Liebkuchen Posted January 15, 2011 at 08:20 PM Report Share Posted January 15, 2011 at 08:20 PM My copy arrived today from Amazon and has been devoured. I enjoyed the artwork and it was fine as a graphic novel- nothing amazing but still interesting. How does it compare to people's experiences? Do you recognise what you read? Has much changed in 13 years? My big question is about present giving on page 114. Why the lack of thanks, or do we in the west go overboard when receiving presents? Also, not being able to read more than a handful of characters, did I miss anything good in the Chinese speech bubbles? Very tempted to get his Pyongyang book now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yonglin Posted January 15, 2011 at 08:59 PM Report Share Posted January 15, 2011 at 08:59 PM I haven't read this one, but I really liked the Pyongyang book! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daofeishi Posted January 16, 2011 at 12:34 AM Report Share Posted January 16, 2011 at 12:34 AM I read it after my first long-term stay in China, which is a few years ago. What I remember from the book is that I recognized much of how China feels to someone who experiences the country for the first time, i.e. the feeling of being lost in the sights, smells and sensations of a new culture, and the struggle of trying to communicate across widely different languages. The cartoon is basically a collection of observations that anyone going to China is bound to make ("oh gosh, Chinese girls cover their teeth when they giggle and people will often nod along and pretend they understand what you are saying although they don't"). Delisle's shtick is to never explain the rationale behind anything he experiences or to delve into Chinese culture to gain an understanding of it. The whole travelogue therefore has a certain Kafkaesque feel to it that some find funny and others feel reduces China to something it isn't. Personally I thought the book got a bit frustrating, perhaps because I could recognize some of the faux passes of the author and got frustrated by his unwillingness to try to integrate himself into Chinese culture. However, I really enjoyed "Pyongyang" which has much of the same feel to it, and that is probably because of my own prejudices against North Korea and its political system. About the speech bubbles, everything in the "Chinese" ones is gibberish and is not meant to make sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feihong Posted January 16, 2011 at 06:51 AM Report Share Posted January 16, 2011 at 06:51 AM Delisle's "Shenzhen" is pretty good, but "Pyongyang" is more enjoyable. Also check out his "Burma Chronicles". Pyongyang has been translated to Chinese, and you can find it online here: http://www.89890.com/comic/8138/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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