A young teen escapes to America from Maousquo;s China in the early 60s and experiences the consequent culture shock of cruel racism, financial hardships, unexpected freedom, bewildering sexual mores, and the aching rejection and loneliness that so many immigrants face. Swept up in the 1960s antiwar movement in a pacifist and law-abiding way, Li is persecuted by the American law enforcement and immigration authorities. Timely and relevant for today squo;s enlightened anti-racist views.
In The Bitter Sea, Charles Limsquo;s unforgettable coming of age memoir, Li recounts the torturous pains of growing up in the early years of modern China. With his family squo;s fortune destroyed, he is left impoverished in a Nanjing slum and endures crippling starvation within the harsh confines of a Communist reform school, all set against the opulent decadence of the foreign edquo;white ghostsedquo; in British Hong Kong.
The Turbulent Sea recounts Linsquo;s escape to America and the shocking, cruel racism he not only endured but observed nationwide. His fantasy of a fair and free United States is challenged by the behavior of law enforcement, government, and even his college peers whose permissive sexual mores and disregard for outsiders leaves young Charles with a heartbreaking feeling of disappointment and loneliness. As in the case of so many immigrants worldwide who are seeking a better life, his myriad challenges include staying at the top of his class while struggling with financial hardships. He canssquo;t even afford a winter coat in the middle of Maine squo;s brutal snowstorms, and perhaps more heartbreaking, no one seems to notice or care.
Growing steadily more involved in the antiwar movement, Li, having suffered in Mao
