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A Great Clamour
An intellectual who faults the Communist Party for not being left enough; a Tibetan poet who has become the conscience of her nation; and the bestselling novelist who has began to enjoy ‘the fruits of capitalism’—here are some of the people through whom Pankaj Mishra explores the contradictions and dynamism of modern-day China. Journeying to Tibet on the newly built express from Beijing, to Mongolia on the Trans-Siberian Railway, and then through Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan, he draws, too, a vivid portrait of China’s neighbours, and the shadow the restless giant casts over its stage. Full of unexpected ideas and fresh insights, A Great Clamour is an extraordinary account of contemporary Asia from one of our finest essayists.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published September 15, 2013
About the author
Pankaj Mishra
148 books746 followersPankaj Mishra (पंकज मिश्रा) is a noted Indian essayist and novelist.
In 1992, Mishra moved to Mashobra, a Himalayan village, where he began to contribute literary essays and reviews to The Indian Review of Books, The India Magazine, and the newspaper The Pioneer. His first book, Butter Chicken in Ludhiana: Travels in Small Town India (1995), was a travelogue that described the social and cultural changes in India in the context of globalization. His novel The Romantics (2000), an ironic tale of people longing for fulfillment in cultures other than their own, was published in 11 European languages and won the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum award for first fiction. His book An End to Suffering: The Buddha in the World (2004) mixes memoir, history, and philosophy while attempting to explore the Buddha's relevance to contemporary times. Temptations of the West: How to be Modern in India, Pakistan and Beyond (2006), describes Mishra's travels through Kashmir, Bollywood, Afghanistan, Tibet, Nepal, and other parts of South and Central Asia.
In 1992, Mishra moved to Mashobra, a Himalayan village, where he began to contribute literary essays and reviews to The Indian Review of Books, The India Magazine, and the newspaper The Pioneer. His first book, Butter Chicken in Ludhiana: Travels in Small Town India (1995), was a travelogue that described the social and cultural changes in India in the context of globalization. His novel The Romantics (2000), an ironic tale of people longing for fulfillment in cultures other than their own, was published in 11 European languages and won the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum award for first fiction. His book An End to Suffering: The Buddha in the World (2004) mixes memoir, history, and philosophy while attempting to explore the Buddha's relevance to contemporary times. Temptations of the West: How to be Modern in India, Pakistan and Beyond (2006), describes Mishra's travels through Kashmir, Bollywood, Afghanistan, Tibet, Nepal, and other parts of South and Central Asia.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 17, 2019
As the title suggests, this book consists of two parts — the first on contemporary China and the next on its Asian neighbors. The part focused on China is rather uneven. It even feels quite dull at first, more like literary criticism than travelogue. It's very different from the way Mishra usually writes. But the next half of the book redeems the whole thing. This part is a travelogue that takes Mishra from Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan and Japan. These appear to be individual essays that have been grouped together by the topic of modern Asia. Unlike V.S. Naipaul, Mishra doesn’t come back with an apocalyptically negative take on the places he visits. He has his criticisms, some biting, but the dynamism of these emerging countries comes across in his accounts. Of these countries I’ve only been to Malaysia and Japan and I appreciated seeing them again through the eyes of a talented writer.
Like all of Mishra’s work, the undercurrent is the unsubtle confrontation between Western modernity and Asian tradition. It was interesting to consider that in countries like Taiwan where the consumption culture of industrial society has been familiar much longer than in China, people are now considering once more the importance of altruism and spirituality. I suspect that the Chinese will also soon tire of their present ultra-materialist culture, once the novelty inevitably wears. Japan is a country close to many peoples hearts, as it was the first one to modernize and match the West on its own terms. Mishra also clearly has deep affection for the place. Even now, mired in its “lost decades”, Japan may be pointing the way forward to what a world after economic growth looks like. Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur both come across as fascinating global cities, the latter with a frontier dynamic and the former strongly bearing the imprint of its former British rulers.
