Status
Available
Publication
New York : Broadway Books, c2008.
Description
A sharply observed, hilarious account of Troost's adventures in China- a complex, fascinating country with enough dangers and delicacies to keep him, and readers, endlessly entertained.
User reviews
LibraryThing member JGoto
I found J. Maarten Troost’s Lost on Planet China to be a fairly light-hearted and quite entertaining read. Although I have not spent much time in China, nor traveled there extensively, I could laugh with recognition at Troost’s descriptions of the terror inducing traffic, the incredible
Ever the adventuresome traveler, Troost ventures from the coastal cities of Beijing & Shanghai inland to remote areas in central China and the region of Tibet. He stays in modest local accommodations and is daring with unfamiliar cuisine ordered from menus he can’t read.
“Well, I thought. Well, well, well. And what am I to do with a bowl of live squid? CLANK CLANK went the plate, as squid after squid made sad, desperate attempts to flee. I slouched down to peer at them through the bowl. It was like having my own personal aquarium.”
Did he eat the live squid? Yes, he did. And he enjoyed them. The book has many, but is not limited to this type of humorous anecdote. Troost visits Tibet and other ethnic areas in the country and shares his observations of the repression of the non-Han Chinese. He repeatedly makes the reader aware of the harsh power of the government and lack of personal freedom of ordinary people. At the very beginning of the book, Troost makes a disclaimer: He does not speak the language and has not studied Chinese history extensively. In other words, he is not a China Expert. That said, I feel that he does have some background knowledge, his observations are thoughtful and his experiences very interesting.
As a side note, Troost is an unapologetic liberal democrat, with many snide remarks about the Bush administration, which was in power at the time this book was written. I have similar leanings, so his ramblings were not at all offensive to me, but I can see how they might offend others with more conservative political views.
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pollution, the persistent vendors, and the toddlers with split pants squatting to defecate on the streets, on temple grounds, or anywhere else they pleased.Ever the adventuresome traveler, Troost ventures from the coastal cities of Beijing & Shanghai inland to remote areas in central China and the region of Tibet. He stays in modest local accommodations and is daring with unfamiliar cuisine ordered from menus he can’t read.
“Well, I thought. Well, well, well. And what am I to do with a bowl of live squid? CLANK CLANK went the plate, as squid after squid made sad, desperate attempts to flee. I slouched down to peer at them through the bowl. It was like having my own personal aquarium.”
Did he eat the live squid? Yes, he did. And he enjoyed them. The book has many, but is not limited to this type of humorous anecdote. Troost visits Tibet and other ethnic areas in the country and shares his observations of the repression of the non-Han Chinese. He repeatedly makes the reader aware of the harsh power of the government and lack of personal freedom of ordinary people. At the very beginning of the book, Troost makes a disclaimer: He does not speak the language and has not studied Chinese history extensively. In other words, he is not a China Expert. That said, I feel that he does have some background knowledge, his observations are thoughtful and his experiences very interesting.
As a side note, Troost is an unapologetic liberal democrat, with many snide remarks about the Bush administration, which was in power at the time this book was written. I have similar leanings, so his ramblings were not at all offensive to me, but I can see how they might offend others with more conservative political views.
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LibraryThing member teaperson
Great travel literature gains its power from three things: evocative description, interesting encounters with people along the way, and an engaging narrator. Troost, who wrote two books about the islands of the South Pacific that did well on all those three points, has pretty much struck out
He speaks no Chinese, as he admits, so the people never come alive. He recounts several encounters with Chinese people that he admits leave him totally mystified, like when a man seems to accuse him of being German and hits him in the street. But he finds no cultural translator to explain what this means. When he discovers a gay bar in a provincial city hotel -- he plays the scene for a laugh, backs out quickly, and goes to sleep. If he had actually hung out with the people there, I might have learned something.
A few of the places come sputteringly to life, but in general, his lack of engagement with China came across as annoying.
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here.He speaks no Chinese, as he admits, so the people never come alive. He recounts several encounters with Chinese people that he admits leave him totally mystified, like when a man seems to accuse him of being German and hits him in the street. But he finds no cultural translator to explain what this means. When he discovers a gay bar in a provincial city hotel -- he plays the scene for a laugh, backs out quickly, and goes to sleep. If he had actually hung out with the people there, I might have learned something.
