The Unbearable Dreamworld of Champa the Driver

by Chan Koonchung

SEX, LIES, AND ROCKY ROADS …Life is simple for Champa. He has a good job as a chauffeur in his hometown of Lhasa, and if his Chinese boss Plum is a little domineering, well, he can understand that – she’s a serious art-collector after all. And he does get to drive her huge Toyota.When he starts to sleep with his boss as well as drive her around, life becomes a whole lot more complicated. But not in a bad way. Suddenly Champa’s sex life is beyond his wildest dreams.But then Plum brings home a Tara statue - a statue that shines with exquisite feminine beauty – and suddenly life is not simple at all, as Champa finds himself on the long road to Beijing in search of its inspiration …THE UNBEARABLE DREAMWORLD OF CHAMPA THE DRIVER is a rollicking road novel brim-ful of sensuality and danger. Underlying the optimism and humour of its hero is a darker picture of racism and rough justice in modern Beijing.

Genres: China, Fiction, Chinese Literature, Literature, Novels

192 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Chan Koonchung 陳冠中 (born 1952) is a Chinese science-fiction writer who has previously lived in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the United States. He currently lives in Beijing. He is the founder of Green Power (綠色力量), Green Garden Organic Farm (綠田園有機農場) and the Hong Kong Film Directors Association (香港電影導演會) among other organizations, and is currently on the international board of directors of Greenpeace. Previously, he worked as a reporter for the Hong Kong tabloid, The Star. In 1976 he co-founded City Magazine (號外) with Qiu Shiwen and Deng Xiaoyu and Hu Junyi. In the 1990s he worked as an overseas publisher for the mainland literary journal Dushu (读书）, published by the China Publishing Group (中国出版集团) and Life, Reading, and Innovation Bookstore (生活读书新知三联书店). In 1991 he played the role of Professor Liu Yuebai in Yan Hao and Xu Ke's adaptation of A Cheng's 1984 novel, The Chess Master. His dystopian novel The Fat Years (2009) was published in English by Doubleday in 2011. [1]

In his recent book, The Unbearable Dreamworld of Champa the Driver (2014), the Tibetan driver and lover of a Chinese businesswoman falls in love with her daughter. It is a satirical metaphor of the unbalanced relations between China and Tibet.

Reviews

[Meredith Duignan · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this book is nicely written it was a bit like listening to someone you didn't particularly like telling you about a sex dream they had.

[Bachyboy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too weird! This books gives a good insight into the corruption in China and in some ways I did enjoy it. In the first half of the book Champa, a Tibetan, is driver for Plum, an entrepreneurial Chinese business woman. The relationship quickly turns sexual and a lot of that section focuses on that. Then he falls for her daughter and it gets very complicated after that. Good ending!

[Merel Rolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

First half of the book: not interesting
Second half: some gems and impressive storytelling. The crash scene, Nyima and the delicate description of a harsh life at the end will stay in my mind.

[Ligeia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Il mastino tibetano e la fregola universale

Champa è un tibetano che fa da autista a una donna d'affari cinese, quando lei lo passa di grado e lo invita nel suo letto lui pensa di vivere una vita da sogno, ma poi lei le presenta sua figlia e il sogno diventa un incubo...
il primo tema sotterraneo di questo racconto fintamente spensierato è l'occupazione cinese del Tibet e l'oppressione che i nativi vivono ogni giorno nella loro terra occupata e densamente popolata di cinesi mandati là a fare da padroni, Mei, la donna d'affari cinese sembra soltanto una persona gentile e generosa, come tutti i cinesi è però infida e possessiva, il secondo tema è quello delle "prigioni nere" ovvero le strutture-prigioni in cui vengono rinchiusi quei poveretti che pensano di essere ancora nell'epoca imperiale e vanno a Pechino a lamentarsi dell'operato del governo, come un tempo si faceva presentando le proprie suppliche all'Imperatore, ovvio che di questi tempi la loro sorte è quella di essere bloccati all'ingresso in città e rinchiusi per un po' di tempo a pane e acqua, malmenati un pochetto e, a volte, essere accusati di crimini per cui serve un colpevole, in quel caso giustiziati, o se gli va di lusso essere rispediti a casa...

