"An essential background history of modern China. O'Dea captures the intellectual excitement of the bohemians of modern China while enriching her own understanding of Chinese history." –Shelf Awareness (starred)
"A well-grounded survey of the incredible courage of Chinese artists since the first flowering of the late 1970s and subsequent crackdowns. An illuminating chronicle of several generations of resilient and beleaguered Chinese artists, with minibiographies, a helpful timeline, and extensive notes." –Kirkus Reviews
"[O'Dea] makes geopolitical history accessible and engaging through the lives and experiences of such individual artists as Huang Rui and Guo Jian. O'Dea writes for readers new to art, offering straightforward descriptions of individual works, and new to Chinese history, explaining the nuts and bolts of crucial policies and protests. By focusing on how individuals experienced communism and resisted it, O'Dea succeeds in making history human." –Booklist