A few of the places come sputteringly to life, but in general, his lack of engagement with China came across as annoying.
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LibraryThing member ebrowne1
Lost on Planet China, Troost’s third book, is a disappointing travel memoir, complete with ugly Westerner moments and a whole lot of post-modern displacement syndrome. There are a few redeeming moments of grace, and humor that does not come at the expense of the Chinese however, and these were
Troost’s first two books take place on islands in the South Pacific, where he lived off and on for a decade. The switch to writing a book about six months of travel within another country (and a large one, at that) rather than about living in/getting to know a foreign country seems to have been a bumpy one for Troost. In the first hundred pages or so he veers sharply from the past (South Pacific) to his present (Sacramento, CA) to China and back again. And again. I found myself wishing the book was about Troost’s move to Sacramento after 10 years in the South Pacific, because his writing about California was funnier and much deeper than his writing about China. He admits to having little background on China, and he doesn’t speak the language. And so, how to write a book about an enormous country that one knows almost nothing about?
Sigh. Troost falls into some common travel writing pitfalls. Particularly in the first half of the book, he sinks to describing every little cab ride, meal, and hotel he stays in. He seemed to be grasping for a way to add texture and knowledge to writing about a country he had simply dropped into. There are long passages of history and other information dropped in between cab rides or meals to flesh out chapters. I read a lot of books about China, and I didn’t think much of this information covered new ground or offered a unique perspective.
This is the only book I’ve ever read about China that made me NOT want to go. (And that’s saying something, because I *really* want to go.) Troost’s sarcasm and witty asides were somehow endearing in his first book, but I found him negative and cynical in this one. He wasn’t having a good or easy time in China, and while that’s OK – you obviously don’t have to like everywhere you travel to – as a reader, I had a hard time wanting to continue reading. The China Troost was describing was awful, and he was not really likable in that China, either.
While various friends and acquaintances pop in and out, Troost is traveling alone for much of the book, which makes his job that much more difficult: He’s got to make something actually happen. I give him credit for this. He goes out of his way to sacred mountains and islands, markets and temples, and eats (usually) whatever waitresses decide to serve him. But one gets the sense that it’s all for the sake of the story, that maybe his heart's not in it.
The interminable subtitle of this book “The Strange and True Story of One Man's Attempt to Understand the World's Most Mystifying Nation, or How He Became Comfortable Eating Live Squid,” reveals one of the major problems with this book, and (Sorry, Mr. Troost, you’re about to become a scapegoat) with some others I’ve read about China (and other Asian countries) in the recent past. What happens is this: Westerner who knows little about China drops in, armed with all kinds of preconceived notions. In the case of China, these tend to revolve around Mao, Communism, bicycles, isolated mountain villages, and sometimes martial arts. What said Westerners tend to find upon arrival (and remark upon ad nauseam) are thriving, crowded, ultra-modern, monied cities. Cities not unlike what one might find in the West, with all their problems and contradictions, only bigger. And Chinese. So thoroughly confused are these writers by the realities of modern China that we get strange comparisons: Beijing is like Washington DC with six beltways, for example. Troost unfortunately also has trouble reconciling the China he wants to see with the China he’s seeing. After some time in Beijing he flees for the site of a sacred mountain temple, hoping to find peace and serenity, only to discover that there is little peace and serenity in China these days. He seems to feel completely confused by this displacement and is constantly seeking some frame of reference. China at various points in this book gets compared to: Washington DC, Sacramento, Vermont, Japan, Tijuana, Russia, Mars, and more. No wonder he thinks the China is “the world’s most mystifying nation.”
All that said, Troost seems to come into his own, and this book, after he takes a break from the “real China” and visits Hong Kong. Hong Kong operates, in Troost’s mind, more like a Western city, and therefore he’s more comfortable and relaxed. He drinks in bars with other Westerners. He believes that going to Hong Kong is like taking a vacation from China. All of this somehow makes Troost appreciate mainland China more when he returns (partly because he’s got a buddy with him he can play off of) and the rest of the book is a little more fun to read. Troost actually seems to enjoy his travels in Southwestern China (away from the growing megacities of the east) and I did, too. He ventures to cities not often written about and those experiences seemed much more substantive than the meals and transportation woes he detailed in the first half of the book. Alas, Troost cannot hold on to whatever tentative peace he makes with China. Instead he comes to the realization that things could be worse, and that’s about as close as he can get to affection for the place.
