Memoirs & Coffee Book Group to Meet

The next meeting of Bernardsville Public Library’s book discussion group, Memoirs and Coffee, will be held on Tuesday, January 28 at 10:30 am in the library’s Community Room.  Pat Kennedy-Grant, Readers’ Services Manager for the library, will lead the discussion of “The Cooked Seed” (2013) by Anchee Min.  [The author will not be present.] 

In 1994, Anchee Min made her literary debut with a memoir of growing up in China during the Cultural Revolution.  "Red Azalea" became an international bestseller and propelled her career as a successful, critically acclaimed author.  Twenty years later, Min returned to the story of her life with "The Cooked Seed," the next chapter.  It is an immigrant story that takes her from the deprivations of her homeland to the sudden bounty of the promised land of America—without language, money, or a clear path.  Kirkus Reviews called the book, "Moving...An uplifting work of incredible grit and fortitude." 

Anchee Min was born in Shanghai in 1957.  At seventeen she was sent to a labor collective, where a talent scout for Madame Mao's Shanghai Film Studio recruited her to work as an actress in propaganda films.  She moved to the United States in 1984.  Her first memoir, “Red Azalea,” was named one of the New York Times Notable Books of 1994 and was an international bestseller, published in 27 countries.  She has since published six novels, most recently “Pearl of China.”

There is no charge and no sign-up is needed to join the discussion.  Call the library at 766-0118 for more information.