Champa arranca un pochino a farsi strada in una capitale che gli sembra provinciale, sogna di andare a Pechino e prima si trova a fare da "mastino tibetano" successivamente si scopre impotente di fronte alle richieste della sua padrona e infine fuggitivo a Pechino a seguito degli ormoni risvegliati dalla giovane BeiBei, che a sua volta aiuta i militanti animalisti che bloccano camion di cani rubati e destinati al macello e ne ricomprano gli animali...finisce nelle prigioni nere e da li fugge senza più un soldo nè una direzione...come ogni tibetano di questi tempi, verrebbe da pensare...

[Dorien · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dit boek las ik voor de Verbeelding Book Challenge 2018 ("boek dat zich afspeelt in China"). Ik wou een fictieboek lezen uit het hedendaagse China, en niet één van de vele boeken die gesitueerd zijn in het (weliswaar zeer boeiende) verleden van China. Na wat zoekwerk in de cataloog van de bib kwam ik op dit boek uit. De beschrijvingen van maatschappij en land (van Tibet tot Beijing, en een aantal plaatsen ertussen) vond ik heel goed, de verhaallijn en de personages zelf heel wat minder.

[fourlegs · Rating 2 out of 5]

(Last Chapter）

Then, as I watched Shell go into the station, a wave of sadness hit me. I was alone now, and in a panic. I was actually beginning to shake with fear. I was afraid of staying here, I was afraid of going back to Lhasa. As tears brimmed in my eyes, I held them back, telling myself fiercely: ‘Don’t you dare cry, Champa, you’ve failed but you’re not going to cry, whatever happens you’re not going to cry.’
Still shaking, I got the bag out of the suitcase and unwrapped Shell’s Tara statuette. I stared hard at it and the shaking gradually stopped. I focused my breathing. With every breath I was alive. I breathed, I lived, I breathed, I lived. I began to calm down. The Tara was serene, so serene.
I took a deep breath. I looked at the Tara again. I pulled myself together.
I realized how good the air felt after the rainstorm.
I had to admit the world really hadn’t treated me badly.
Like, I’d got to know Shell, hadn’t I?
Like, I’d met Nyima, that was something else good, I’d got to know Nyima.
And A-Li. I’d learnt a lot from him.
And then there were the animal protection volunteers. Yep, they loved dogs because they understood them. They were wrong about me because they didn’t understand me. If they’d only understood me, they would have come to love me. Absolutely no doubt.
I screwed up my eyes, lifted the little bag up and reverentially pressed the Tara statuette on to the crown of my head.
I had a new dream now. I was fed up with having dreams but this one came into my head anyway.
One day, at some point far in the future, I might go on the road again. All over the land, I’d explore every corner . . . I’d meet Han Chinese, Tibetans, Uyghurs, all the peoples of China, and I’d really have a good time. I’d chill out, I’d get to make friends with all of them, and I’d keep learning. That was the life I liked. And maybe one day I’d even get my own passport and I’d travel the world, chilling out, learning new things and making new friends. That’s right, just so long as the universe endured and life persisted, that would be my dream.

[Fatimah Manaf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why people always put themselves in the dangerous or insecure position? I think, that what #ChanKoonchung try to discussed. Fast pacing, simple sentences,still it's always make me stop to think deeply about everything the writer describe in the story.

Even its about lust, sex and sexuality adventure,deeply there are more meaning to it. I really feel sorry for protagonist. He is so idealist and romantic in a naive way. When he left all the luxury living at Lhasa to Beijing, symbolically the philosophy of life starts to poured. Political issue, bias and second grade citizen amongst better class through his new life at Beijing are really sad. Yes, Shell is a cause of all his misfortune. Her experiment to explores her sexuality had damaged protagonist life.But thats fate. He's the one who choose to chase her and leave Plum behind.

I really hope he arrived safely back to his hometown. Its also a lesson to him that live its not easy as you know. The big issue in every conflict can be solved through better understanding. This is a major element that answered every misfortune, bias, unfair treatment and second grade others. This is my first encounter with Tibetan background in novel its really beautiful and sad.The ending also put a hopeful glance toward every political, view and peolpe there, still uncertain I guess. Hope to find more window to other undescribe world like this. #fatimahmanaf #timahreviewbuku #malaysiamembaca

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

Champa is a Tibetan and a driver for Plum, a Chinese businesswoman; things are pretty fine between them until they start having sex. A lot of sex. Then Plum’s daughter arrives and she and Champa go to Beijing and have more sex.

