2013 Book Review #1: River Town

One of the intentions I set for this year was to read and review 25 books. Time for personal reading has dwindled in my life (sadly) as I fall into bed most nights and fall asleep pretty quickly. Being able to sleep well is fantastic, don't get me wrong. It just cuts into my pleasure reading. I haven't gotten off to the greatest start--we're rapidly approaching March and I've read a whole two books; but I've read, and I'm fulfilling my wish of blogging about them. So here goes with Book Review Numero Uno.

Several months ago, I read Peter Hessler's "Oracle Bones: A Journey Through Time in China" in an attempt to gain a better understanding of Chinese history and culture. As I wrote in my review of that book,

I rather expected to walk away from this book knowing more about China's cultural identity...and I suspect that Hessler himself hoped to understand better after writing this book. We both remain unfulfilled in that regard, as it turns out that China, for all its differences from the United States, is much like our home country--it has no one defining cultural identity, and is a large, geographically-isolated nation comprised of people from many cultures and ethnicities.   

While I was left with many of my original questions about China, I very much enjoyed Hessler's portrayal and at once set out to buy a copy of his first book, "River Town: Two Years On the Yangtze." Hessler taught English in the city of Fuling for two years as a Peace Corps volunteer, learning the often confusing ins and outs of life in China's Sichuan Province. I was particularly interested in reading this, as my students from last summer were Sichaunese, from the province's city Chengdu.

Hessler has a very unique style--at times he seems almost removed from his subject, like a scientist observing a large experiment, but there are moments of tenderness and humor that emerge to show he honestly became part of Fuling, making friends and carving out a life there as he learned Mandarin and became more comfortable navigating a city in which he was one of only two Americans.

I particularly enjoy Hessler's format for putting his books together--he has the typical chapter format, which moves in a chronological order, but he sticks essays between them that bring life to his subject. In River Town, he highlights local landmarks and people in these essays. These are constants in an ever-changing city and country.

If a reader gets anything from Hessler's books about China, it is that his writing only captures a moment in time--China changes so quickly that it is impossible to write about it without the book quickly becoming a portrait of a past time. Indeed, within a few years of Hessler's stay in Fuling, the Three Rivers Gorge dam project was completed, the Yangtze flooded, and whole cities were left underwater. Fuling itself changed as the lower parts of the city were flooded out.

I found River Town both engaging and informative; while it took me several weeks to read it, I never felt like I was struggling with it, or bored. I found myself understanding a little more about China and its people...this will help me should I have the opportunity this summer to work with Chinese exchange students again.

If, like me, you are interested in learning more about a fascinating, ever-changing society, I recommend both River Town and Oracle Bones by Peter Hessler.