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strong enough for me to give this one three stars. Troost’s first two books take place on islands in the South Pacific, where he lived off and on for a decade. The switch to writing a book about six months of travel within another country (and a large one, at that) rather than about living in/getting to know a foreign country seems to have been a bumpy one for Troost. In the first hundred pages or so he veers sharply from the past (South Pacific) to his present (Sacramento, CA) to China and back again. And again. I found myself wishing the book was about Troost’s move to Sacramento after 10 years in the South Pacific, because his writing about California was funnier and much deeper than his writing about China. He admits to having little background on China, and he doesn’t speak the language. And so, how to write a book about an enormous country that one knows almost nothing about?
Sigh. Troost falls into some common travel writing pitfalls. Particularly in the first half of the book, he sinks to describing every little cab ride, meal, and hotel he stays in. He seemed to be grasping for a way to add texture and knowledge to writing about a country he had simply dropped into. There are long passages of history and other information dropped in between cab rides or meals to flesh out chapters. I read a lot of books about China, and I didn’t think much of this information covered new ground or offered a unique perspective.
This is the only book I’ve ever read about China that made me NOT want to go. (And that’s saying something, because I *really* want to go.) Troost’s sarcasm and witty asides were somehow endearing in his first book, but I found him negative and cynical in this one. He wasn’t having a good or easy time in China, and while that’s OK – you obviously don’t have to like everywhere you travel to – as a reader, I had a hard time wanting to continue reading. The China Troost was describing was awful, and he was not really likable in that China, either.
While various friends and acquaintances pop in and out, Troost is traveling alone for much of the book, which makes his job that much more difficult: He’s got to make something actually happen. I give him credit for this. He goes out of his way to sacred mountains and islands, markets and temples, and eats (usually) whatever waitresses decide to serve him. But one gets the sense that it’s all for the sake of the story, that maybe his heart's not in it.
The interminable subtitle of this book “The Strange and True Story of One Man's Attempt to Understand the World's Most Mystifying Nation, or How He Became Comfortable Eating Live Squid,” reveals one of the major problems with this book, and (Sorry, Mr. Troost, you’re about to become a scapegoat) with some others I’ve read about China (and other Asian countries) in the recent past. What happens is this: Westerner who knows little about China drops in, armed with all kinds of preconceived notions. In the case of China, these tend to revolve around Mao, Communism, bicycles, isolated mountain villages, and sometimes martial arts. What said Westerners tend to find upon arrival (and remark upon ad nauseam) are thriving, crowded, ultra-modern, monied cities. Cities not unlike what one might find in the West, with all their problems and contradictions, only bigger. And Chinese. So thoroughly confused are these writers by the realities of modern China that we get strange comparisons: Beijing is like Washington DC with six beltways, for example. Troost unfortunately also has trouble reconciling the China he wants to see with the China he’s seeing. After some time in Beijing he flees for the site of a sacred mountain temple, hoping to find peace and serenity, only to discover that there is little peace and serenity in China these days. He seems to feel completely confused by this displacement and is constantly seeking some frame of reference. China at various points in this book gets compared to: Washington DC, Sacramento, Vermont, Japan, Tijuana, Russia, Mars, and more. No wonder he thinks the China is “the world’s most mystifying nation.”
All that said, Troost seems to come into his own, and this book, after he takes a break from the “real China” and visits Hong Kong. Hong Kong operates, in Troost’s mind, more like a Western city, and therefore he’s more comfortable and relaxed. He drinks in bars with other Westerners. He believes that going to Hong Kong is like taking a vacation from China. All of this somehow makes Troost appreciate mainland China more when he returns (partly because he’s got a buddy with him he can play off of) and the rest of the book is a little more fun to read. Troost actually seems to enjoy his travels in Southwestern China (away from the growing megacities of the east) and I did, too. He ventures to cities not often written about and those experiences seemed much more substantive than the meals and transportation woes he detailed in the first half of the book. Alas, Troost cannot hold on to whatever tentative peace he makes with China. Instead he comes to the realization that things could be worse, and that’s about as close as he can get to affection for the place.
