uld have put the cobs away for fuel, his wife spoke out.“No--do not waste them in burning. I remember when I was a child inShantung when the years like this came, even the cobs we ground and ate. Itis better than grass.” (p.70-71) After reading this I realized how serious thesituation was for them. I felt sorry and shocked at the same time. At onetime they had to kill their ox just because they had nothing else to eat. Theyeven ate grass and even that didn’t last long. I think the hardship brings the“spice” to the novel because it makes us ponder about what they would doto get out of that situation.If somebody asked me for an interesting book that wouldn’t borethem, I woud definitely recommed this one. I learned many things byreading it. It gave me a better understanding of Chinese life and thefascinating details kept me reading. This book made a lasting impressionand I would never forget it. ...
