China's 'unluckiest generation' reflects on cost of revolution - http://bit.ly/j1hg4
That's fascinating. Xin Ran's book 'China Witness' covers this era as well, and many of the interviewees she spoke to said that it was a time they don't talk about to their children and grandchildren, because today the children aren't interested in hearing. The sense of loss in the book seemed not to be focused around lost opportunities, jobs or education, but instead around the lack of time able to be spent with their own families, their own children.
A number of marriages were arranged by the work groups the teenagers were sent to, with remarkably good results considering the situation.
There was a level of discontent regarding today's young people - too much focus on money and not enough on creating a balanced life. There was also a fair bit of discussion about how corruption has not changed.
Interesting book if you are interested in this era.