I found it strange that this book, by a very popular writer, was not published in the United States or Europe. It was difficult to find a copy, as it appeared to have only been sent to press in India. Upon reading it did seem that the editing was a bit uneven and the subject matter a bit niche. But the material is still strong. I recommend this book to fans of Mishra and the topics on which he writes. Do not be dissuaded by the first 50-60 pages; this is worthwhile.
Like all of Mishra’s work, the undercurrent is the unsubtle confrontation between Western modernity and Asian tradition. It was interesting to consider that in countries like Taiwan where the consumption culture of industrial society has been familiar much longer than in China, people are now considering once more the importance of altruism and spirituality. I suspect that the Chinese will also soon tire of their present ultra-materialist culture, once the novelty inevitably wears. Japan is a country close to many peoples hearts, as it was the first one to modernize and match the West on its own terms. Mishra also clearly has deep affection for the place. Even now, mired in its “lost decades”, Japan may be pointing the way forward to what a world after economic growth looks like. Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur both come across as fascinating global cities, the latter with a frontier dynamic and the former strongly bearing the imprint of its former British rulers.
I found it strange that this book, by a very popular writer, was not published in the United States or Europe. It was difficult to find a copy, as it appeared to have only been sent to press in India. Upon reading it did seem that the editing was a bit uneven and the subject matter a bit niche. But the material is still strong. I recommend this book to fans of Mishra and the topics on which he writes. Do not be dissuaded by the first 50-60 pages; this is worthwhile.
May 29, 2015
Im Kontakt zu fremden Kulturen erlebt fast jeder den Punkt, an dem man aufgrund der eigenen kulturbedingten Scheuklappen kritisiert, dass ein Staat irgendein Ziel „noch nicht“ erreicht hätte, das einem selbst am Herzen liegt. Sei es Bildung, Gesundheit, Gleichstellung von Frauen, Tier- und Naturschutz, oder die von europäischen Politikern mit Blick auf die übrige Welt gern angemahnte Demokratisierung. Eigene Idealvorstellungen werden hier projiziert, anstatt sich mit Zielen zu befassen, die der betreffende Staat sich selbst gesetzt hat.
Bereits auf der ersten Seite seiner Essays zu China und dessen Nachbarstaaten stellt Pankaj Mishra die Bedeutung der eigenen kulturellen Brille für die Beurteilung anderer Staaten heraus. Als Bewohner des indischen Bundesstaates Himachal Pradesh im Norden Indiens hatte Mishra sich zuvor nicht bewusst gemacht, dass sein Vermieter Tibet als Wegkreuzung innerhalb des indischen Kulturraums wahrnimmt, weniger als „autonome Provinz“ und Teil Chinas. Der Dialog mit Mishras Vermieter lässt ahnen, dass Mishras Darstellung ebenso viel über ihn selbst als englischsprachigen indischen Autor erzählen wird wie über die bereisten Länder.
