Customer Reviews: Read 22 more reviews...
 Traveling With Maarten...Nothing Better! July 13, 2008
36 out of 38 found this review helpful
J. Maarten Troost has taken us to a small atoll in the South Pacific and to the volcanic Vanauatu in his previous books, Sex Lives of Cannibals and Getting Stoned With Savages. Now he turns his wit and observational skills on that great unknown,China, in his latest endeavor, Lost on Planet China, and what a marvelous travelogue it is!
Told with his trademark wry humor, Lost on Planet China follows Troost as he starts off in the big cities of Beijing (which has given me a whole new perspective on the 2008 Summer Olympics), Shanghai, and Hong Kong. I was flabbergasted at the amount of pollution in China; it seems its entry into the twenty-first century is coming at a very high price. But like Troost, it was the western travels through Tibet, Leaping Tiger Gorge, and Dunhuang that I found the most informative and interesting. Troost's writing is such that I could feel the thin air and experience the death-defying trails seemingly first hand; his interactions with the peoples of China were fascinating glimpses into lives that I doubt I'll ever experience. I love that Troost chose to visit not just the obvious tourist stops such as the Terra Cotta Warriors and the Great Wall, but also smaller islands like Putuoshan. I came away with a real flavor for the history and the feel of China.
I enjoyed this book immensely, though I do wish Troost had told me two things that continually popped into my mind throughout the reading: Where did he get the money for such an extended trip (not that it's actually my business, but I'm curious), and what was his reunion with his wife and two young sons like once he finally left Planet China? Other than those two minor points, I have to say that this is another engaging entry in Troost's repetoire, and I'll be eagerly looking forward to seeing where we'll be traveling next.
As an aside, do watch the short films on the homepage of this book on Amazon. Not only are they funny, they give a bit of insight into the scenery and conditions experienced in Lost on Planet China.
Entertaining and funny way to learn a lot about China July 14, 2008
17 out of 18 found this review helpful
What a great book. Well written and witty. I felt like I was in China with him. Having friends who recently returned from China after adopting children, and their experiences there, I would recommend that everyone read this book before traveling to China. What an eye opener, and so funny at times that I laughed out loud. Educational, informative and entertaining all at once. The author has a wonderful personality and sense of humor- I could easily travel with him and think the same thoughts he did at events and surroundings he experienced. I was sorry the journey ended. If there were more than five stars, this book would get them.
Funny and Witty July 22, 2008
12 out of 14 found this review helpful
As a China born, now California resident, I felt quite curious to read what an American had to say about my home country.
In the beginning, I will admit, I was somewhat offended by the way he portrayed us but then as I began to remember my last visit to my hometown (1 hour's drive from Bejing) and read more, I realized he was right. We do have quite a lot of pollution. We are possibly the rudest people on the planet. And the traffic is hell (what is considered good driving there, which is not crashing into someone, is quite different here.)
Some parts, like the beggars and the takeover of Tibet made me cry. I used to think Tibet was better off with China but after reading this, I realize I was grieviously blinded. Now I want to kick all my fellow Chinese out of Tibet. I do wonder though, if he gave the beggars money.
A lot of parts made me laugh. Hard. But I won't give any specifics away.
I learned a lot. Seriously, my mother didn't even know that you can bargain for taxi rides. Though we refrained from speaking english there to make sure we weren't cheated. The Mao Regimen especially was an eyeopener. I knew he was bad, but not Hitler bad. It really shows how censored China is.
And yes, it's true. We Chinese are proud. And we also hate Japan (most of us anyways - you'd be hard pressed to find someone not). And we can get REALLY crazy. One actress was told to wear pants with a picture of the Japanese flag on it for a photoshoot. Big mistake. China shamed her, crowds threw eggs at her, and people relentlessly bashed her on the internet. Poor dear. This was worse than when the Chinese actresses were shamed for being in Memoirs of a Geisha.
I was slightly dissapointed that he didn't visit a McDonald's (only here in China do you see businessmen having lunch meetings at Mickey Dees) or my hometown as we have a good selection of fresh fruit available every day. But we also have people throwing cucumbers out of their 5th story window as a way of saying "Shut up!". And beaches infested with jellyfish. That are later served for dinner.
Overall, this book was amazing, refreshingly honest, and wonderfully written. It's addictive yet light enough that you can let go of the book with only mild efforts and get some sleep.
Only 50 pages in but he has channeled my life somehow July 11, 2008
11 out of 15 found this review helpful
I just picked this up in Hong Kong and now have it back with me in Shenzhen. I am only 50 pages into this book but so far it's fantastic. It's been my life visiting China 3 times in the past 6 months and traveling around and he has nailed the experience. I will add more of a review when I finish, but I promise that anyone going to China will find this book helpful in what to prepare themselves for. Personally I was a little nervous about bringing this book over to the mainland with it's brief and introductory but unflinchingly honest account of the brutal Mao regime.
 Almost too awful to contemplate. September 2, 2008
10 out of 16 found this review helpful
Have you ever been in a group of people when one of them inadvertently makes a crack that has everyone splitting their sides with laughter, but whose next intentional attempts at humor fall flat? Unfortunately, Mr. Troost has too, for his own literary offerings have followed that particular trajectory much to my surprise and dismay.
This is the third of his 'travelogues.' His first one, about his time spent on the island paradise of Kiribati, was a charming little gem of a book. His second, which was more or less a continuation of his first, had its moments but seemed a bit world weary and lacked the vitality of the first. This book is, I hate to say, little more than a dog and pony show. For Mr. Troost having found his trope, or schtick more aptly, proceeds to hack away at the problem of writing a book by stringing together a series of non sequiters composed of an action (I went here), a problem (it was horrible/inconvenient/foreign because of this), and a trite and predictable one-liner or aside. This is entertaining for about the first 35 pages of the book and then begins to wear thin, very thin.
No two ways about it, the glib are gifted. All other things being equal those with the gift are more likely to succeed than the tongue-tied. The problem is that glib doesn't translate well to paper. What sounds clever often reads inane, not to say juvenile. So we find with this book whose premise is so thin: Let's run around China for a couple of weeks and gather observations for a book timed to drop just when all of the tourists to the Beijing Olympics are looking for topical, contemporary, easy to read, books on China.
Thus the inconsequential chatter and easy banter that characterize this book (well, at least as much of the book as I could stand), probably would be more palatable if told as party jokes or at some other informal gathering of friends. As a book it comes off as inane and bit forced. For instance, on the phenomenon of the dearth of surname variety: "It's become so problematic that no one knows Hu's Hu in China." What, you may be thinking to yourself, is not funny about this? It may not be funny ha ha but it is certainly funny hu hu! There, see how annoying it is, and this is a book that is chockablock full of this kind of humor. It is funny at first but really wears thin after the third, or fourth or fifth, or sixth, or seventh, or eighth, or ninth or tenth, or eleventh encounter all in the space of just a few pages.
On the other hand, what can one do when one is faced with the problem of having to write a book about a place, people, and culture one knows next to nothing about and hasn't any time to ameliorate the problem? I guess he does what Mr. Troost has done; does a bit of research in the library (and some of the historical, cultural stuff that he does include in the book is interesting--if too superficially treated to be fascinating); he speaks to people who do know about the country, people and culture; he takes a whirlwind tour of the country gathering anecdotal evidence and finally, he throws it all together in a haphazard fashion and peppers it with solipsistic witticisms (or something approximating wit from a distance. For instance, the hardback version of the book is small and red, ho ho).
I can't recommend this book. Go and read his first one if you want a really good read. This one seems to come from a different person.
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