Ma Jian is far more than a novelist. Far more than a writer. And most of this book is a true story. This book, as well as any of Ma's uture4 writings, were banned by the Party in China. Ma Jian writes of his work as a photograpoher for the {Propoganda department of the P:arty Government while describing his "middle class" life in a one room home in Beiijing at the end of the 20th Century. The way he dresses, his paintings, poetry and the company he keeps (as well as his longish hair) seem tpo irritate the powers that be and after the third time he is warned by the Party that his self-criticism may not be enough and he may require extensive "rehabilitation" Ma Jian quits his job and begins to travel through modern day China to search for himself; to try to fill an emptiness that is all of him.He describes it all for us as he sees it for himself. The revelations of life in Communist China are nothing short of shocking. over the decades- even the centuries- we have known of the strife with the Chinese people. Since the end of World War II, China has been controllled by the communist Party. They have attained Global recognition for their boistrous economy but we learn through this book (And Ma Jian's subsequent book, "The Dark Road") that absoluitely none of this wealth "trickles down" to the people. the conditions under which they live is horrific and the stpories we face and the people whom we meet will linger in your mind forever.Ma Jian managed to escape to Hong Kong with his notebooks and some photographs and, prior to the 100 year hand off of Hong Kong back to China, he managed to escape to Great Britain, where he still l;ives today. He lives with a woman named Flora Drew who is his translator and deserves a good deal of the credit for this remarkable book. The opening pages teaches us about basic Chinese words, symbols, names and provides us with a current map. To take these symbols (each one is a syllable sound) and transfer not just the meaning but the essence of his thoughts is by no means the same as translating from a romance Language. Flora's work is not to be understated.It's impossible to get to the end of this book and not feel very strongly about our own position regarding all of China, it;s government and the millions and millions who have died in the name of freedom, the millions of unborn who were forcefully aborted by the governement when their mother was "arrested" (abducted) on the street. We l;earn that the rules are different for Urban and Rural dwellers- the word citizen can;t be used because more than half the population of China is denied pfficial papers and are not "legal."How can a human being be illegal?Ma Jian tells us how. "Red Dust":is his journey through China, through dialects and traditions, through secret love and secret traditions, through books and music they aren;t permitted to read (A fine of 300 yuan for possessing a copy of "Catcher In The Rye" or John Barry's "Titanic" Theme).The Chinese Government has done all it could to keep this book from making it to press here in the West and is, for them, a great embarrasement. Ma Jian lives in Great Britain under the same fear that Salaman Rushdie lives in Great Britain. If the wrong person ghets close enough to either author, they're a dead man. At the same time, The Party IS able to control the distributiln of this book to the 1.3 billion people who live within it's borders. Any person caughtr with a copy of this book is sentenced to fifteen years in prison.Given all of this, how can you resist the small price that we, as Americans, pay for the opportunities between the covers of this book?