Mishra will seinen Lesern über das Verstehen Chinas Asien nahebringen. Bei seinen Reisen in Chinas Nachbarländer werden ihm Gemeinsamkeiten in der Geschichte Indiens und Chinas bewusst, aber auch Gegensätze, die ebenso schwer zu überwinden sind wie die Bergkette im Norden des indischen Kontinents. Zu den Gemeinsamkeiten gehören: das Unterlegenheitsgefühl gegenüber dem als arrogant und herablassend empfundenen Westen, die vergleichsweise späte Entwicklung zum Nationalstaat, die späte Wendung zum Kapitalismus der Moderne, der indisch-chinesische Krieg (1962), korrupte dynastische Eliten als Fortschrittshemmnis, die schamlose Bereicherung dieser Prinzlinge an staatlichem Eigentum, wirtschaftlicher Fortschritt als Förderung von Gier und Umweltzerstörung, Fremdenfeindlichkeit (teils staatlich instrumentalisiert), unvorstellbare Armut der Landbevölkerung, die Situation der Frauen. Nicht für alle Entwicklungen im modernen China hat die indische Geschichte jedoch Erklärungsmuster zu bieten. Mishra sieht Indien als Vorreiter, der aufzeigen kann, wohin der chinesische Weg die neue Mittelschicht des Landes führen wird: In Indien tendieren Globalisierungsgewinner zu konservativen bis reaktionären Auffassungen (S. 118). Gemeinsam scheint beiden Staaten zu sein, dass in der Mittel- und Oberschicht die Aussicht auf persönliche Bereicherung den Wunsch nach persönlichen Freiheiten drastisch verringert. Wer als Gewinner der Verhältnisse selbst satt ist, zeigt kaum Interesse an Menschenrechten, Bildung und medizinischer Versorgung für alle. Mishras Beispiel Indien sollte all jenen eine Mahnung sein, die wider besseres Wissen Wirtschaftswachstum als Antrieb und Garanten für demokratische Prozesse in jungen Staaten sehen wollen. Natürlich fragt man sich bei der Gegenüberstellung Indien/China, wie kritisch die Analyse eines Autors überhaupt ausfallen kann, für den ein kleptokratischer Staat der Normalzustand ist, in dem Gewinne in private Taschen fließen, die volkswirtschaftlichen und menschlichen Kosten dagegen zum privaten Schicksal erklärt werden. Mishras Stärke, als Asiate China zu analysieren, ist aus europäischer Sicht zugleich seine Schwäche, wenn es um Gemeinsamkeiten beider Staaten geht.
Mishra analysiert die Situation Chinas u. a. am Beispiel von Romanen chinesischer Autoren und dem Sachbuch eines in Hongkong lehrenden Niederländers zur Lage der chinesischen Bauern.
Qian: Die umzingelte Festung(1988 dt.), 1990 als chinesische Fernsehserie inszeniert
Wright: Passport to Peking: A Very British Mission to Mao's China
Cheek: A Critical Introduction to Mao
Ma Jian: Peking-Koma (2009), das die moralische und intellektuelle Krise Chinas überspitzt darstellt
Yu Hua: Brüder (2009), eine derbe, provokative Konfrontation von Kulturrevolution und neureichem Unternehmertum.
Dikötter: Maos Großer Hunger: Massenmord und Menschenexperiment in China (engl. 2010/dt. 2014).
In der Auseinandersetzung mit den Romanen Yu Huas (hier besonders auch die unterschiedliche Reaktion in und außerhalb Chinas) habe ich eine tiefergehende Interpretation vermisst. Weiter als der Autor selbst mit "China in zehn Wörtern: Eine Einführung" dringt Mishra mit seiner Analyse nicht vor. Ein Literaturverzeichnis der genutzten Titel hätte ich mir gewünscht.
Pankaj Mishra wird vom deutschen Feuilleton als brillanter Analyst gefeiert. Den eigenen beschränkten eurozentrischen Blick auf Asien kann einem der Autor durchaus bewusst machen. Auch seiner Suche nach Gemeinsamkeiten in der Entwicklung Indiens und Chinas bin ich interessiert gefolgt. Die Ankündigung, seinen Lesern China verständlich zu machen, setzt Mishra jedoch nur in Grenzen in die Tat um. Der Eindruck unvollkommen verknüpfter Fäden Der Eindruck unvollkommen verknüpfter Fäden ergab sich bei mir, weil einige Reisen schon länger zurückliegen (Tibet 2007, Taiwan 2008), wie auch aus dem Umfang, in dem Erkenntnisse anderer Autoren referiert werden, ohne die einzelnen Aspekte tiefer zu analysieren.
Bereits auf der ersten Seite seiner Essays zu China und dessen Nachbarstaaten stellt Pankaj Mishra die Bedeutung der eigenen kulturellen Brille für die Beurteilung anderer Staaten heraus. Als Bewohner des indischen Bundesstaates Himachal Pradesh im Norden Indiens hatte Mishra sich zuvor nicht bewusst gemacht, dass sein Vermieter Tibet als Wegkreuzung innerhalb des indischen Kulturraums wahrnimmt, weniger als „autonome Provinz“ und Teil Chinas. Der Dialog mit Mishras Vermieter lässt ahnen, dass Mishras Darstellung ebenso viel über ihn selbst als englischsprachigen indischen Autor erzählen wird wie über die bereisten Länder.
