River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze (P.S.) 
asked by onthemic on November 16, 2006 9:49 AM
In 1996, 26-year-old Peter Hessler arrived in Fuling, a town on China's Yangtze River, to begin a two-year Peace Corps stint as a teacher at the local college. Along with fellow teacher Adam Meier, the two are the first foreigners to be in this part of the Sichuan province for 50 years. Expecting a calm couple of years, Hessler at first does not realize the social, cultural, and personal implications of being thrust into a such radically different society. In River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze, Hessler tells of his experience with the citizens of Fuling, the political and historical climate, and the feel of the city itself.
"Few passengers disembark at Fuling ... and so Fuling appears like a break in a dream--the quiet river, the cabins full of travelers drifting off to sleep, the lights of the city rising from the blackness of the Yangtze," says Hessler. A poor city by Chinese standards, the students at the college are mainly from small villages and are considered very lucky to be continuing their education. As an English teacher, Hessler is delighted with his students' fresh reactions to classic literature. One student says of Hamlet, "I don't admire him and I dislike him. I think he is too sensitive and conservative and selfish." Hessler marvels, You couldn't have said something like that at Oxford. You couldn't simply say: I don't like Hamlet because I think he's a lousy person. Everything had to be more clever than that ... you had to dismantle it ... not just the play itself but everything that had ever been written about it. Over the course of two years, Hessler and Meier learn more they ever guessed about the lives, dreams, and expectations of the Fuling people.
Hessler's writing is lovely. His observations are evocative, insightful, and often poignant--and just as often, funny. It's a pleasure to read of his (mis)adventures. Hessler returned to the U.S. with a new perspective on modern China and its people. After reading River Town, you'll have one, too. --Dana Van Nest
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Whether you are an arm chair traveler, or you are actually planning a Yangtze River cruise, you will want to read this book. Peter Hessler makes sights and sounds and people come alive in his book about his two year Peace Corps assignment as an English teacher in the Yangtze River town of Fuling. On a recent cruise on the Yangtze River, we, who had read the book, gathered excitedly at the bow of the ship to catch a glimpse of the city we felt we had come to know. The river has begun rising in The Three Gorges since Hessler was there in the mid nineties. New buildings on higher ground have replaced old buildings. But because Hessler vividly communicates the intimate feeling of the back streets, stick soldiers, and noodle cafes, we realize that fundamentally little has changed.
Hessler is exceptionally good at reflecting on his social faux pas, his feelings of being different (in this backward area, they had barely seen a Caucasian before) and his efforts to teach English and learn Chinese in a politically and socially complex environment. We glean a richness and texture of life in China from his insights.
Enjoy this memoir as it mirrors to us a changing China.
Hessler is exceptionally good at reflecting on his social faux pas, his feelings of being different (in this backward area, they had barely seen a Caucasian before) and his efforts to teach English and learn Chinese in a politically and socially complex environment. We glean a richness and texture of life in China from his insights.
Enjoy this memoir as it mirrors to us a changing China.
reviewed by waltersmith on November 27, 2006 7:34 PM
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I first stumbled across Peter Hessler's River Town about a year ago. At the time, a busy schedule prevented me from reading more than the first chapter or so. But I resolved to get through the book once I had the chance. Fortunately, this is one resolution I managed to keep. I enjoyed River Town and believe it achieves exactly what it aspires to do: record the life of an outsider living in a specific place in China during a specific, albeit brief, period of time.
More precisely, River Town is a two year record of the (often humorous) experiences and the insight of a Peace Corps volunteer in Sichuan province, central China from 1996-1998. It alternates between subjective chapters about Hessler and his experiences as one of the first foreigners to live in Fuling, a city on the Yangtze River, and self-contained, descriptive chapters about the Sichuan province and its people (including peasant farmers living outside Fuling, the city's Catholic priest, and detailed description of prominent natural landmarks). This format works well in defining time and place, but the chapters about Hessler's personal experiences are more interesting and form a majority of the book.
