What does the year 1960 mean to the Chinese people?
"Three-Years of Natural Disaster", in which it is said more than 30 million Chinese lost their lives.
A surviving boy aged six, is taken from his extended, countryside family with whom he has been living for four years, by a "total stranger" to Changsha, the capital city of Hunan Province.
This was the first time DanJiu ever met his father, for that matter, it was the first time he had ever heard the word "father". This first meeting marks the beginning of a decade's long bid for his father's love.
Second son of a not so high ranking, not so low ranking Communist Party Member, he was born in response to the Party's call to, "have as many children as possible for the use of war". The seriousness with which the world around him presents itself demands he fit in.
DanJiu learns quite early that he is a square peg. The desperate bid for his father's love seems unattainable as he overhears Father say, "I dislike that child by nature." heartbreaking words that will haunt his life as he questions, "Why 'by nature'?"
The blissful discovery of violin at age twelve leads to a lifelong passion, love, obsession, and a major problem. It's 1966 and the Cultural Revolution is in full swing meaning that anything WESTERN is evil, including his beloved violin. How will he persist in his pursuit?
Time marches on and DanJiu becomes Daniel. In the early 80's he follows his passion for violin to the west where he lives for his dream in a violinist's world with a beautiful Norwegian wife, about to take the next step to the USA. Everything sold, money in hand, packed and ready to go, Daniel receives a desperate letter from China pleading for his help.
His long estranged father lay dying in a hospital unable to pay for his medical care. Daniel is the family's only hope. What will he do? Having come so far in pursuit of his passion, will he give it all up for his father who dislikes him by nature?
What would you do?
From award winning Mandarin language author Daniel Olsen Chen, comes his first (but not last) English language book, "Father, Son & Violin" a Memoir of his life growing up in Mao's China, it is a poignant, amusing and shocking journey about courage, passion, growth of spirit and character, but above all the quest of a son for the love of his father.