Mishra will seinen Lesern über das Verstehen Chinas Asien nahebringen. Bei seinen Reisen in Chinas Nachbarländer werden ihm Gemeinsamkeiten in der Geschichte Indiens und Chinas bewusst, aber auch Gegensätze, die ebenso schwer zu überwinden sind wie die Bergkette im Norden des indischen Kontinents. Zu den Gemeinsamkeiten gehören: das Unterlegenheitsgefühl gegenüber dem als arrogant und herablassend empfundenen Westen, die vergleichsweise späte Entwicklung zum Nationalstaat, die späte Wendung zum Kapitalismus der Moderne, der indisch-chinesische Krieg (1962), korrupte dynastische Eliten als Fortschrittshemmnis, die schamlose Bereicherung dieser Prinzlinge an staatlichem Eigentum, wirtschaftlicher Fortschritt als Förderung von Gier und Umweltzerstörung, Fremdenfeindlichkeit (teils staatlich instrumentalisiert), unvorstellbare Armut der Landbevölkerung, die Situation der Frauen. Nicht für alle Entwicklungen im modernen China hat die indische Geschichte jedoch Erklärungsmuster zu bieten. Mishra sieht Indien als Vorreiter, der aufzeigen kann, wohin der chinesische Weg die neue Mittelschicht des Landes führen wird: In Indien tendieren Globalisierungsgewinner zu konservativen bis reaktionären Auffassungen (S. 118). Gemeinsam scheint beiden Staaten zu sein, dass in der Mittel- und Oberschicht die Aussicht auf persönliche Bereicherung den Wunsch nach persönlichen Freiheiten drastisch verringert. Wer als Gewinner der Verhältnisse selbst satt ist, zeigt kaum Interesse an Menschenrechten, Bildung und medizinischer Versorgung für alle. Mishras Beispiel Indien sollte all jenen eine Mahnung sein, die wider besseres Wissen Wirtschaftswachstum als Antrieb und Garanten für demokratische Prozesse in jungen Staaten sehen wollen. Natürlich fragt man sich bei der Gegenüberstellung Indien/China, wie kritisch die Analyse eines Autors überhaupt ausfallen kann, für den ein kleptokratischer Staat der Normalzustand ist, in dem Gewinne in private Taschen fließen, die volkswirtschaftlichen und menschlichen Kosten dagegen zum privaten Schicksal erklärt werden. Mishras Stärke, als Asiate China zu analysieren, ist aus europäischer Sicht zugleich seine Schwäche, wenn es um Gemeinsamkeiten beider Staaten geht.
Mishra analysiert die Situation Chinas u. a. am Beispiel von Romanen chinesischer Autoren und dem Sachbuch eines in Hongkong lehrenden Niederländers zur Lage der chinesischen Bauern.
Qian: Die umzingelte Festung(1988 dt.), 1990 als chinesische Fernsehserie inszeniert
Wright: Passport to Peking: A Very British Mission to Mao's China
Cheek: A Critical Introduction to Mao
Ma Jian: Peking-Koma (2009), das die moralische und intellektuelle Krise Chinas überspitzt darstellt
Yu Hua: Brüder (2009), eine derbe, provokative Konfrontation von Kulturrevolution und neureichem Unternehmertum.
Dikötter: Maos Großer Hunger: Massenmord und Menschenexperiment in China (engl. 2010/dt. 2014).
In der Auseinandersetzung mit den Romanen Yu Huas (hier besonders auch die unterschiedliche Reaktion in und außerhalb Chinas) habe ich eine tiefergehende Interpretation vermisst. Weiter als der Autor selbst mit "China in zehn Wörtern: Eine Einführung" dringt Mishra mit seiner Analyse nicht vor. Ein Literaturverzeichnis der genutzten Titel hätte ich mir gewünscht.
