Stunningly original, well-written and so easy to read. China in a hundred year period, confirming my earliest intuitions about the land of my birth and youth and of the ambivalence between inhabitants and foreigners. I was drenched by the waters of the river: winters' icy cold or a salvation from the fierce heat of summer; peaceful or turbulent to match the characters' temperaments. East is East and . . . or 'ole man river, he jes' . . . come to mind.
(Joan Jackson - bwl 24 June 2004 ) |
