woman feels and thinks. And Jin Xing holds nothing back. I liked that the story has many twists, and how he (now she) explained that he wasn't gay but a woman. The writing is okay, as it flows smoothly, though the back and forth is a little tiring. Overall, and easy read.

A very unique tale that doesn't always come across sympathetically. Our book club couldn't decide if it was cultural or a personality trait that made Jin seem so self absorbed.

The descriptions of the rise through the army ballet corps were really interesting but it was let down by seeming to be rushed in the second half of the book after the operation. We had many questions about this later life and most of them were quickly skipped over.

Book Club gave it 4/2/3/2/6/6/6/2/2/7
Hugely varied responses mostly arrayed over whether or not the vanity of the narrator allowed the reader to enjoy the story.

My course changed when i became a woman.
it's a fast read. you can read this shit in like half a day. sadly i've been fucking busy because it's exams week and it took me a while to finish it.
i got it for 2€ and it was an interesting read.. a lot of people said it's like a boring Mao's Last Dancer. i didn't read that so i can't comment on it but i also tend not to compare shit so i don't really care.
i wanna talk about it more and comment on what it's lacking but it's 2am and i'm tired. there are probably some in depth reviews of it on Goodreads. am i making any sense? who cares... i'm giving it 5stars even tho it's like 4.2 for me and i didn't wanna go with 4. i think that people are being kinda harsh when rating it. come on. it's not an 1star book.

Jin Xing holds nothing back in this story of her amazing life. Telling a fascinsting story of how one poor chinese boy became a Prima Ballerina for the Chinese Peoples Army, an international superstar and master of modern dance and then eventually a mother, a wife and one of the only famous Chinese transgender celebrities.

It is a revolutionary tale of being true to yourself at all costs and escaping the societal norms and boundaries of a strict country who tries to strip you of your identity. It is also an exploration of love, sex and wealth that keeps the biography entertaining, leaving you fascinated and craving more information into the secret life of Jin Xing in her days abroad.

I have read a lot of negative reviews about this book but as someone who loves biographies, dance and the life of dancers this fast paced book was a highly enjoyable and interesting read for me.

I would reccomend this if you enjoyed Maos Last Dancer or if you were dissapointed by The Trauma Cleaner and want to read more about strong transgender personalities in our society.