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River Town
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Table of Contents

Part I: downstream; the city; Shakespeare with Chinese characteristics; raise the flag mountain; running; the white crane ridge; the dam; the Wu River; opium wars; white flat mountain; storm. Part II: summer; the priest; Chinese life; the restaurant owner; money; the teacher; Chinese new year; the land; spring again; the river; upstream.

Promotional Information

Winner of the 2001 Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize

About the Author

Peter Hessler is a graduate of Princeton and Oxford, and has written for The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Atlantic Monthly and other publications. Raised in the United States, he now lives in Beijing.

Reviews

'Written with great clarity and affection, River Town should be read by anyone with any interest in finding the Chinese less inscrutable' -- The Times 'If you read only one book about China, let it be this' -- Jonathan Mirsky 'Hessler's account superbly captures the spirit of a country in which he is an invader, albeit welcomed, understanding rather than merely describing it and, with consummate skill and literary style, bringing it alive in all its mesmerising complexity' -- Martin Booth, Sunday Times 'To come across a Westerner patient enough and tolerant enough to try to understand the immense, exasperating and ultimately lovable entity that is China is always a pleasure. To encounter one who is as literate and sensitive as Peter Hessler is a joy. This tender, intelligent account of two years spent teaching deep in the country's heart is the work of a writer of rare talent: it deserves to become a classic' -- Simon Winchester 'Studded with insight and humility, written with unshowy elegance, River Town is about ways of seeing' -- Daily Telegraph

'Written with great clarity and affection, River Town should be read by anyone with any interest in finding the Chinese less inscrutable' -- The Times 'If you read only one book about China, let it be this' -- Jonathan Mirsky 'Hessler's account superbly captures the spirit of a country in which he is an invader, albeit welcomed, understanding rather than merely describing it and, with consummate skill and literary style, bringing it alive in all its mesmerising complexity' -- Martin Booth, Sunday Times 'To come across a Westerner patient enough and tolerant enough to try to understand the immense, exasperating and ultimately lovable entity that is China is always a pleasure. To encounter one who is as literate and sensitive as Peter Hessler is a joy. This tender, intelligent account of two years spent teaching deep in the country's heart is the work of a writer of rare talent: it deserves to become a classic' -- Simon Winchester 'Studded with insight and humility, written with unshowy elegance, River Town is about ways of seeing' -- Daily Telegraph

In China, the year 1997 was marked by two momentous events: the death of Deng Xiaoping, the country's leader for two decades, and the return of Hong Kong after a century and a half of British rule. A young American who spent two years teaching English literature in a small town on the Yangtze, Hessler observed these events through two sets of eyes: his own and those of his alter ego, Ho Wei. Hessler sees China's politics and ceremony with the detachment of a foreigner, noting how grand political events affect the lives of ordinary people. The passing of Deng, for example, provokes a handful of thoughtful and unexpected essays from Hessler's students. The departure of the British from Hong Kong sparks a conversational "Opium War" between him and his nationalist Chinese tutor. Meanwhile, Ho Wei, as Hessler is known to most of the townspeople, adopts a friendly and unsophisticated persona that allows him to learn the language and culture of his surroundings even as Hessler's Western self remains estranged. The author conceives this memoir of his time in China as the collaborative effort of his double identity. "Ho Wei," he writes, "left his notebooks on the desk of Peter Hessler, who typed everything into his computer. The notebooks were the only thing they truly shared." Yet it's clear that, for Hessler, Ho Wei is more than a literary device: to live in China, he felt compelled to subjugate his real identity to a character role. Hessler has already been assured the approval of a select audience thanks to the New Yorker's recent publication of an excerpt. (Feb.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

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