The Barefoot Lawyer

January 26, 2015
As this riveting memoir recounts, Chen grew up poor and blind in rural China, with few realistic expectations for his future. As he grew older, however, his family was able to secure him an education, which included—pivotally—auditing legal courses. In this way, Chen became more aware of his country’s rampant corruption. Readers will be horrified to learn of the official response that greeted Chen’s attempts, via protests, to guarantee enforcement of legal protections for the disabled on the books in China: beatings, torture, a multiyear prison stint, and finally, house arrest. He then describes how, defying the odds, he escaped to the American embassy, where he petitioned online communities to support his case and demand his release. At last he broke free and moved, with his family, to the U.S. The picture of the Chinese government that emerges from this story is one of blatant corruption and blind rule-following, brutally punishing prisoners for even minor infractions or requests. Chen has an excellent sense of pace and attention to detail, and he knows how to fill in cultural gaps for those less familiar with China. The result is an eminently readable, albeit chilling memoir that will grip the attention of readers everywhere.