Factory Girls

From Village to City in a Changing China

By: Leslie T. Chang

Narrated by: Susan Ericksen

China has 130 million migrant workers - the largest migration in human history. In Factory Girls, Leslie T. Chang, a former correspondent for the Wall Street Journal in Beijing, tells the story of these workers primarily through the lives of two young women, whom she follows over the course of three years as they attempt to rise from the assembly lines of Dongguan, an industrial city in China's Pearl River Delta.

As she tracks their lives, Chang paints a never-before-seen picture of migrant life - a world where nearly everyone is under 30; where you can lose your boyfriend and your friends with the loss of a mobile phone; and where a few computer or English lessons can catapult you into a completely different social class. Chang takes us inside a sneaker factory so large that it has its own hospital, movie theater, and fire department; to posh karaoke bars that are fronts for prostitution; to makeshift English classes where students shave their heads in monklike devotion and sit day after day in front of machines watching English words flash by; and back to a farming village for the Chinese New Year, revealing the poverty and idleness of rural life that drive young girls to leave home in the first place. Throughout this riveting portrait, Chang also interweaves the story of her own family's migrations, within China and to the West, providing historical and personal frames of reference for her investigation.

A book of global significance that provides new insight into China, Factory Girls demonstrates how the mass movement from rural villages to cities is remaking individual lives and transforming Chinese society, much as immigration to America's shores remade our own country a century ago.

©2008 Leslie Chang (P)2008 Tantor

Critic reviews

"A gifted storyteller, Chang plumbs...private narratives to craft a work of universal relevance." ( Publishers Weekly)
"An exceptionally vivid and compassionate depiction of the day-to-day dramas, and the fears and aspirations, of the real people who are powering China's economic boom." ( The New York Times)

One of my favorites

Any additional comments?

Factory Girls is one of only a couple of audiobooks I have enjoyed listening to more than once. It provides an insight into the lives of the women who make the things we buy in the West and follows their personal ambitions and lives.

The book takes a digression as the author talks about her family history, this is part of the overall "migration story" which is the crux of the book. Although this is interesting, it does not quite fit and I would prefer to have the time be used to discuss the workers themselves. Don't let this stop you from an otherwise great listen, however!

Enlightening historically and biographically, very enjoyable

I found myself eager to keep up with the personal stories of each of the factory girls, as well as the authors own deep dive into her own family history. Their personal and career developments took many directions unique to their own personalities and experiences, but highlighted a dynamic commonality of migrant workers that I had not considered. Their strive for success, independence and hope for future well being was so much like my own and America, even.

The author’s autobiographical details gathered from long “lost” relatives is intricate and fascinating- it gave me a history lesson that I had been lacking. Her own story interpolated well her journalistic study of these Chinese women and their families, friends, bosses and coworkers. I whole heartedly recommend this book and am curious to know what these characters are doing now!

Incredible Insight

This book offer an amazing insight of the last 20th century life in China. With different perspectives of those who lived and worked in the Factories. The story can be a bit hard to follow as it jumps from different individuals and takes of her own experiences. It is important to note that life in China has changed but the relationship between the rural country side and the urban city is still quite similar. Conditions have improved thanks to technology.

a fine match of author and narrator

Engaging and enlightening. And perfectly read by Susan Ericksen who voices the author and her other characters cleanly and expressively, with just the right blend of passion and dramatic restraint.

Each chapter just got better

Leslie, you left me wanting more. I bought this book for a friend of mine who immigrated from China and had worked two years in a factory. I look forward to conversations from her perspective. thank you

Cumulative Effect

Leslie Chang, a Chinese-American writer, has produced an informative volume about the Chinese migration of women from rural areas and life to urban living. She accomplishes this by telling the stories of individual and groups of women. She illustrates the book with direct quotes and closely written stories. She works very hard to help the reader understand what is taking place through Chinese eyes.

The book is great to listen to and is very informative. After listening I thought that the same information could have been presented in less space and with fewer words. After a few days of reflection, however, I believe her approach enables to listener/reader to internalize the situation in urban China or get a feel for what is taking place. The cumulative effect is positive and was, in my case, informative.

The reading of the book is excellent.

Good experience overall

+ Book itself is solid and a fun memorable experience. Very true to details one finds when living in China.

- Narrator was robotic and could not pronounce basic Chinese names or words which became extremely confusing as story shifted between characters

= good for those interested in discovering what life in developing China is like

review of Factory Girls

Struggled. Hard to follow. Narration fabulous. Parts interesting to learn about China's culture, but overall boring.

The rest of the story

Having traveled in China and Taiwan and visited many factories from the late 1980's to the present time, this book tells 'the rest of the story'... what I have wondered about on each of my factory visits... who are these people that are working in the factories? and where did they come from?, what are they thinking?, etc. And it tells the personal struggles of the 20th Century for a highly sophisticated culture. I wish every high school student in the USA would read this.

Excellent book, poor narration

If you could sum up Factory Girls in three words, what would they be?

Excellent reporting. Recommend.

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator, Susan Ericksen, is a poor choice for this material. She does not know how to properly pronounce the Mandarin Chinese vocabulary that is part of this story. The audiobook's producers should have hired a Mandarin dialect coach to teach Ericksen Mandarin vowels, consonants -- and why not? -- tones. Even if the listener does not speak a word of Mandarin, one expects the performance to be correct.