Customer Reviews

Fried Eggs with Chopsticks: One Woman's Hilarious Adventure into a Country and a Culture Not Her Own

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I bought this book because I am planning a trip to China and like to read anything I can get my hands on about the country I'm planning to visit. I was so excited to find a travel account by a woman traveling alone in China. I looked forward to funny anecdotes, ideas about what to see and a general sense of life in China.

Instead I found a 300 page rant about anything and everything Chinese. Frankly I'm confused as to why the author went to China in the first place and even more confused as to how she managed to get the book published. She complained about everything. She didn't like the food (unless it was McDonalds), the people, the transportation, the accomodations (unless it was the Grand Hyatt), or the sites/entertainment (unless it was the HBO in her room at the Grand Hyatt). She seemed not to understand that she was a guest in the places she visited or that the most valuable trait of a traveler is open-mindedness. She took almost every situation personally, as in when she described a bus journey to Kunming, "The road surface was unspeakably bad....we hurtled over holds and leapt from the crests of little jumps that seemed to have been laid out solely to test the resiliance of our bones." Page 237. Moreover she was almost insulted that few people could speak English and, ever unprepared, seemed to expect others to go out of their way to help her. At the same time, she complained each time anyone tried to speak with her. Evans would do better to stay put in her native England and spare the inhabitants of any other country from having to put up with her.

This book is frustrating mainly because it has the potential to deter readers from a trip to China. I will be looking for a more open-minded and curious account of the country and it's people.

Polly Evans travels by bus, train, plane, boat and taxi all over China. She learns how hard it is to move about a nation when you don't know how things work, when you don't know the language and when you're not smart enough to bring rolls of your own toilet paper. I mean, half the book is interesting points of hard won knowledge about the Chinese culture but the other half is full of whining complaints about the food, the filth, the yak-butter tea, the crowded trains, the dirty restrooms and so on. The list seems to go on forever. And sometimes she seems to be more insulting than funny.
I think, what happened, is that she thought that mainland China would be like the Hong Kong she had lived in - but just a little less. She thought she would find cities kind of like Hong Kong but not as rich or as clean. What she failed to understand was that the People's Republic of China is HUGE. Over three MILLION square miles. She is going to find layers and layers of history and dirt, educated people and ill mannered ones, nice towns and muddy slums. And as she seemed to go without planning, figuring out things day to day, of course she's going to have a rough time of it. Of course most of the tour information for Chinese sites is outdated - the information in tour guides are outdated for museums in DC!
A great book for people who think they can pack up, buy a ticket and head over there without any planning, common sense or language classes. I loved it.

I got this book because I'm planning on traveling through China by myself soon. I was really surprised by the reviews here--so many of them accuse Evans of not adequately preparing for her trip to China, despite the fact that she studied Mandarin for a year before she left!

Evans presents a pretty typical western view of China, and she's being vilified for it in these reviews. Yes, many people are bothered by the fact that spitting is so common in a country in which 50% of the inhabitants have TB. So why is it such a big deal that Evans was disgusted with this? It's silly to expect people who have grown up in a different culture to not be turned off by this sort of thing. Call it cultural insensitivity if you will, but by my standards, shooting snot onto your dinner plate in a restaurant when you've finished eating is gross.

The real problem with this book is that Evans presents no passion for traveling. I assume she must have one or she wouldn't be a travel writer, but this book reads like someone gave her a contract and she had to write a book. It seemed that she just went down a list of cities and ticked them off, telling us nothing about herself, why she was doing this or what she learned from it all. There just wasn't a lot of depth. I liked the disgusting details she included about the toilets, the snot, etc. but that isn't quite enough to make an engaging read. 2.5 stars.

(Full disclosure: this review came from my second read of the book. I was motivated to re-read it by other reviews, some of which leveled criticisms that I hadn't remembered being merited. So I figured I should see what (if anything) I'd missed. Since I believe this is a review space, not a message board, that's all I'll say about that.)

