Finding Gobi by Dion Leonard

Non-Fiction

This is a cute story about a dog and human adopting each other during difficult times. Leonard is an ultra-marathon runner, where he runs 250km in 7 days, in the middle of the desert. This time he's in the northwest corner of China and the Gobi desert is in his path. Leonard is taking this race seriously and thinks he can place well. Then at the end of stage one, he spots a little dog wandering around camp trying to get scraps of food. Leonard thinks no way am I giving my precious food to that dog and sets off on the second stage. The dog follows. Surely the dog must belong to someone? As the dog continues to follow Leonard along, he decides to name her Gobi. Gobi ends up completing a few stages of the ultra-marathon and captures Leonard's heart.

This is such a lovely, feel-good story. It focuses not only on how these two met and created such a strong bond, but also the long journey in trying to get her home. There was a lot of red tape, and paranoia, because this story was making national news and much money was given to help with the cause. Leonard starts to worry about kidnapping. Plus he's in China and the government there is always concerned about how their own image is playing off in national news. There were a lot of things for Leonard to be concerned about. He's super lucky he has such an understanding wife, as he spent months in China after the race trying to get Gobi back.

It's a quick paced book, Leonard doesn't focus too much on a single thing. I recommend it!

First Line: "I stepped through the airport doors and out into China"

Rating:
(4/5)

Oracle Bones by Peter Hessler

Non-Fiction

Peter Hessler starts in China as an English teacher, eventually moving his way over to journalism. He keeps in contact with his students and their stories are brought to life in this book. He uses these stories to tell a bit about China's past and teach the reader about more recent history. For example, he has a student move to Shenzen and get a job at a factory there. Peter tells the recent history of Shenzen and how it is an experimental city, built with many factories that have attracted young people to come work. This makes it different from many other cities in China as it is one city where the younger generation isn't living with their family.

There are lots of interesting stories like this interspersed in the book. I learned a lot about the Uighurs, a group I had no knowledge of before. Peter describes then as having similar problems as the Tibetans but without the Dalai Lama to make their plight more well known.

At times, this book could be a bit slow and too detailed. There were also times where Peter would start to examine one subject, stop, and come back to it later 50 pages. It at times made for a disjointed read. However it told an interesting story of an unknown China to me.

First Line: "From Beijing to Anyang - from the modern capital to the city known as the cradle of ancient Chinese civilization - it takes six hours by train."

Rating:
(3.5/5)

The Good Women of China by Xinran

Non-fiction

Xinran is a radio show host that talks about women's issues. This gives her access to women all over China to hear their stories because they trust her and it's easy to open up to her. As China "opens up" following the revolution, women are finally able to speak about their stories. Xinran tells us these women's stories, as it seems that even in the 90s, China still wasn't quite ready for them. These stories include tales of rape and abuse. The Red Guard takes away parents who don't believe in Communism, an earthquake destroys a village, a child keeps a fly as a pet while she's in the hospital. Each story is unique and each has the ability to break your heart.

I was in shock while reading some of these stories. These women have been through so much pain and they each deal with it in completely different ways. The flow of the book was exceptional, with Xinran explaining how she met these women and a bit about her radio program. Each story relates slightly to the next which helps the reader go from one to the next.

We even get a brief glimpse in to Xinran's past, though I would have liked a bit more. This book will stay with me for a long time.

This book is a translation but reads like it was written in English. The translator deserves an applause for such a great job.

First Line: "Early one spring morning in 1989, I rode my Flying Pigeon bicycle through the streets of Nanjing dreaming about my son Panpan."

Rating:
(4.5/5)

Empire of the Sun by J.G. Ballard

Fiction

Jim is just a kid when World War II comes on Shanghai. An American ship it attacked in the harbour and in the chaos that follows, Jim is separated from his parents. He's taken to a hospital but escapes and roams the city. The Chinese are no help, the Japanese are not interested in Jim at all, and there aren't many Europeans around to help him. Jim tries to go back to his family home but eventually Japanese move in there and Jim has to move on. He tries to turn himself in to the Japanese multiple times but it doesn't work. Only when he hooks up with two thieves does he finally manage to become a prisoner of the Japanese.

How does a young boy process the war? Jim doesn't understand it and is excited by the action he sees. He's in awe of the Japanese pilots. And he's not really scared. The adults that surround Jim and take care of him while they're held prisoner try to do their best by him but he's his own person and it's hard to point him in the right direction, if they can even figure out what that is.

I picked this book up because I'm travelling to China soon and wanted a book that takes place in the area. This was a very interesting one. Usually WWII books take place in Europe and speak about the Americans/Europeans. This one takes place in a country not really involved in the war as the Japanese take over. Furthermore, it's from the view point of a child which adds to the intrigue.

There are some confusing parts to this book. I had troubles keeping some items straight. It felt like Jim took hours to walk from one location to another, only to go back to the original location quickly. I'm not sure if I misunderstood but this seemed to be a recurring problem.

I had no clue this was a movie. One with Christian Bale as a kid no less. It's an interesting story; I'd be interested in seeing how it translates over to the big screen.

First Line: "Wars came early to Shanghai, overtaking each other like the tides that raced up the Yangtze and returned to this gaudy city all the coffins cast adrift from the funeral piers of the Chinese Bund."

Rating:
(3.5/5)