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LibraryThing member Sean191
Well, it had to happen sometime. After really enjoying J. Troost's first two books (Sex Lives of Cannibals, Getting Stoned With Savages) I had high hopes for Lost on Planet China. Unfortunately, this book didn't live up to the expectations I had.
In his first two offerings Troost came across as
In Lost on Planet China Troost spends a lot of time mentioning his goofy grin, his good-natured way of going about this and the fact that he's out of his element. Less of this book is about his interaction with the people rather than the surroundings. Troost also throws too much "this is like X." "X" being whatever country he is comparing China to at that moment.
He covers thousands of miles during his research to write this book and maybe that's ultimately where he gets into trouble. In the first two books he was isolated and sequestered in such a small area that he was able to express all the nuances that lent to the hilarity. In this, he's trying to squeeze in information about a country with cities larger than the countries he had previously written about. Maybe if he had spent all his time for this book just in Tibet he could have captured that magic.
In his first two offerings Troost came across as
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goofy, good-natured and hilariously out of his element. Those qualities all came through when he related his experiences and that was the magic. There was also the advantage of reading about a place so utterly foreign. In Lost on Planet China Troost spends a lot of time mentioning his goofy grin, his good-natured way of going about this and the fact that he's out of his element. Less of this book is about his interaction with the people rather than the surroundings. Troost also throws too much "this is like X." "X" being whatever country he is comparing China to at that moment.
He covers thousands of miles during his research to write this book and maybe that's ultimately where he gets into trouble. In the first two books he was isolated and sequestered in such a small area that he was able to express all the nuances that lent to the hilarity. In this, he's trying to squeeze in information about a country with cities larger than the countries he had previously written about. Maybe if he had spent all his time for this book just in Tibet he could have captured that magic.
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LibraryThing member paperloverevolution
I guess at some point the publishing world realized that readers today don't want epic travel stories pitting man's courage against the untamed wilderness, or inspirational tales of the wisdom gained from wandering. They want stories about people falling off mountains, eating bizarre foods, and
Maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I wasn't constantly distracted by all the poop references. A friend who married into a big Dutch family once told me that the Dutch are weirdly obsessed with poop - she even sent me a picture of a toilet shelf that they sell there, so that you can analyze before you flush. I kept thinking of that toilet as I read Troost's descriptions of all the various poop he encountered - human and animal - and I have to say, it made it hard to give the text my fullest attention.
I suppose I could have made this much shorter: it was funny, I found Troost charming, but I wasn't impressed. The end.
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having comical mishaps in foreign lands. Sort of the Jackass school of travel writing. Troost is less crass than most - no falsely modest tales of booze and womanizing here - and he is quite funny. But I came away from this book feeling like I'd learned very little, and I'm no expert on China myself. His most repeated observations (mostly about haggling, spit, and personal space violations) are pretty much the same keen insights you could glean from spending a chunk of time in any Chinese enclave in the US. I've had plenty of similar encounters at the local Chinese mega-grocery, where you can dodge spit, buy weird food, be squished by strangers, and get berated in Chinese (for what? who knows?) by elderly shoppers any day of the week. I just wanted more from someone who had gone all the way TO China. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I wasn't constantly distracted by all the poop references. A friend who married into a big Dutch family once told me that the Dutch are weirdly obsessed with poop - she even sent me a picture of a toilet shelf that they sell there, so that you can analyze before you flush. I kept thinking of that toilet as I read Troost's descriptions of all the various poop he encountered - human and animal - and I have to say, it made it hard to give the text my fullest attention.
I suppose I could have made this much shorter: it was funny, I found Troost charming, but I wasn't impressed. The end.
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LibraryThing member TadAD
Troost's memoir of a trip to China was very enjoyable in a horrifying sort of way (imagine a street where seeing the other side is hard due to pollution!). It wasn't as side-splittingly funny as his earlier books because the subject matter just wasn't as funny. On the other hand, I found this book
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a bit more thought-provoking that the first two as I found myself considering the arc of China's growth as a world leader versus that of the West. Show Less
LibraryThing member CarolO
Simply marvelous!
