In 1996, Peter Hessler left the cloisters of Oxford and Princeton,
where he had studied, and travelled to Fuling, in central China,
expecting to spend a couple of tranquil years teaching English.
What he experienced - the natural beauty, the cultural tensions,
the complex (but ultimately rewarding) process of understanding the
'inscrutable' Chinese - surpassed anything he could have imagined.
He saw first-hand how major events - the death of Deng Xiaoping,
the return of Hong Kong to China, the controversial construction of
the Three Gorges Dam - affected the people he was living among.
Literate, sensitive and with deep affection for its subject, this
is an instant classic of travel writing, in an age of superfluous
travel books. Hessler goes to great pains to stress that this is
not a book about the Chinese - it is, he says, a book about 'a
certain small part of China at a certain brief period in time'.
Still, one is bound to draw conclusions (largely positive
conclusions) about the nation as a whole. More than a few
stereotypes concerning the Chinese are (thankfully) laid to rest in
this book, while others are humorously indulged ('for the Long
March Singing Contest, all of the departments practised their songs
for weeks and then performed in the auditorium. Many of the songs
were the same, because the musical potential of the Long March is
limited.'). Hessler's own experiences of life in Fuling are
interspersed with broader social and historical sketches,
reflecting the two roles a foreign resident plays in China,
'sometimes an observer, at other moments very much involved in
local life... this combination of distance and intimacy was part of
what shaped my two years in Sichuan'. And what shapes this book,
one might add. Hessler is an outsider, but he is made to feel
welcome. Six years after he first came to China, he was still
living there, albeit in Beijing rather than Fuling. (Kirkus UK)
When Peter Hessler went to China in the late 1990s, he expected to
spend a couple of peaceful years teaching English in the town of
Fuling on the Yangtze River. But what he experienced - the natural
beauty, cultural tension, and complex process of understanding that
takes place when one is thrust into a radically different society -
surpassed anything he could have imagined. Hessler observes
firsthand how major events such as the death of Deng Xiaoping, the
return of Hong Kong to the mainland, and the controversial
consturction of the Three Gorges Dam have affected even the people
of a remote town like Fuling. Poignant, thoughtful and utterly
compelling, River Town is an unforgettable portrait of a place
caught mid-river in time, much like China itself - a country
seeking to understand both what it was and what it will one day
become.
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