Pankaj Mishra wird vom deutschen Feuilleton als brillanter Analyst gefeiert. Den eigenen beschränkten eurozentrischen Blick auf Asien kann einem der Autor durchaus bewusst machen. Auch seiner Suche nach Gemeinsamkeiten in der Entwicklung Indiens und Chinas bin ich interessiert gefolgt. Die Ankündigung, seinen Lesern China verständlich zu machen, setzt Mishra jedoch nur in Grenzen in die Tat um. Der Eindruck unvollkommen verknüpfter Fäden Der Eindruck unvollkommen verknüpfter Fäden ergab sich bei mir, weil einige Reisen schon länger zurückliegen (Tibet 2007, Taiwan 2008), wie auch aus dem Umfang, in dem Erkenntnisse anderer Autoren referiert werden, ohne die einzelnen Aspekte tiefer zu analysieren.
September 26, 2022
The book is divided into 3 parts - the first 2 parts were on China/Tibet and the last part was on China’s 6 East Asian neighbours.
Out of curiosity, I read the last part first and there were a no. of problems. The pieces seemed lazily written with no attempt at explaining and informing the reader. The author just threw in a lot of labels and political commentary - at times repetitive and incoherent. Also, I was surprised to see the absence of Vietnam (also Macau and North Korea). 1/5 to this part.
The parts on China and Tibet were comparatively better written. But then I have read far better travelogues and political histories. 3/5 to this part.
Rather than a “journey” thru China and its East Asian neighbours, it was a rant. And the publisher needed to ask Mr. Mishra to either put it on twitter or write a proper, coherent book. Do not insult the reader’s time and intelligence.
Out of curiosity, I read the last part first and there were a no. of problems. The pieces seemed lazily written with no attempt at explaining and informing the reader. The author just threw in a lot of labels and political commentary - at times repetitive and incoherent. Also, I was surprised to see the absence of Vietnam (also Macau and North Korea). 1/5 to this part.
The parts on China and Tibet were comparatively better written. But then I have read far better travelogues and political histories. 3/5 to this part.
Rather than a “journey” thru China and its East Asian neighbours, it was a rant. And the publisher needed to ask Mr. Mishra to either put it on twitter or write a proper, coherent book. Do not insult the reader’s time and intelligence.
December 14, 2018
The book is a travelogue/political history of China and a few of her neighbours such as Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, et all. Mishra is insightful and readable as always, and discusses in the book "the particular challenges and dilemmas of China and its neighbouring countries [that] have been formulated in modes of governance, technologies, religions, and art." He points out that divisions of these countries into democratic and authoritarian, communist and capitalist, etc. does not really let us know the problems being faced by them. For example, the governments in China and India have respectively ploughed a lot of money into development for Tibet and Bastar. But the development is not helping the local populace but going to immigrants who are coming to the region. In the same vein, he discusses the similarities and problems being faced by the populace of the region, a lot of which he traces to the late arrival of capitalism here. The region is seeing the same convulsions that 19th century Europe did. The rootlessness forced by modernity on the deprived section has forced them into the arms of more orthodox religious traditions in search of certainty throughout the region. The successful development of China raises important questions on the validity of the liberal belief that development goes hand in hand with liberalism and democracy for the entire world.
February 25, 2014
The great expanse to the east, which Indians had long overlooked, takes shape through the eyes and words of Pankaj Mishra. The picture he presents of the wide east is not something dissimilar from ours - widening cleft between the rich and the poor, menacing rise of the religious right, loss of cultural mores inter alia. A good book for people who want to understand the larger part of Asia that means much more than prayer wheels, cheap labour, walkman and Genghis Khan.
August 11, 2016
Loaded with information and a quick overview of parts of asian history. Felt like the original intent was lost along the way somehow and some statements and opinions were generalised. It's still a good quick read and urges the indian reader to think of their immediate neighbours and political environment.
