This is quite an interesting travelog, one that only a person who is "both insider and outsider of his own country" could have written. Ma Jian is an artist who cannot fit into communist China's acceptable mode of behavior, and decides to go on a trip, partly to escape trouble at work, and partly to find himself. Little did he know that he will spend 3 years trekking all over China. From the capitalistic, fast paced Shenzhen to the conflict-entranced Tibet, from lush rainforest to deadly desert, Ma Jian captures the many faces of China in an authentic voice.

Thank you so much for this wishlist book, what a wonderful surprise!

This was described somewhere as "fictionalised account of his journey through China" so I guess a lot of what's told here didn't exactly happen to the author, but they probably did happen to someone he met on the road... Sounds like an unforgettable journey nevertheless. A bit difficult to follow at times, especially not being so familiar with Chinese politics or bureaucracy.

At the meet-up

I got two China-themed books from today's meet-up. With this one I will participate to the Kielillä-challenge ("In languages") at the Finnish forum, this will count for Chinese.

An interesting read, although I had some difficulties in following the time span. I liked the rhythm in the beginning, but in the end the book was very slow to read. It was sad that the author had to lie so much for being able to travel. The Communist regime is terrifying - as far as I know, even in the darkest era of the red regime in Estonia it was a person's own business, with whom they kissed or danced. Not in China.