I really wanted to like this book. I also wanted to give it 5 stars just for what the poor man went through after being charged with an ambiguous political crime and spending so much of his life in prison camps. I couldn't do it, though, because I had to base the review on the literary content, too. I found his writing to be shallow, and I could never connect to him as a person. He told about the most inhumane treatment as if he had no emotions. When he finally gets set free (not a spoiler, because it is announced in the first page of the book), I found that I hadn't even cared one way or another, nor was I even rooting for him, and this was because he showed no earnestness or emotion about it one way or another. I think this author is nothing more than a survivor trying to make money with his writing, unfortunately. He is not a writer. Frankly, I wanted to give this 1 star, but I do have sympathy for someone in his shoes.