Three Brightnesses: The Quintessential Story of Learning Chinese and Falling in Love in China—Over and Over Again

by William Shoemaker

Here is a frank, personal, and funny account of a young American's confused plunge into the unfamiliar world of small-town Fujian. Working as an English teacher at a university in Sanming (the city's name means "three brightnesses") in southern China's Fujian Province, William Shoemaker explores the personal challenges that go along with uprooting one's life to move to a far-away place--and the at times humiliating, exhilarating, and exhausting task of learning Chinese and coming to know, and love, China. In a narrative that remains light and accessible while providing context on the state of affairs in modern China, Shoemaker tells the story of a handful of ordinary Chinese citizens: a middle class father willing to compromise his ideals to get rich, a single mom struggling to provide a secure future for her daughter, and a stuck-in-a-rut Chinese teacher haunted by a tragic past. Three Brightnesses is about forgotten places, arbitrarily overlooked people, and the struggle to create lasting and fulfilling relationships in one of the world's most populous, swiftly changing places.

250 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 4, 2015

Reviews

[Payne · Rating 1 out of 5]

A clichéd, tedious and navel-gazing tale of a white man's encounter with a foreign culture, replete with all the tired tropes of this genre. Not everyone who travels to and lives in China emerges with a compelling personal story worthy of a book-length treatment. The clue lies in the book's subtitle, which describes the author's story as "quintessential." This word is often applied euphemistically to dress up what could more accurately be described as "typical." And this narrative is indeed so typical that any distinguishing elements that it may have possessed eluded me.

This book appears to be self-published, so the author likely didn't run the gauntlet that is the traditional book-publishing process -- during which literary agents and publishers would have separated the wheat from the chaff. Or perhaps he failed in his attempt to find a traditional publisher. Either way, if you want to read a lucid, revelatory and compelling account of a westerner's experiences living and traveling in China, please consider reading any of Peter Hessler's books instead. Or even Alec Ash.

[Caycie Crepeau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Will tells his stories with such vigor and straight-forwardness that it's impossible to stop reading. Many of us expats have stories like Will's and want to share with the rest of the world, but at the same time there's a bit of those stories that anyone outside of the "expat hemisphere" won't be able to fully grasp. The emotional and physical effects that life in a foreign country leaves on you is something that you have to experience for yourself (much like Drew mentions in the forward). However, Will is able to capture some of those feelings to a "t" and it leaves you, whether you are a fellow expat or not, wanting more. He captures it all: thrill, happiness, sadness, sarcasm, pain, joy, confusion, anger, pride... he encompasses China and the experiences one has with the country, the food, the drinking, the people, the culture and love so well that I, as a fellow expat, can't help but empathize on most everything. I highly suggest you to read this book regardless if you have been to China or not because Will brings you into his stories, into his life in China, into his thoughts. Here's hoping for a second book!

[Don Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please Don't Stop the Story

My youngest son adopted a Chinese child last year. This is his fourth after 3 natural children. Anything as well written as well this deserves to be published. It gave me insight to the world my new grandson came from
Bill...what happens next?
Please more?