China Patterns

There've been several new books lately which have focused on the experiences of westerners living in China. Each is part memoir, part travelogue, and part biography, yet each one tells a unique and strikingly-good story about this most populous land in the world. Pick the "China Pattern" that appeals to you from among:

Big in China: My Unlikely Adventures Raising a Family, Playing the Blues, and Becoming a Star in Beijing by Alan Paul. After his wife takes a 3-year post in China, the Paul family, with three young children, adjusts to a new culture, a new language, and a new way of life in Beijing. Alan forms a blues band with 3 Chinese musicians and they end up winning an award as Beijing's Best Band! Based on the author's blog for the Wall Street Journal and sure to be enjoyable!

Fortunate Sons: the 120 Chinese Boys Who Came to America, Went to School, and Revolutionized an Ancient Civilization by Liel Leibovitz. In 1872, these boys were sent to elite New England prep schools and colleges in order to learn "western ways". After 9 years, they were called back to China and many became prominent in China's drive for modernization. Here is their fascinating story both here and abroad.

The Foremost Good Fortune by Susan Conley. This Portland, Maine-based mom of 2 young sons moved to Beijing with her husband on the eve of the 2008 Olympics. Just as they were getting adjusted, she developed breast cancer and had to return to the States. After treatment, she did return to China where she searched for the perfect Chinese talisman to ward off any leftover "cancer juju" and hoping to ease her boys' fear about their mom's mortality. An uplifting and memorable story.

Country Driving: a Journey Through China from Farm to Factory by Peter Hessler. This author of two other renowned books about China here recounts his epic road trip following the Great Wall along northern China. His experiences with driving on roads ranging from superhighways to dirt paths, from villages to industrialized cities, with so many "car-crazy" and inexperienced new drivers is both funny and fascinating.

Pearl Buck in China: a Journey to The Good Earth by Hilary Spurling. This biography of the author (1892--1973) of "The Good Earth" trilogy traces her youth in China as the daughter of a missionary and her work in the US for multicultural adoption and anti-discrimination laws. Buck won both the Nobel & Pulitzer prizes yet, at one time, was blacklisted as a communist sympathizer. Reading "The Good Earth" in junior high was my introduction to Chinese culture and the novel (pub. 1958) made a lasting impression on me.

For All the Tea in China: How England Stole the World's Favorite Drink and Changed History by Sarah Rose. The true story of a Victorian-age botanical thief, Robert Fortune, who was hired by London's East India Company to spy and steal tea seeds and young tea plants in China and smuggle them to British India: "the greatest theft of trade secrets in the history of mankind"!