COUNTRY DRIVING by Peter Hessler

By the road in Nevada where our tire shredded 50 miles from the nearest town

THE GIST:

An American journalist acquires a Chinese driver's license and explores the back roads, villages, and factory towns of a changing country.

THE VERDICT:

COUNTRY DRIVING is a work of narrative non-fiction divided into three parts. The first section deals with a long road trip along the Great Wall and into the remote parts of western China. Part two is about Hessler's acquisition of a little house in a village outside of Beijing and his relationship with a small family there. The third part follows the life of a bra ring factory in a boom town. Hessler's ability to drive himself around China (in rented cars) makes each section of the story possible and provides a new take on the China travelogue, which so often features train travel. Driving enables him to reach previously inaccessible areas and to experience China's rapid change literally at street level.

I've done several Great American Road Trips (two loops around the West and NY to AZ), and it was interesting to compare those experiences to COUNTRY DRIVING. In the first section of the book in particular, you get the same sense of vastness from Hessler's account of driving across China as you do when driving north through the empty center of Nevada. On the other hand, when Hessler drives into factory towns he witnesses constant change and growth, destruction and rebuilding. In the US, I encountered town after town a generation or two removed from its most recent boom period. The shuttered warehouses and silent mining communities scattered across the countryside must once have felt like the brand new industrial complexes in China, though on a much smaller scale.

Peter Hessler's ability to take the massive subject of China's booming industry and scale it down to a personal level is what makes this book worth reading. If you've been around this blog for a while, you'll know I'm a big Peter Hessler fan. His work is always detailed and well-researched, but it's his understated writing voice that is particularly appealing. He describes the people he meets in China in a respectful and warm manner. He builds friendships with his subjects, and gives human faces to the sometimes staggering statistics associated with modern China.

THE LINK:

Here's my review of RIVER TOWN from two years ago and my account of when I shared a taxi with Peter Hessler on the way to his HK International Literary Festival event.

THE COST:

The Kindle edition is $9.99.

THE QUESTION:

How does driving alter your experience of a place compared with walking, taking the train, riding the bus, etc.?

MADE FOR YOU AND ME by Caitlin Shetterly

THE GIST:

A young couple's memoir of going west to chase the American dream, only to find themselves going broke in a devastating economy.

THE VERDICT:

Shetterly and her husband Dan are newly married when they decide to move to California from Maine. They pack up all of their possessions and leave all their family ties behind, just like the Ingalls family in the Little House on the Prairie series. They drive across the country, chasing the big dream of making it in the West. When they arrive, they become unexpectedly pregnant and unexpectedly victim to a wicked economy. Their dreams and bank balances disintegrate around them, and they have to find a way to survive.

This is a beautiful story about a young family trying to make it in America. It manages to capture the spirit of the recession like no other piece I've read so far. Shetterly and Dan are college-educated professionals, yet they can't even get jobs as bartenders and cashiers because they are competing against hundreds of others for every vacancy. She taps into the attitude of disbelief amongst Americans that things could get this bad. There's a heavy dose of anxiety and stress in this story, and rightfully so, but Shetterly maintains an uplifting message about perseverance, family, and the beauty of the country.

Shetterly's writing style is rich with imagery that instantly brought me back to the many American road trips I've taken. She establishes a true sense of place through the tastes, smells and sights with just a few words and makes you want her journey to continue. She writes with a raw, resonating honesty. Their story may not be uncommon in the current economic climate in the West, but this account is a uniquely poignant snapshot of recession-era America.

THE LINK:

Cait and Dan Go West Blog

THE COST:

I received a beautiful signed copy of this book from Susan Blumberg-Kason during her visit to Hong Kong.

THE QUESTION:

Do you approach your dreams differently in a tough economy? How has the recession affected you?

Note: Don't forget that my e-book THE OLYMPICS BEAT: A SPECTATOR'S MEMOIR OF BEIJING launches on Sunday!

THE LOST CONTINENT by Bill Bryson

THE GIST:

A grumpy but lovable travel writer takes A Great American Road Trip through the small towns, tourist traps and wide open spaces of the USA.

THE VERDICT:

I bought this book at the start of my own Great American Road Trip, which has been extensively documented on this blog. I read about half of it along the road, and visited many of the places Bryson describes just days before reading about them in the book. This was a great way to read, and I found myself comparing my own impressions with his, even though he took his trip the year before I was born, and plenty of things have changed. A book that is simply a series of descriptions of mile after mile of travel could be boring, but fortunately America is so big and varied that there is always something new to read about or see.

Bryson's characteristic witty and slightly grumpy writing style is the other thing that keeps the narrative interesting. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I think he's hilarious. He uses his unique voice to talk about the things that are good about the US, and he also pulls no punches when describing things that have changed for the worse. He strongly objects to the spread of cooker-cutter commercialism, and he mourns the loss of unique shops and restaurants in favor of chains and shopping malls. Bryson does tend to be quite judgmental, and some of his rants about tourists, overweight people and the uneducated were taken too far. Although many of his observations seemed to be accurate, the mean comments were occasionally too much. It can be a bit too easy to make fun of Americans sometimes, but this book is successful because it does contain a lot of truth too (Disclaimer: I'm an American and so is Bill Bryson).