His narrative proceeds chronologically, beginning with the culture shock he experiences teaching ever-obedient students shaped by years of communist propaganda and "political meetings," to being mobbed by curious onlookers who have never seen Westerner in person, to dealing with chronic pollution-induced sickness, to embarking on his study of the Mandarin and Sichuanese dialects. Once he learns how to adapt to these obstacles and becomes proficient with the language, Hessler carves out a fascinating existence in Fuling. He befriends unlikely locals and begins to ponder his dual personalities: that of Peter Hessler, the Ivy-educated Westerner, and that of "Ho Wei" (Hessler's Sichuanese name), an often unaware outsider that has trouble speaking Chinese and earns a low salary. The opportunity to stride around Fuling as the clueless Ho Wei is one Hessler clearly relishes.
Occasionally I felt Hessler was being somewhat aloof in his descriptions of certain individuals and even Chinese/Sichuan mannerisms in general. And occasionally I felt like the things he said, while likely true, were extremely blunt and could have been written more sensitively (such as anecdotes about less studious or unpopular students). Then I realized almost no one he describes in the book will ever read it. Hessler is free to write candidly about first impressions, describe one of his students as a "loser," and generally comment on his life in Fuling without censoring his thoughts. This contributes enormously to the honesty of the book.
As I read the final pages of River Town, I realized just how engrossing Hessler's story had become. He describes his departure from Fuling after two years of nearly uninterrupted residency, and I realized he was leaving a life and friends he valued immensely. I have heard often readjustment after the Peace Corps is always more difficult than acclimation at the beginning of service. Now I feel I can better understand why. I couldn't help but feel a poignant sense of loss as the existence of Ho Wei drifted away from Fuling on the same boat as Hessler. In two short years he had lived a lifetime.
More precisely, River Town is a two year record of the (often humorous) experiences and the insight of a Peace Corps volunteer in Sichuan province, central China from 1996-1998. It alternates between subjective chapters about Hessler and his experiences as one of the first foreigners to live in Fuling, a city on the Yangtze River, and self-contained, descriptive chapters about the Sichuan province and its people (including peasant farmers living outside Fuling, the city's Catholic priest, and detailed description of prominent natural landmarks). This format works well in defining time and place, but the chapters about Hessler's personal experiences are more interesting and form a majority of the book.
His narrative proceeds chronologically, beginning with the culture shock he experiences teaching ever-obedient students shaped by years of communist propaganda and "political meetings," to being mobbed by curious onlookers who have never seen Westerner in person, to dealing with chronic pollution-induced sickness, to embarking on his study of the Mandarin and Sichuanese dialects. Once he learns how to adapt to these obstacles and becomes proficient with the language, Hessler carves out a fascinating existence in Fuling. He befriends unlikely locals and begins to ponder his dual personalities: that of Peter Hessler, the Ivy-educated Westerner, and that of "Ho Wei" (Hessler's Sichuanese name), an often unaware outsider that has trouble speaking Chinese and earns a low salary. The opportunity to stride around Fuling as the clueless Ho Wei is one Hessler clearly relishes.
Occasionally I felt Hessler was being somewhat aloof in his descriptions of certain individuals and even Chinese/Sichuan mannerisms in general. And occasionally I felt like the things he said, while likely true, were extremely blunt and could have been written more sensitively (such as anecdotes about less studious or unpopular students). Then I realized almost no one he describes in the book will ever read it. Hessler is free to write candidly about first impressions, describe one of his students as a "loser," and generally comment on his life in Fuling without censoring his thoughts. This contributes enormously to the honesty of the book.
As I read the final pages of River Town, I realized just how engrossing Hessler's story had become. He describes his departure from Fuling after two years of nearly uninterrupted residency, and I realized he was leaving a life and friends he valued immensely. I have heard often readjustment after the Peace Corps is always more difficult than acclimation at the beginning of service. Now I feel I can better understand why. I couldn't help but feel a poignant sense of loss as the existence of Ho Wei drifted away from Fuling on the same boat as Hessler. In two short years he had lived a lifetime.
reviewed by jdog on November 27, 2006 8:25 PM
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If you want to get an understanding of what life in China is like this is the perfect book. A very detailed book nicely written Would have given 5 stars if there had been pictures!
reviewed by stonefox on November 28, 2006 4:25 PM