China A to Z

by Kai Strittmatter

All Chinese look the same, some say and the same goes for Americans. How much do we really know about China? Did you know that they don't eat soup they drink it? And not before, but after a meal? That their surname comes before their first name? That their good sense is to be found not in their heads, but their hearts? Or that white is the color of mourning? Kai Strittmatter has lived in China for almost ten years and in this fascinating book he lets us in on a few secrets. Introducing us to some telling Chinese symbols-but not all 57,000 of them! -he explains in a wealth of charming, amusing anecdotes what they reveal of China and its people. On the way we meet pensioners who practice the art of street calligraphy, read the Beijing police's hilarious English phrasebook and have the dubious pleasure of sampling trendy 'Western' food, as well as a hundred other surprises.

Genres: China, Travel

316 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Chandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was sort of debating whether or not to rate this on goodreads, if only because I usually use goodreads to track the copious amounts of fiction books that I read, with the occasional autobiography tossed in (usually one I had to read for school and didn't like). I decided to put it in, because the book seems to read more like an autobiography than any kind of text book. While any first-person accounts are merely told as anecdotes, it had the feel of a rambley sort of autobiography or diary--no real point, just thoughts, observations, and of course, scattered anecdotes.
I've always used three stars to mean "it's okay" on goodreads, and I feel this describes my thoughts of the book perfectly. It's interesting, but doesn't have much of a focus.

[Thai]

exceptional