The book is divided into two sections, East and West, for the two big trips that Bryson took, covering 13,978 miles. He visited Springfield, Snowflake, Gettysburg, New York City, Newport, Leadville, Gallup, Carson City, Buffalo, Murdo and more. He ate in diners and visited the birthplaces of famous people. He saw universities, national parks, and cities. He was bored, tired and filled with wonder as he traveled through the country, just like thousands of other road-trippers before and since. This is a good book if you like travel narratives, and it's a great book, if you like exploring that beautiful country called the USA.

THE LINK:

Bill Bryson's website
My review of Bryson's NOTES FROM A SMALL ISLAND

THE COST:

I bought a paperback copy in a small town bookstore for $14.99

THE QUESTION:

Do you prefer to read books about your own country and culture or about far-off lands? Have you ever read a book about your own country where you think the author got it wrong?

Bookspotting: Weeks 28 and 29, Travel Edition

It has been a whirlwind summer for me. I arrived safely back in Hong Kong last night after six days in Bali, a week with my family in Oregon, and a grand American road trip/train adventure through 13 states. I'll be getting back to my regular book review, bookspotting, and walking tour posts, and I'll also be responding to comments and visiting other blogs regularly again. Thank you to everyone who followed my travels through twitter and this blog.

I kept my eyes open for books along the way, and here's what I saw:

ROAD TRIPPING

Portland, Oregon was the biggest bookspotting winner of our road trip. In addition to a special pilgrimage to the legendary Powell's bookshop, I saw people reading at tables outside cafes and restaurants all over the city. A woman sitting next to me on the bus was reading a Kindle, and I was close enough to tell that she was perusing selections from the Bible. I was reading Bill Bryson's THE LOST CONTINENT and she asked me a bit about it before telling me what I should see in Portland. I saw another woman reading a Danielle Steele paperback and a man reading ALEX CROSS'S TRIAL by James Patterson. Along the road I saw two different people reading books by George R. R. Martin, who is probably the author that has been most represented in my bookspotting adventures lately (I'm halfway through the second book in his series).

TRAINSPOTTING

When we reached Kansas City, we traded our rental car for train tickets and spent the next 26 hours on the Southwest Chief train to Flagstaff, Arizona. I counted ten people reading books whose titles I couldn't see during my walks through the train. The books I could see were a battered copy of THE SOONG DYNASTY by Sterling Seagrave, OF MICE AND MEN by John Steinbeck, and one of the HARRY POTTER books. I also saw one Kindle.

UP IN THE AIR

After a few short days with my family in Arizona, I headed for the airport once again. At Sky Harbor International Airport, I saw a woman reading one of the 'Queen' books by Philippa Gregory and a man reading Dan Brown's DECEPTION POINT. At Los Angeles International Airport, I spotted two Kindles and OPEN by Andre Agassi. As I boarded the flight to Hong Kong, I spotted a Kindle in First Class, STAR ISLAND by Clive Hiaasen in the hands of an off-duty crew member, and a battered paperback that looked like a crime novel. Now that I'm back in Hong Kong, I'll be on the lookout for books on my regular commute as well as on my wanders through the coffee shops and hangout spots of Asia's world city.

American Road Trip: Day 9

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI TO FLAGSTAFF, ARIZONA VIA AMTRAK

The final leg of our Great American Road Trip took us across the Southwestern USA on a train. We had front row seats as the beautiful desert passed by. I'm now home with my family in Arizona for a few days before I return to Hong Kong. Thanks for following along on my trip throughout the West. We covered 2,346 miles by car and over 1,000 miles by train, bringing us through Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. I hope you enjoyed the ride.

American Road Trip: Days 7 and 8

CHADRON, NEBRASKA TO OMAHA, NEBRASKA

OMAHA, NEBRASKA TO KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI

We left our rental car in Kansas City after driving for 2,346 miles.

Regular Hong Kong and book posts will return in mid-August.

American Road Trip: Days 5 and 6

RED LODGE, MONTANA TO RAPID CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA

RAPID CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA TO CHADRON, NEBRASKA

(We've been right in the middle of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally traffic)

 Regular Hong Kong posts will return in mid-August.

American Road Trip: Day 4

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

I hope you're enjoying these updates from the road. My regular Hong Kong and book posts will return in mid-August.

American Road Trip: Days 2 and 3

PORTLAND TO KELLOGG, IDAHO

IDAHO TO BIG SKY, MONTANA

American Road Trip: Day 1

BANDON TO PORTLAND

This is the first day of our American road trip. We started out by taking the bus from Bandon to Portland, Oregon. Portland seems like a big reading city. The weather was perfect and I saw people sitting outside with paperbacks all over town.

We made an important pilgrimage to the renowned Powell's Books.

It was seriously impressive.

I think I could spend all day there, and it might be worth a trip to Portland just to see the exhaustive travel writing collection.

Tomorrow we're renting a car and taking off into the great unknown. We're heading east. I'll try to keep you updated on the bits of literary culture that I see as our road trip progresses, and I'll be collecting titles all over the country for this week's bookspotting post.

My regular Hong Kong posts will be back when I return to Asia in mid-August.