February 12, 2018
Mishra does a all-round stellar job of interlinking past identities, economies, and political stages to present cultural realities in a really accessible way. This book hit on all the right elements and I learned a lot about communism in China and its ramifications on collective mindsets and economic realities in really new ways. This book covers China at it's focal point and moves to its neighbours in China, Tibet, Mongolia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Japan. Covering wars, neurotic and cruel leaders, communism, class, and culture (particularly with other writers), this book can offer some serious comprehension in the way we see things today on the global stage. I thought the chapter on Hong Kong was a tiny bit lazy when compared to the other chapters. But that aside I highly recommend this book to non-fiction readers who love history, politics and globalisation as major themes.
February 8, 2015
I picked up Pankaj Mishra’s latest book “A great clamour: Encounters with China and its neighbours” at the Raipur airport, on my way back to Bangalore from a short consultation on tribal health. I have discovered a deep interest in China, after my month-long stay in Beijing and my conversations with several public health researchers from China. Initial conversations were around trying to understand the politics and governance. Apart from the more development or politics oriented discussions in Amartya Sen’s works, I began to be more interested in contemporary and recent history of Chinese people. A recent book on Tibet (the book named after the country) by Patrick French and William Darlymple’s classic In Xanadu (the first of Dalrymple I think from his student days, as much a travelogue as a historical essay) had both tickled my curiosity of contemporary Chinese society. Beijing was as much a cross-section of Chinese society as Delhi or Mumbai are of Indian, or perhaps representing China much lesser than Indian metros.
The book offers travelogue-like but richer stories weaved into curious diversions on recent history of various countries. Miishra offers appetisers of Hong Kong, Indonesia, Taipei, Kuala Lumpur and Japan are presented, albeit after a substantive portion focusing on China. He starts off with a quick introduction on why he looked east, and gets into the business of describing encounters with various Chinese city and especially a variety of people he meets. The introduction keeps the Indo-Chinese connection “real”; discussing the great interest and several historical exchanges, but at the same time, the relatively distant relationship with our neighbour. A large initial chapter focuses on Shanghai and its particular unique cultural milieu affected strongly by European presence. Well-chosen excerpts from Chinese works expose an uncanny similarity (to India) in how middle-class China developed a fascination for a Western pretence as a high class act. He traces the similarities of some of the characters described in contemporary Chinese works (for example, the character Fang from Fortress besieged by Qian Zhongshu) to Upamanyu Chatterjee’s English August. Mishra goes on to explore various political themes travelogue-style, through descriptions of meetings with dissidents and academics. In reading about these encounters, one begins to appreciate the several events in Chinese history (the revolutions included) through more local perspectives and often varying ones. Mishra finds an interesting form that dissent takes, where it manifests as intellectuals holding the regime to account without necessarily becoming individually known for dissenting voices, but rather introducing powerful narratives often in literature, theatre or in academia; narratives that create a counter-culture and become the regime’s conscience. He brings these out through review of various books of the Mao era.
With that, he abruptly shifts gears into Mongolia, and then jerkily flitting about south-east Asia, stopping over episodically in Hong Kong, Tapipei and Kuala Lumpur. These read much more as short travel essays in their own merit and are not well woven into the larger “encounters with China” narrative. Indonesia chapter is quite well developed though and possibly very interesting to many Indians of my generation wherein current ties political or cultural are nearly non-existent. To discover an ancient fascination that Indonesia had for Nehruvian India and what the political developments thereafter, which push the country further and further away from its initial moorings in good governance. The chapter on Japan is also somewhat better than the other small ones in between; again exploring Japan through authors and books and starting off post-WWII. All in all, a nice easy read for those looking for a politico-cultural appetiser to China and its neighbours. Shayan Rajani sums up the book rather well (and perhaps a bit hyperbolically) in this Dawn review:
See a short review in The Hindu and an extract from the book in The Outlook.
