"Sounded like an interesting story - young girl from the backwoods of Australia goes on an almost epic search for the Armenian father of her young child in 1937. I enjoyed the first third of the book, learning about Edith's life in Australia and how she finally plans her escape. From there however, things get bogged down by actions that don't make sense and a plotline that really doesn't go anywhere.
She's rescued implausibly several times, and her decision to return to Australia and the life she found so stifling is rather confusing (especially as she falls right back into her old life once she's home). I was disappointed."

"I had to re-review this book. After reading numerous other works by writers far more talented and introspective than Troost, I have to say that this book is racist, ethnocentrist, and incredibly privileged. I think I called him a "patronizing prick" in my last review and I stand by it.

Here is my disclaimer before I move onto being angry: I'm Chinese. I was born in China. Much of my extended family still resides there. I visit fairly regularly every few years and I enjoy it (MUST BE A SHOCK TO YOU, MR. TROOST). However, I've grown up in the United States and I'm an American citizen.

My friend's mom recommended this book to me, thinking that I'd be tickled pink by the stunning wit of J. Maarten Troost. This was by no means her fault because I choose to blame the man himself. I find it difficult to believe that a man can "attempt to understand" a country whose entire history is more than ten times longer than the USA in a month. Yes, a month. Did I not mention that Troost chooses to GO ON THIS JAUNT to China for a month, with no understanding of Mandarin, and then he WRITES A BOOK LIKE HE'S SOME SORT OF EXPERT ON THE MATTER??? I guess I forgot about that part. Oops.

Here is the entirety of the book boiled down to a few points:

(1) China is polluted.
(2) China is crowded.
(3) China is dirty.
(4) The people are crazy.

THAT IS BASICALLY THE WHOLE BOOK. All you have to do is insert some racist metaphors and offensive generalizations and YOU HAVE TROOST'S BOOK. No need to read it.

His Western bias practically BEAMS out of every page. It made me squirm with discomfort reading it because Troost is actually fairly well-traveled. He's Dutch (I believe?) and lives in the States and spent some time living in Polynesia or another South Pacific locale for a number of years. I couldn't BELIEVE that someone who came off with a high level of xenophobia in his book would actually even want to leave his house, much less go to a foreign country.

Oh, and you know what, here's the other disclaimer I should have made: I do not think this book is funny, because I don't think racism or being an asshole is funny. I don't give a shit if your one Chinese acquaintance thought it was a riot. Thanks, have a good day.

The biggest problem I have with his book is that people who have never been to China are picking this book up, reading it, and saying on THEIR REVIEWS ON GOODREADS that they're so glad they read it and now they'll never visit China. Or HAHAHAHA, THOSE NUTTY CHINESE, THEY'RE SO WACKY.

Seriously?

SERIOUSLY?????

If you're the latter, your ignorance is no excuse for your blatant racism. Congrats! If you're the former, you're just an idiot. Yes, aspects of Chinese culture may seem weird to people who were not brought up in the culture. BUT THAT'S BECAUSE IT'S A FOREIGN CULTURE AND THAT IS THE INHERENT BEAUTY OF OTHER CULTURES. THEY ARE DIFFERENT. It's interesting and awesome! Troost only ever seems to want to talk about people spitting in the street (FUN FACT: the other day I saw some dude in a Target parking lot do this. He was not Chinese) and how polluted everything is (YES IT'S POLLUTED. THERE ARE OVER A BILLION PEOPLE LIVING THERE). He could've addressed these while also bringing in another perspective, of the things in China that I enjoy the most -- how you can't walk five steps without finding a fun, hole-in-the-wall restaurant or people are just so willing to talk to you about anything and anyone remotely connected to you is just so generous and the vibrancy and energy in the cities.

I am not even a staunch China supporter! I AGREE THAT THE POLLUTION IS HORRIBLE AND THE GOVERNMENT IS CORRUPT AND THE SKYROCKETING ECONOMIC GROWTH IS CONCERNING. I also agree that compared to Western standards, China is much dirtier! But this is when I'm using my Western yardstick to measure the country by, and I should mention, the government is using that same yardstick so things are getting "better". Maybe not for the right reasons, but they are. I'm actually pretty cynical about China, but I also love it. It's a great place. It's suffused with history. It's one of the greatest civilizations on earth. Their standard of living was PRETTY TOP NOTCH considering that Troost's ancestors were LIVING IN DARKNESS AND USING BLOODLETTING.

There is more to China than Troost's month-long trip of whimsy. It's a big place. And much like the United States, the different provinces are distinctive. The people are complex. The culture is complex. You SHOULD travel there because everyone should experience going somewhere TOTALLY different. You SHOULD experience the pollution and people and "weird food" (I think the more intelligent a culture is is dependent on how well they cook the "weirdest" items of food; the Chinese make tripe taste good, so suck it). China is AMAZING and Troost does it (and himself!) a disservice by dismissing it so lightly. And also by whining about it the whole time. Jeez dude, why don't you just check yourself into a fancy hotel and buy yourself a plate of Eggs Benedict and call it a day?! No one wants to hear your whining either!!!!

Moral of the story? Don't be a dipshit and write off a culture of thousands of years and with over 1 billion people because some douchebag decided it'd be a laugh to write a highly subjective book about a place he knows nothing about. AND USE YOUR BRAIN A LITTLE, GOD.

If you're looking for books that provide a more rounded perspective, please check out any of Peter Hessler's works (they're all excellent) or China Road by Rob Gifford. These books do a great job of addressing and discussing China's problems without belittling the country or people at large."

"This was a burrito that should have been a taco."