This isn’t a bad book - there’s a good commentary on the relationships between Chinese and Tibetans and on how China has distorted and hid the history of their interactions with Tibet. There are glimmers of good writing and imagery: the crash scene on the way to Xining for example. Yet it ends seeming like we’re listening to someone talk at length about their sexual fantasies without a way out.

[Shweta Ganesh Kumar · Rating 1 out of 5]

Never a good feeling when you realize all the praise that you thought was for this book, was for the author’s debut novel.
The book has its moments but it is certainly not worth the time you could spend reading other books by other Chinese writers like Ma Jian and more.
I found it a pointless meandering wannabe metaphorical narrative with a pointed male gaze. It was neither about Tibet or China or racism or dog eating festivals, yet it aspired to be all of that and more.

[n · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is a long, pending book I’ve been wanted to read since 2017! first time reading it in my uni library but had to put it back for some reasons. until recently, I still couldn’t find the book there and decided to just buy it despite its low rating on Goodreads.

initially was confused why its rating is low but I eventually understood why. the novel is divided into 3 parts: flesh, stray dogs, and alien land. its title is self-explanatory: Champa, a driver for his Chinese boss, Plum, whom he also slept with. one day, Plum’s daughter, came and everything in his life changed. he fell in love with her and drove from Lhasa to Beijing, his dream city.

not a weird novel, it just has the vibe of a “train of thoughts” as the pace is also pretty fast and doesn’t dig deep enough. probably it has a deeper intrinsic meaning. but well, I enjoyed it anyway... so 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Puja · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reading this book is a waste of time. The protagonist is of loose moral. Most of the time, the protagonist fancies about woman. In short, not worth the money

[Pegah Zandi · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was not even a story.

[Jack Chu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trough reading this book, I learned about the suffering of Tibetans under Chinese rule. I will read more related works to strengthen my understanding in the future.

[vlad popescu · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ca un film chinezesc ieftin la care te uiți doar ca să nu-ți obosești mintea, fără să gândești prea mult.

[哲伦 周 · Rating 4 out of 5]

（補標） 生死疲勞了. 感覺沒有盛世好. But appreciate the efforts.

[Eva D’haene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Weer zo’n totaal overdreven Chinees verhaal. I love it! Echt heel grappig!

[渺渺青云外，滚滚红尘中 · Rating 4 out of 5]

趁着放秋假，花一天时间看完。看完心里堵——并不难过。只是闷闷的。
男人和女人，藏族和汉族所明喻的power imbalance，老生常谈。
男主性苦闷（或者，frustration?), 从妓女到度母身上找灵感，性幻想和宗教混在一起，很新奇。换成汉族人，大概是对着观音有想法？
情节过渡荒谬又自然，黄贯中一贯地埋伏笔。
最后三分一的节奏最好，前面有点慢。
我很喜欢的一点，男主最后一件件失去了包养所得来的东西——越野车，ipad,最后是iphone.
于是最后终于点题——裸命。但是度母像还在身边。
书中的道理都出自一个半疯子之口——类似红楼。
半疯子说自己不敢开车，因为有死亡冲动——终于明白我开车，游泳时那些自毁的念头有个学名。

[Carla (literary.infatuation) · Rating 2 out of 5]

‘No one can be free just now, what counts is how much give there is in your rope. Hey, just hang in there, Champa. Remember, life’s a bitch, but nothing last forever. Good times will pass, and so will bad times’ - Nyima in “The Unbearable Dreamworld of Champa the Driver” by Chan Koonchung.

This book is a puzzle. On one hand, I really liked how it describes the treatment of ethnic minorities in China, its crush of dissent and control of social media, and how young people are trying to change things up. Also, despite the fact that the main character is a total pig, the story is not misogynistic and it has strong female characters. But on the other hand, the author was too graphic in his description of Champa’s affairs and I hated the objectification of women and all the rape (which was brushed under the carpet, like if it was nothing). I understand there are tons and tons of men like Champa, both poor and uneducated or educated and even celebrities who objectify women and do not understand consent. I also get it, horrible people can also be main characters in a story; we can’t only read stories that agree with our world view. But of all of those things made me not like the novel.