The author takes us along on his wanderings sharing his wonderment, confusion, fears, joys and anger as he experiences China. Exploring the dichotomy of the country that breeds the endangered Siberian Tigers in Harbin with the selling of Siberian Tiger claws in Qingping Market.
He is constantly reminded on this journey that he is a helpless Laowai, a foreigner, who does not speak or read Chinese. His sense of humor is tested many times over. Yet, when he does eventually end up on an English speaking tour bus he finds it disorienting.
Very engaging, a good sense of humor, a most enjoyable read.
The author takes us along on his wanderings sharing his wonderment, confusion, fears, joys and anger as he experiences China. Exploring the dichotomy of the country that breeds the endangered Siberian Tigers in Harbin with the selling of Siberian Tiger claws in Qingping Market.
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Learning to haggle, looking not just for the ‘special price’ but the ‘Chinese price’. He attempts to understand why Mao is considered mostly good. Seeking out the minorities to dispel his assumption that China is a monolithic place. Finding the sun – and escaping the smog – becomes a quest. He is constantly reminded on this journey that he is a helpless Laowai, a foreigner, who does not speak or read Chinese. His sense of humor is tested many times over. Yet, when he does eventually end up on an English speaking tour bus he finds it disorienting.
Very engaging, a good sense of humor, a most enjoyable read.
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LibraryThing member chosler
While Troost insists that he is not a travel writer because he writes about places he has lived, this book covers his short travels in China (several months) and definitely qualifies as travel writing. Just not the kind you’d expect from Condé Nast Traveler or National Geographic Traveler.
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Speaking absolutely no Chinese of any dialect, Troost embarks on a cross-country journey to figure out the curious blend of millennia of history and rapidly growing economic powerhouse that is modern China. Along the way, he visits cities large and small (relatively speaking - small being under 10 million inhabitants), examines the changing face of Chinese communism, learns to haggle, repeatedly fends off opportunists of all persuasions, and delights in the culinary adventures of not being able to read the menus at restaurants. Along with highly entertaining, if not especially enlightening, lessons in Chinese history, Troost details memorable trips to Beijing, Nanjing, Hong Kong, and Lhasa in Tibet. Most remarkable, however, is the author’s snarky yet completely unpretentious narrative voice, just a few ticks wide of black cynicism and possessed of wonderful self-depreciation - imagine Anthony Bourdain without the epicurean know-how or a reliable handler. Frequent explicit language, moderately suggestive language and situations, drug use. This book has high YA interest, if limited to ages 14 and up due to content. Show Less
LibraryThing member gonzobrarian
J. Maarten Troost is a curious sort of traveler. Willing to endure the various waterborne intestinal afflictions encountered during his stay in the South Pacific, he's not a typical tourist. So what better place to continue his exploits than in, say, China? Specifically, his curiosity, like that of
It is a wonderfully gonzo experience, one that readers may come away thinking how glad they are that someone other than themselves took the time to do this. For readers will encounter, through Troost's initial perceptions, that China is the preeminently overpopulated & polluted, tightly controlled yet super-industrialized nation in the world today. That being said, all your perceptions of China are still wrong, because China is different. It is the most complex, contradictory, and rapidly changing country in the world. And because of this, it is impossible to gauge the Chinese experience from a Western perspective.
Troost surrenders himself to a China left un-traveled by most laowais (foreigners). Some of his more curious destinations include the windy and dusty streets of Beijing (the Gobi is subtly encroaching), stumbling upon an endangered species black market in Guangzhou (incidentally where SARS is rumored to start), to the seemingly separate kingdoms of Shanghai, Hong Kong & Macau, to deathly day hikes at the Tiger Leaping Gorge, hearing karaoke in a state-sponsored Shangri-La, the frighteningly alien plateau of Tibet, and the frozen northern borders with Russia and North Korea.
