13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is not the Communist China we grew up with!, February 21, 2009
This review is from: China Underground (Paperback)
Having recently read and reviewed
Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven, in which two women travel to Communist China in the '80s, I was fascinated to read Zachary Mexico's riveting portraits of "underground" artists, musicians, and intellectuals in the newer, more open China of the 21st century. I actually had Zachary Mexico's father as a guest Pilates client for several days here at Parrot Cay. I always ask guests about the books they are reading while on holiday, and he actually gave me his copy of the book just before he left so that I could read it for review.
Having lived in Kunming, China from 2002-2004, Mexico found that he really missed China. As he says, "it is hard to imagine a more exciting place than China." With a growing economy and more personal creative freedom, people at every level of Chinese society are changing and growing in ways nobody would have imagined 10 or 20 years ago. So he decided to return and write "about the crazy people I'd met in China and the even crazier people they'd introduced me to."
China Underground takes us from the mountains of Dali, where green marijuana grows freely and is smoked freely by just about everybody, to Linfen, the most polluted city in the world, where everyone wears masks to filter the obvious particles out of the air. He visits with prostitutes (known as chickens), with minority Uighur musicians, with filmmakers, writers, homosexuals (rabbits), and academics.
I must admit that I was at first shocked by the amount of drug use among the younger Chinese. Pot, black hashish, ketamine, cocaine... many are stoned all day every day. And they are disillusioned after growing up in a Communist system that actively discourages individual creative thought and any kind of critical argument.
The overall feeling of the book is hard to pin down, as even the same people express desperation, glee, excitement, despair, boredom, and impatience all in the space of a few hours or days. People want change, but aren't necessarily prepared for what change might mean.
Mexico offers a peek into the inside inner workings of daily life in China that most of us will never get to see. You will be surprised, shocked, and horrified. You will laugh, cry, and get angry. But most of all China Underground will make you think about China differently. This is not the Communist China we grew up with!
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mexico in China, February 6, 2009
This review is from: China Underground (Paperback)
>> I just finished Zachary Mexico's book. I'm amazed by his
>> eloquent story telling, the clarity of his observations and his
>> proficiency in the subtleties of the Chinese language. I was struck by his
>> bravery to travel alone throughout China following leads, exploring the dicey
>> underbelly of an enormous, complex country and exposing his findings.
>
>> The writings show an avid interest in people's stories, a gift of
>> conversation, a true non-judgemental ( my spell checker is telling me that is not a word) compassion for how people deal with their lot in life.
>>
>> The book was captivating because of the fascinating, real people interviewed and because of Zachary's youthful yet wise reactions to his surroundings. In addition to character descriptions and life situations he fleshed out his studies by writing about their living spaces, food choices, clothing fit and interestingly, brand names of their cigarettes as if that too reflected upon one's character. He sees China as a worldly, yet objective, young outsider, free to express what is often not sanctioned in China. His inclusion of historical contexts was extremely helpful.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Truly underground, January 31, 2011
This review is from: China Underground (Paperback)
I lived in Shanghai for a year in college in the mid 90's and some of the stories in the book really resonated with what I saw there. I give kudos to Zachary's passion for journalism and being amiable enough to be invited inside the locked closets. The stories are captivating and fascinating and together paint a picture. However having lived there I felt the culmination of stories where only a slice of the pie.
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