|
S'està carregant… Riding the Iron Rooster (1988)de Paul Theroux
  
No hi ha cap discussió a Converses sobre aquesta obra.  slojudy | Sep 8, 2020 |  Very dated. He likes emptiness. Rushed to get out of cities like Peking. (  ) Ed_Schneider | Oct 31, 2019 | Theroux spent a massive amount of time in the 1980s travelling around the People's Republic, and the result is this enormously readable, entertaining, and informative book. I was worried that, after a few hundred pages, my appetite for his travelogue would begin to dim, but in fact the opposite happened. He is so insightfully critical that every page seemed to hold something new, and the fact that he was in-country when the Tiananmen Square protests were staged says much about the resoluteness of his character. (  ) soylentgreen23 | Aug 20, 2017 | This book about Paul Theroux's travels by train through China was written 20 years ago. Although this trip was before the Tiananmen Square massacre, Theroux did see and hear about some student and worker protests. China was definitely going through a process of change at this time. Deng Xiaoping had brought in many reforms and Theroux witnessed that almost everywhere he went. And he went into many corners of that vast land that North Americans rarely see. Two things from this book stand out for me: a) just how excessive the Cultural Revolution was during Mao's time and b) twenty years is just a blink of an eye in Chinese history. Theroux ended his trip in Tibet. This is one of the last paragraphs in the book: You have to see Tibet to understand China. And anyone apologetic or sentimental about Chinese reform has to reckon with Tibet as a reminder of how harsh, how tenacious and materialistic, how insensitive the Chinese can be. They actually believe this is progress. Twenty years later China is still insensitive about Tibet as the world has seen by the reaction to Tibetan protests about the Olympics. I didn't watch any of the Beijing Olympics, primarily because we were on holiday for that time and had no access to TV. But I don't think even if I had been home that I would have watched because I objected to the Olympics going to China with no call for reforms. I think this is only the second book of Theroux's that I have read. At least, I only recall reading The Mosquito Coast many years ago. I think I prefer Theroux as a nonfiction writer and I intend to read some of his other travel writing. (  )1  gypsysmom | Aug 7, 2017 | Joy's Review: Theroux spends WAY too much time on Chinese Trains in the 80's. He is a keen observer and an excellent story teller. I also appreciate that he doesn't hide is opinions. He's also not hesitant to state negative opinions and to share what I think are insightful conclusions. Don't read this for any purpose, but to go along for the ride... and an interesting ride it is. (  ) konastories | Apr 28, 2016 |
''Riding the Iron Rooster'' is Mr. Theroux's account of a journey that would drive most people insane. Traveling in China (which is different from living in China) for even a week can be exhausting; how he managed to do it for a year is beyond my comprehension. As one has come to expect of him, Mr. Theroux never wastes a word when re-creating his adventures. He is in top form as he describes the barren deserts of Mongolia and Xinjiang, the ice forests of Manchuria and the dry hills of Tibet. He captures their otherworldly, haunting appearances perfectly. He is also right on target when he talks about the ugliness of China's poorly planned, hastily built cities. But his book is mainly about Chinese people, and it appears that Mr. Theroux didn't like them much Pertany a aquestes col·leccions editorialsGrote ABC (714)
Paul Theroux, the author of the train travel classics The Great Railway Bazaar and The Old Patagonian Express, takes to the rails once again in this account of his epic journey through China. He hops aboard as part of a tour group in London and sets out for China's border. He then spends a year traversing the country, where he pieces together a fascinating snapshot of a unique moment in history. From the barren deserts of Xinjiang to the ice forests of Manchuria, from the dense metropolises of Shanghai, Beijing, and Canton to the dry hills of Tibet, Theroux offers an unforgettable portrait of a magnificent land and an extraordinary people. No s'han trobat descripcions de biblioteca. |
 Google Books — S'està carregant…Cobertes popularsValoracióMitjana: (3.88)
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1
4
Travel was not particularly easy or comfortable on most of the trips. Accommodations were often sketchy. The Chinese disregard for the lives of other animals was prominently displayed - but he notes that the peasants most responsible for using animals any way they could were themselves in not much different circumstances. China's people embraced capitalism but did not call it that.
One of the more interesting parts of the book came near the end, when Theroux visited Tibet. Long under the thumb of the Chinese, the Tibetans were experienced in resistance, continuing to work and live as they always had regardless of pressure. The area is remote, cut off, difficult to visit, yet stunningly beautiful. Theroux endured a heart-stopping trek by car because there were no trains.
Insightful, thoughtful, intelligently written, even many years later this book is worth reading. (