Despite Troost's unavoidable preoccupations with the crowds, unhealthy air and the ever-present Communist grip, his observations of China really point to the country as being otherworldly. And despite there being so many diverse provinces and minorities adding to his inability to fully communicate, despite the harsh exertion of the ever-present big brother, Troost does discover the human connection, whether exchanging smiles with an old farmer on a crowded midnight train or being happily fed by a street vendor in Xi'an's Muslim Quarter.
So as Troost's Chinese experience starts to reach its conclusion, the reader may acknowledge in his writing a sense of fulfillment, perhaps harmony, as his sojourn winds down in the cold northern wilds of Harbin. Despite the temperature, he feels the warmth in his visit to the local Siberian Tiger preserve; literally fishing for tigers with live chickens, his Chinese context slowly blooms upon a fascinating chance encounter within the North Korean neutral zone. Everything, as the saying goes, is not only relative but foreign. Excellent read.
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many, is to discern just exactly what the Chinese context is. His latest book, Lost on Planet China, intriguingly relays his intrepid dispatches.It is a wonderfully gonzo experience, one that readers may come away thinking how glad they are that someone other than themselves took the time to do this. For readers will encounter, through Troost's initial perceptions, that China is the preeminently overpopulated & polluted, tightly controlled yet super-industrialized nation in the world today. That being said, all your perceptions of China are still wrong, because China is different. It is the most complex, contradictory, and rapidly changing country in the world. And because of this, it is impossible to gauge the Chinese experience from a Western perspective.
Troost surrenders himself to a China left un-traveled by most laowais (foreigners). Some of his more curious destinations include the windy and dusty streets of Beijing (the Gobi is subtly encroaching), stumbling upon an endangered species black market in Guangzhou (incidentally where SARS is rumored to start), to the seemingly separate kingdoms of Shanghai, Hong Kong & Macau, to deathly day hikes at the Tiger Leaping Gorge, hearing karaoke in a state-sponsored Shangri-La, the frighteningly alien plateau of Tibet, and the frozen northern borders with Russia and North Korea.
Despite Troost's unavoidable preoccupations with the crowds, unhealthy air and the ever-present Communist grip, his observations of China really point to the country as being otherworldly. And despite there being so many diverse provinces and minorities adding to his inability to fully communicate, despite the harsh exertion of the ever-present big brother, Troost does discover the human connection, whether exchanging smiles with an old farmer on a crowded midnight train or being happily fed by a street vendor in Xi'an's Muslim Quarter.
So as Troost's Chinese experience starts to reach its conclusion, the reader may acknowledge in his writing a sense of fulfillment, perhaps harmony, as his sojourn winds down in the cold northern wilds of Harbin. Despite the temperature, he feels the warmth in his visit to the local Siberian Tiger preserve; literally fishing for tigers with live chickens, his Chinese context slowly blooms upon a fascinating chance encounter within the North Korean neutral zone. Everything, as the saying goes, is not only relative but foreign. Excellent read.
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LibraryThing member FicusFan
I read this book for a RL book group; I would probably not have read it otherwise. I have a minimal interest in modern China. I know they are now big players on the world stage, and that their influence will only grow, but still they don't generate great interest in me.
I have Troost's 2 other
The premise for this book is that he is thinking of moving there with his wife and 2 small children and he wanted to find out what it was like, and the best place for a family. He is a self-proclaimed China neophyte and he wanted to find out what was fact, and what was old, stereotypical, and just plain wrong. Occasionally he remembers the reason for the trip/book, but mostly its just a wander around various parts of the country.
He describes his journey, the places he went, stayed, what he ate, and the people he met. He tries to work out the social reasons for what he observes. He doesn't speak Chinese and he didn't have a guide, translator or minder. He points out what he finds that conflicts with what he thought he knew, or heard, or was told.
He talks about change as the main characteristic of China, there is also incredible pollution, crowding and noise. He writes about what he observes of the people he sees and meets and situations he ends up in. Since its such a large country its hard to know how broadly it applies to others in China. He finds the Chinese engaged in a rush for money and wealth. They seem to still revere Mao, even though he was an evil killer. They ignore the Cultural Revolution. They may agitate for local issues, but seem not to be connected to the national political questions. They do seem to know what will draw the police and avoid those who cross the line and bring in the authorities.
The parts about their behavior regarding personal hygiene and what they eat and how they kill it, was gross. Though I had read articles about both by others, so I know he is not making it up or exaggerating.
He travels by car, train and plane. He goes to Hong Kong which is China-lite as the civility of the British still prevails, and to Tibet, where the country is basically overrun with Han Chinese and under military occupation. He also travels in between these 2 extremes. He finds that there are very wealthy people, middle class people, and incredibly poor and abandoned people. As a foreigner he stands out and is treated with kindness, with revulsion, and like a pet, by different groups and individuals.
The book was interesting, funny and well written. It seemed a bit slower than his other book, but it might be that there was just more meat in a book about China than there was in a book about living on a small tropical island.
I have Troost's 2 other
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books (The Sex Lives of Cannibals and Getting Stoned With Savages ) and have read the first book and enjoyed it. I am used to Troost's style which is lightly sarcastic. He points out the foibles of the group he is writing about. I know this tendency upsets the PC crowd, but Troost is incredibly accurate in his observations and depictions, as well as being funny. I have lived in 3rd world countries and agree with his observations on the tropical island book, and one of our group members has been to China to teach,in several cities and she said he was spot on.The premise for this book is that he is thinking of moving there with his wife and 2 small children and he wanted to find out what it was like, and the best place for a family. He is a self-proclaimed China neophyte and he wanted to find out what was fact, and what was old, stereotypical, and just plain wrong. Occasionally he remembers the reason for the trip/book, but mostly its just a wander around various parts of the country.
He describes his journey, the places he went, stayed, what he ate, and the people he met. He tries to work out the social reasons for what he observes. He doesn't speak Chinese and he didn't have a guide, translator or minder. He points out what he finds that conflicts with what he thought he knew, or heard, or was told.
He talks about change as the main characteristic of China, there is also incredible pollution, crowding and noise. He writes about what he observes of the people he sees and meets and situations he ends up in. Since its such a large country its hard to know how broadly it applies to others in China. He finds the Chinese engaged in a rush for money and wealth. They seem to still revere Mao, even though he was an evil killer. They ignore the Cultural Revolution. They may agitate for local issues, but seem not to be connected to the national political questions. They do seem to know what will draw the police and avoid those who cross the line and bring in the authorities.
The parts about their behavior regarding personal hygiene and what they eat and how they kill it, was gross. Though I had read articles about both by others, so I know he is not making it up or exaggerating.
He travels by car, train and plane. He goes to Hong Kong which is China-lite as the civility of the British still prevails, and to Tibet, where the country is basically overrun with Han Chinese and under military occupation. He also travels in between these 2 extremes. He finds that there are very wealthy people, middle class people, and incredibly poor and abandoned people. As a foreigner he stands out and is treated with kindness, with revulsion, and like a pet, by different groups and individuals.
The book was interesting, funny and well written. It seemed a bit slower than his other book, but it might be that there was just more meat in a book about China than there was in a book about living on a small tropical island.
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LibraryThing member grizzly.anderson
I picked this up because the cover looked interesting. I bought it because of the opening sentence: "There are two kinds of people roaming the far fringes of the world: Morman missionaries and Chinese businessmen."
If you've read any of Troost's books before you know pretty much what to expect when
His observations are witty and entertaining, but I suspect that he often doesn't bother much with historical accuracy or critical thinking of his own observations. I've given the book away already, so I can't cite specifics. None the less it is a very entertaining read, and I think gives a good representation of the size and scale and character of the country, and the impression it leaves on someone who is generally open to any experience that won't land him permanently in jail, or get him killed.
If you've read any of Troost's books before you know pretty much what to expect when
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he decides to set off to China to see if maybe it would be a good place to move and raise his kids for a few years. If you haven't read him before, what you need to know is that he doesn't speak any dialect of Chinese, that he believes in traveling without a net, and that irreverent is a kind description.His observations are witty and entertaining, but I suspect that he often doesn't bother much with historical accuracy or critical thinking of his own observations. I've given the book away already, so I can't cite specifics. None the less it is a very entertaining read, and I think gives a good representation of the size and scale and character of the country, and the impression it leaves on someone who is generally open to any experience that won't land him permanently in jail, or get him killed.