The book offers travelogue-like but richer stories weaved into curious diversions on recent history of various countries. Miishra offers appetisers of Hong Kong, Indonesia, Taipei, Kuala Lumpur and Japan are presented, albeit after a substantive portion focusing on China. He starts off with a quick introduction on why he looked east, and gets into the business of describing encounters with various Chinese city and especially a variety of people he meets. The introduction keeps the Indo-Chinese connection “real”; discussing the great interest and several historical exchanges, but at the same time, the relatively distant relationship with our neighbour. A large initial chapter focuses on Shanghai and its particular unique cultural milieu affected strongly by European presence. Well-chosen excerpts from Chinese works expose an uncanny similarity (to India) in how middle-class China developed a fascination for a Western pretence as a high class act. He traces the similarities of some of the characters described in contemporary Chinese works (for example, the character Fang from Fortress besieged by Qian Zhongshu) to Upamanyu Chatterjee’s English August. Mishra goes on to explore various political themes travelogue-style, through descriptions of meetings with dissidents and academics. In reading about these encounters, one begins to appreciate the several events in Chinese history (the revolutions included) through more local perspectives and often varying ones. Mishra finds an interesting form that dissent takes, where it manifests as intellectuals holding the regime to account without necessarily becoming individually known for dissenting voices, but rather introducing powerful narratives often in literature, theatre or in academia; narratives that create a counter-culture and become the regime’s conscience. He brings these out through review of various books of the Mao era.
With that, he abruptly shifts gears into Mongolia, and then jerkily flitting about south-east Asia, stopping over episodically in Hong Kong, Tapipei and Kuala Lumpur. These read much more as short travel essays in their own merit and are not well woven into the larger “encounters with China” narrative. Indonesia chapter is quite well developed though and possibly very interesting to many Indians of my generation wherein current ties political or cultural are nearly non-existent. To discover an ancient fascination that Indonesia had for Nehruvian India and what the political developments thereafter, which push the country further and further away from its initial moorings in good governance. The chapter on Japan is also somewhat better than the other small ones in between; again exploring Japan through authors and books and starting off post-WWII. All in all, a nice easy read for those looking for a politico-cultural appetiser to China and its neighbours. Shayan Rajani sums up the book rather well (and perhaps a bit hyperbolically) in this Dawn review:
What Mishra’s final assessment of India’s neighbours to the east might be is an open question, since the book’s conclusion remains unwritten. However, the picture that emerges is of an Asia populated by rival siblings. Those ahead of India best serve as cautionary tales in her own experiment with liberalisation. The more ambitious project of a common response to the challenges of modernity or the even more daunting task of charting out alternatives remains to be taken up. However, by orienting attention away from an increasingly stagnant West to the great din in the East, Mishra has taken the first step towards formulating an intellectual response to the new world condition.
See a short review in The Hindu and an extract from the book in The Outlook.
October 8, 2022
Wonderful introductory book about China and her ventures around Asia and about East Asian and Southern-East Asian countries and their exposure to modernity and neo-coloniality. One wonders why Pakistan doesn't learn but we all know the answer. It shouldn't be said out loud but... if certain people's selective interests bud a nationalism, it's bound to remain "selective".
August 11, 2014
is a well told research.
memoirs, travelogue, analysis, assessment, lament - all in the same go!! without being judgmental- most often!!) With a view to exploring china, the book explores the region in & around & therefore makes a commentary on contemporary South east Asia. But, in its flaw, it does not bind the region together in its tale!! Leaves too much to make up on the readers own!! But i am not complaining!!
memoirs, travelogue, analysis, assessment, lament - all in the same go!! without being judgmental- most often!!) With a view to exploring china, the book explores the region in & around & therefore makes a commentary on contemporary South east Asia. But, in its flaw, it does not bind the region together in its tale!! Leaves too much to make up on the readers own!! But i am not complaining!!
April 7, 2014
An interesting view on China from a non western perspective which is rare and refreshing. Covers the usual issues like human rights and Tibet. Chapters on the other countries like Japan.Malaysia and Indonesia seem to be an afterthought and superficial.
However worthwhile picking up for the China contents.
However worthwhile picking up for the China contents.
Want to Read
January 13, 2014looking forward to reading this!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews