I'm adding one star because the subject matter is inherently important, but that's certainly the highlight of the book to me; I wasn't too impressed by the actual writing itself. The prose was pretty bland--which was especially surprising given that the author is a poet--and the narrator's monotone certainly didn't help with that. I can recommend this book to anyone who's interested in learning particularly about China's political situation and the Uyghur genocide. Anyone looking more generally for a compelling memoir without any particular interest in specifically China should consider finding one with better craft, in my opinion.