Kris L. (miss-info) reviewed on 9/7/2010 + 386 more book reviews

I liked this book and the little bits and pieces we learned of the people and history of a small mountain village in modern China. I wish he had told more of his wife and children, but what he told of his Chinese friends and not-friends I thought was good enough. It was interesting to read an account of China as it is today, after reading accounts from the 1950's and earlier. While not exactly a light read, there is a good bit of humor throughout, as well as some depressing bits as he deals with a system that is unfair by nature.

The book is very British, with British spelling throughout and reference to a few things Americans may not catch. At one point he makes a joke about Blue Peter, and says that his friend, also being British, got the joke. The rest of us are left out in the cold. We looked it up: Blue Peter is a children's TV show in the UK, and it has a cooking segment. That's all you need to know to get the joke.

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