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But I found that the people in China to be extremely hard working and decent human beings. However, after I read it through, I found it utterly biased and deceptive. Initially, I found this book funny. Their hard work is actually supporting the biggest Bonsai scheme of all times - US DOLLAR. I just came back from a China tour. Yes, there are many problems (in particular, pollution) there. They deserve some respects.There are far better ways to spend your hard-earned cash than on this Chinese-bashing piece of crap. How about some good Chinese food in Chinatown.I want my money back.
During a visit to Lanzhou we flew to Dunhuang and then drove back 500 miles through the Gobi Desert to Lanzhou. I especially LOVED chapters 15 to 20. Pushing out the uniqueness - polluting everything. These are the parts of China I cherish.
It was decades before Native American culture was valued, and even longer before the uniqueness of the individual tribes was recognized. Yunnan and Tibet are so wonderful and so unique, I could easily go again. Lanzhou ("the most polluted city in the world") is the location of a University where my husband's college had an exchange program. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found the information true to my experiences. I highly recommend this book at anyone who is interested in China. It was a trip of a life time.The Han ("Chinese" Chinese) are rapidly destroying the interesting parts of their country.
It reminds me of the first U.S. immigrant citizen's response to the Native American.
If you have been there, it is an absolute MUST READ. This is the section on Lijiang in Yunnan province; Tibet; Lanzhou; and Dunhuang.
I wish the Hans would learn from our errors and begin valuing the minorities (tribes) in China. Every description brought back a flood of memories, lots of smiles and outright laughter.
I too "sand surfed" down the sand dunes in Dunhuang. Tibet is so special, so unique, and it is heart wrenching to see it destroyed by the Hans, and make no mistake, they are destroying it.
You will recapture your initial impression, and it will bring back memories.Jonieta
The things about China Troost mentions are true according to him and contain a degree of accuracy about China. Troost's goal in writing it is to present the book from the perspective that it may as well be a different planet so he makes few attempts the entire book to reconcile the differences he notices or find out more about them or the Chinese reasoning behind them. However they are isolated incidents that he witnesses as an outsider of the culture and language. He presents the entire thing in an exaggerated voice and tone while maintaining the perspective of someone who knows very little about China outside of his firsthand accounts. While I enjoyed reading it since I have lived in China myself, make no mistake; Troost presents the book from a perspective that will sell once published in the western world. You will enjoy the book much more if you take the events of the book with a grain of salt and think about China with a slightly more open mind than he (or at least his narrative voice) does.
He understands that when faced with the absurdity of life, the only sane thing to do is make fun. J. Maarten Troost is top dog of the humor writing world. Troost is a master at keeping you laughing while slipping in all sorts of insights and truths about China. I'm now midway, page 236, the part where he's suddenly wondering why all the Westerners in the remote town of Dali "looked like they'd boarded the bus for Woodstock." Then while describing the effects of second hand "ganja," the scenery, the conversations -- all in a way where you can kick back and effortlessly experience everything in the comfort of your own bed -- you suddenly hear the author saying, "One thing I will not do is smoke weed in a country with mobile execution trucks." And before you've had a chance to recover from the last laugh, you've had a surprise lesson on why the death vans that roam the country are a sign that China "promotes human rights now." Without humor the horror of Life is simply unbearable.--Suza Francina
Troost sets out to find what makes the Middle Kingdom tick, seeking to understand the world's most populous nation that has skyrocketed to prominence on the global stage.So which is it, Iron Rice Bowl or Rising Dragon. He backs away from any insightful reflections on important issues and consistently relies on hastily made judgements and pitifully misinformed preconceptions. From the start of the narrative, Troost fully admits his nearly total lack of familiarity with the region, detailing outdated conceptions of modern Chinese society held by many Americans. I picked up Lost on Planet China in order to read a light-hearted and entertaining take on traveling in China.
nothing. Maarten, the constant stream of insipid and uninspired attempts at humor fail to instill any measure of readability in your book. 50 to vent. So far, Troost falls flat on his face in his efforts to gain any substantial knowledge from his experiences. Put together, the poorly edited patchwork of anecdotes hold the potential for mass misinformation in a depiction of a nation and society far beyond his limited grasp and inadequate literary chops.
Well for starters. Today, China's historical legacy from the 20th Century conjures up images of a totalitarian police-state dominated by the Party, a situation fundamentally at odds with China's latest GDP statistics splashed across world headlines. And what can you, the reader, glean from his keen observations. Bottom line, Lost on Planet China smacks of a thinly veiled market ploy to cash in on the whole burgeoning "China Rising" hype set to coincide with the 2008 Olympics.
First off, I had to put this book down at p. If the writer admittedly knows next to nothing about the place he is traveling through, he should at the very least bring an open mind ready to absorb new experiences and try to bridge gaps in cultural understanding. What exactly qualifies Troost to even conceive of writing this book. No, J. People spit all the time, and there the air' quality's not really up to par. If anyone is truly seeking to understand the complexities at work in today's China from a more open and enlightened perspective, I would absolutely recommend Peter Hessler's River Town over Lost on Planet China any day. I've been to China in the recent past and have studied both the language and culture.
Sadly, J. Well, China is kind of dirty for starters. When faced with the myriad contradictions underlying the political and social situation in China today, Troost's running commentary comes across as inane and idiotic. I can make gross (and culturally belittling) generalizations about China from the comfort of my sofa without ever cracking a page. Maartern Troost remains mystified.River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze (P.S).
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