[Pihla · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF Kind of had enough of make authors writing about their penises and sexual fantasies. Not for me.

[zespri · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a westerner I will never really understand living in Asia as a native. Sounds pretty basic, but that is the joy of reading, being able to perceive a little of someone else's reality.

The hero of this story is Champa, a chauffeur in his hometown of Lhasa. His boss Plum travels Asia. and Champa has a hankering to travel to Beijing which he considers the 'bright city lights'. He falls into a job there that entails a few dodgy dealings, and uncovers the seamier side of justice in Beijing, and suddenly Lhasa is a lot more appealing.

Apparently this book is banned in China, or so the fly leaf says.

[Malay · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you love reading stories that leave you genuinely puzzled about why they were written, you might like this one.

I never connected with this story and I only finished it because it was short and I was stubborn about it. The character building is lazy and relies heavily on stereotypes. It's one thing to have a character be sexually frustrated but this was too much. It gave me retrospective trauma, reminding me of The Inscrutable Americans.

The difficult political and social history of China and Tibet is certainly a worthy subject for discussion through fiction, but it would require much more care than was shown here.

[Angie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I liked the crash scene and the scene with Nyima at the end of the book.

I hated the rest of the book. Be forewarned: the protagonist is a repeated rapist and there are graphic rape scenes in the book.

There's a lot here that could have been really good, if the main character would have stopped talking about women, and if the author wrung the book to dry and edited it heavily.

Almost all the characters were 2D, the first 60 pages were dull and completely unnecessary, and the so-called "wisdom" departed in the book came across as trite.

[Tom Riordan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I concur with others about this book. It raises some important issues such as the problems of people eating dog meat however the characters where not fully fleshed out and seemed rather shallow and one dimensional. Shell's personality did a complete turnaround and she inexplicably fell in love with the narrator when he came to Beijing even though he initially refused to look for work. After this book I read something by Murakami and this book paled in comparison to his nicely articulated characters.

[Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

provides the feeling of a story that would go untold if not told here in this book in this way. eerily mirrors the present headlines of hongkong protests, specifically the way protestors communicate via offline chat apps. but this book is not a political thriller, nor is it historical fiction; it is a compelling sex-riddled tale portraying vividly some of the trials and tribulations of life in present-day china.

[Han Yan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Characters are sometimes too one-dimensional, too often caricatures created to fit a narrative. If the writer is going for the absurd, it's not absurd enough either.

The main achievement here is he wrote about a topic no other Chinese novelist dares tackle- contemporary Tibet, and he dealt with it with the observant eyes of a journalist and the vision of a public intellectual.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reads well, but not a lot in it. Not a lot of depth. Not particularly insightful into life in China or for itinerants moving to Beijing. Feels like some phrasings were lost in the translation. No clear message. Some twists are not believable, especially the relationship with Shell. Enjoyable enough, but not one I'd recommend.

[Rosemary · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fixated on his sexual performance, Champa the Driver's world falls apart when he starts to sleep with his boss, a Han Chinese woman who tells lies. I thought this would be about Tibet - and perhaps it is. It is also a road story, but adds little to understanding of Tibet within China. Actually skipped a lot of it and read the ending to try to find out what happens...nothing much.

[Daniel Vesey · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can read my full review on my website www.lookingtotheeast.com dedicated to reviewing Asian film and literature

http://www.lookingtotheeast.com/new-l...

This was a book that was good in some ways but pretty bad in others

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seemingly slightly phallus obsessive at first, *Champa* moves on to be a powerful and rollicking expose of contemporary ennui and phallocentric solutions to it - relevant not just to China. A delightful read.

[Shruti · Rating 2 out of 5]

A rather disjointed book with some lovely moments. You rapidly get tired of Champa (or "Champie" as he is called...)

I bought the book for its lovely cover and then tired to get through 200 pages in a week and it was such a chore.