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LibraryThing member debnance
Just in time for the 2008 Olympic Games, I get a behind the curtain look at China. And that look at China is not pretty. Despite all attempts to appear as a modern nation, China's leaders continue to rule the country with an iron hand. The law is wielded despotically and seemingly at a whim.
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Capitalism has somehow managed to sneak into the country, but it is an ugly capitalism, run with the tired hands of a weary people desperate to make a living and with side effects of rampant pollution that threatens the air and water of every large city in China. And there are people, people, people everywhere, one and a half billion altogether, with all the horrors that such a large population brings.Not a place I wish to visit. Show Less
LibraryThing member Niecierpek
It was good, but not as laid back as another book I read by Troost, Getting Stoned with Savages. This one is about China, and Maarten Troost does not seem to be in love with either China, or the Chinese. He seems to be rather annoyed by them. He finds it difficult to stand Chinese rudeness, lack of
Definitely worth reading.
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what we came to regard as manners, disregard for the environment, cult of mammon, and the authoritarian communist capitalism where everything is allowed as long as it brings money. But, he is at awe of the phenomenon that China is right now as well, and this mixture permeates the pages of the book. Definitely worth reading.
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LibraryThing member addunn3
Very well written - must better organized than his last. Good humor and a joy to read.
LibraryThing member kakadoo202
hilarious. I was laughing out loud. I want to travel and see and experience this feeling out of place. Rough. Honest. Not politically correct, but very human. Will look for other boks by him.
LibraryThing member snash
Egads. The author's description of China sometimes felt over the top but it was to good effect since it made the reader actually feel the disorientation and bizarreness of its pace. I can't say it made me yearn to visit but made me glad the author had done so and provided me a feel for the it. My
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lasting image from the book is of a train hurling out of control to who knows where within a cloud of pollution and accompanied by a din of horns. Show Less
LibraryThing member matthewbloome
This was humorously bleak. I expected to read that China was crowded. I expected it to be a little unsanitary. I felt like I understood China's new role in the evolving world economy. I underestimated everything. There is nothing about the China that Maarten Troost visited that gives me comfort. In
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fact, if it weren't for the fact that Troost is probably the funniest travel writer I've read outside of Bill Bryson, there's no way in the world that I would have finished. Show Less
LibraryThing member bookwormteri
Entertaining and educational. I had never really given China a ton of thought beyond what you see in the movies. This book is totally enlightening. I learned that I will never learn the Chinese language (I am too old, apparently), China is very polluted, and they do not know how to stand in line.
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The Chinese people also enjoy the art of haggling, are very gracious, and cook deliciously. Really enjoyable! Show Less
LibraryThing member Tom_D
I liked his first book, The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific, best and this one the least of the 3. That being said, I did finish it and think I know a bit more about China now - at least how China was in 2008. I can't imagine the pollution getting much better by 2011 or the
China was way down on my list of places to visit (I am not much of a traveler) but it moved down several notches after reading this book.
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behavior or the people or the government. China was way down on my list of places to visit (I am not much of a traveler) but it moved down several notches after reading this book.
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LibraryThing member tabascofromgudreads
Irreverent, very amusing, informative, clever, a bit too superficial but very, very funny. An entertaining read! It's like going to the Comedy Club and listen to a comedian describe his trip to China.
LibraryThing member yeremenko
As he says in the opening this is not deep or new, but it is honest, and very funny.
LibraryThing member EllsbethB
Picked this up in an airport on the way home from China at the recommendation of a friend. It's a rather hilariously accurate description of many places I visited and well worth the read.
LibraryThing member BrendaKlaassen
I read this book for an in-person discussion. I knew very little about China when I started the book and since reading it, I never want to visit China. This is one of those books that I am glad I was forced to read because I really don't think I would of read it on my own. I am glad for the most
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part that the author kept the tone lite. The book did give me one man's view of the people that call China their home. I look forward to finding out what the other people in my group thought of the book. I might read this author again in the future. Show Less
LibraryThing member BooksOn23rd
Entertaining and humorous trek throughout China. Troost doesn't really like the country, but has hopes for its future.
~Stephanie
~Stephanie
LibraryThing member LaPhenix
What a riot! A fascinating, enlightening, and hilarious look at the climate and culture of China.