FORBIDDEN CITY

Narrator Catherine Ho immediately captivates in this intriguing story of 16-year-old Mei Xiang, who becomes 70ish-year-old Chairman Mao Zedong's lover. Selected to be part of a dance troupe of girls, Mei is taken to the capital for some mysterious duty. Ho's voice is seductive, intimate, and bristling with energy as Mei, happy to leave her dull farm life and hopeful of being an asset to the Cultural Revolution, learns what is expected of her. Because of her revolutionary zeal, Mei attracts the Chairman's attention. Ho makes Mei's hero worship of Mao understandable through subtle shifts in tone--until Mei recognizes that her idol has feet of clay. Ho's stellar performance adds to this thoroughly enjoyable historical fiction. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2022]