Customer Reviews

A Bend in the Yellow River

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Justin Hill's A Bend in the Yellow River is one of the most unique books I have read. In it he shares his personal experience: an English man with no travel experience who moves to remote, inland China to teach english for two years where the nearest english speaking person lives 10 hours away.

Mr. Hill's walks you through his experiences showing you everything he experienced. And I say "showing" because you do not simply sit down to read this story, it is shown to you. It has a cinematic visual effect that gives you the feeling that you are able to smell the scents, feel the awkward moments, taste the dumplings, hear the mah jong chips clicking, and see the country side to which you have never been.

Reading Mr. Hill's book is like taking a walk with a good friend who always has the ability to let you see things in a new light.

This reader highly recommends Bend in the Yellow river as and intriguing and insightful read from a new author who is bound to put forth more books of non-fiction and fiction that somehow manage to combine reality, poetic prose, and enlightenment effortlessly.

I just returned from teaching English in China and read Justin's book. Most of the time I felt I was reading my own journal! He describes life as a foreign teacher in China with wonderful stories that make you laugh and make your jaw drop. A wonderful way to enter Chinese culture.

This book is a story of a young man who decided to stay in China for a period of two years, being the only foreigner within a community of three million Chinese. He relates his experiences with a passion, and it provides the reader with an incredible insight into a world that would otherwise remain a mystery. A positive view of China from within, both serious and humourous. A charming portrayal of a fascinating culture, from a lively and gifted writer. Expect to hear a lot more of Justin Hill.

The best contemporary guide to modern China that I've read; witty, fascinating and culturally illuminating. Also extremely funny (the "human tardis" chapter especially). Buy it!

I think this man has got us down to a tee. I am Chinese and I read alot of rubbish about china - positive and negative - but this is good stuff. If you want to know about China away from Beijing shanghai hongkong, then this is the best book out at the moment. You should read it as wel because it's funny.

This would be an excellently written book if it were written by someone in their 30s or 40s. That it was written by someone in their mid-20s is nothing short of stunning. Justin Hill's observations, ear for dialogue and character sketches of the people he lived among for 2 years are engrossing from beginning to end.

Largely a collection of sharply-observed vignettes from his diary, it binds together into a coherent whole that moves through the sharply contrasting seasons of northern China in the early-to-mid 90s. He skillfully captures the love-hate conflicts of the adventurous expat: wanting to belong one day, and feeling utterly alienated the next - but almost always with an undertone of compassion. Occasionally, he lets loose with a couple of grumpy pages about the things he can't stand about the community he's living in. But unlike less generous writers such as Paul Theroux, his honesty about the perceived shortcomings of Yuncheng and its people is rather touching.

It's really rather wonderful to have such a well-written personal account of modern China seen through the eyes of someone so young and so far from home. A brilliant book, and especially so if you've ever spent any time in China.

Justin Hill got really tired of being stared at all the time as one of the handful of Europeans in a Chinese rural backwater town . He found that he was treated as an "inscrutable foreigner" and it was impossible to really "connect" with the his students and his Chinese hosts. He felt that by western standards the Chinese are lacking in manners, and much more "physical" than the British. The plumbing in his apartment was very bad, as was the dust, noise, and close quarters he endured. Apparently he was physically forced to eat large quantities of food by his hosts to the point of stupor. He spent two years there, and pretty much had the same experience for the duration.

Unfortunately this tale of suffering is repeated over and over again, chapter after chapter for 260 pages.
In between these monotonous repetitions , the author briefly describes what he loved about his 2 year experience in Yuncheng. I wish I could remember what he liked... I wish he could have too... it would have made "A Bend in the Yellow River " a much more worthwhile read.

Ultimately the book is the product of an extremely young author. Perhaps with time and greater experience (and a better editor) he will be able to communicate something more than his boredom and frustration with a foreign culture.

This book is a definite miss, soon to be out of print.