Polly Evans is more an adventure travel author than an adrenaline junkie. This is the story of her travels deep into China and back out again, I think in about 2004--in the early phases of the gear-up for the Beijing Olympics. I know of no one who has ever said that travel in China was easy, and Evans had to contend with a lot of discomfort. Most people spoke little or no English, naturally, and her Mandarin was game but halting.

My pet peeve in travel writing is whiners and condescenders (Bill Bryson, at times, can be insufferable that way), but I didn't find Evans whiny or condescending. I think she called things as she saw them, good and bad. She says that some of the conditions are squalid, the food is often repellent, some of the sanitation is disgusting, and it's hard to get information--all are claims that sound credible to me, and square with what others say about China. She seemed an appealing enough personality, with no macha need to prove her toughness through stoicism. I definitely didn't find myself hoping that she'd get the runs in the next chapter. The portrayal of the contrasts of China--the ultra-modern maglev vs. the crummy bus, the rickety bike and the donkey, for example--shows just what a daunting and enormous task China faces if it wishes to modernize such a diverse, populous country. They also give a hint of China's future if it can hold all those people together and spread the wealth around.

I wouldn't describe Evans as a big joker, but she's sometimes funny. Most times, I found, she didn't really have to try to be funny; the situations themselves were funny enough and didn't need help. The overall writing style is clear and unpretentious, accessible to the audience, and pretty observant. Evans isn't the leader of the travel writing pack, but I have to respect her for having the guts to go and muddle through and make a fool of herself at times for the sake of the art. That's what travel writers do, after all.

The book may offend some Chinese, just like a book on the United States that went through the most hardscrabble parts of Appalachia and the most tin/tarpaper parts of Wyoming (on a smelly Greyhound staying in any available roach motel) might offend Americans. China may well be learning what Americans and British have had many years to get used to: when you are a great power, everyone's got an opinion about you and assumes that you have a thick enough skin to hear the unpleasant truths as well as the pleasant. But if one is very nationalistic and sensitive about China, they may want to skip Evans' book, because it exposes a lot of work left to be done and hardly squares with the PR image of Guccis, cellphones and glitz in the wealthy coastal cities.

This is an odd travel book. At the bottom of it, the author doesn't seem to like the Chinese very much. Page after page, she complains about the food, accommodations, the transportation, the people. She brings to mind the outdated attitudes of the colonial British, holding their noses as they looked down upon the natives, confident in their smug superiority. In addition, her sense of humor is rather tiresome, always at another's expense, arch and acerbic. I would expect a bumpy trip if I didn't speak the language, and had done zero advance planning to a country as large and diverse as China. Seems like an opportunistic book, superficial, and wholly at the expense of the Chinese.

I really liked "It's Not About the Tapas" so when I saw this I was expecting something fresh and fun. Well, Evans actually planned her trip for Spain, (granted with a lot of wine--but at least she had a map and Spanish dictionary!) But for Fried Eggs, she seemed to think she could just plop herself in rural China and everyone would come running to meet her every need--even if she couldn't be bothered to learn the language or take along a pocket Mandarin Dictionary. She didn't even know the word for RICE!!!

I needed a good long scrub after reading her incessant descriptions of spit, snot, phlem, vomit, nose picking and public bowel and bladder elimination sprinked in every chapter. I never needed to read a description of vomit as it's spattered on a bus window, or know what someone's butt looked like as they poo. Some things should be left to the imagination (or not!)If you think I'm graphic, then this isn't the book for you, she goes into GREAT detail. Honestly, there was just lots of stuff I didn't need to know, but not nearly enough of what I wanted to find out.

I felt she did some historical research--as seen in her constant swings into random history lessons--but she didn't plan for the realities of current life in China. I can't imagine going solo in rural China without even knowing the words for "rice, noodles, vegetables, chicken, beef, and pork" in Mandarin. I winced at her describing how she wandered about restaurants pointing at people's dinners to let the waitress know what she wanted. How rude! Granted I found the copiously flowing phlem to be disgusting, but her behavior was equally rude and ignorant. I felt she really enjoyed feeling superior to the rural Chinese and their way of life. She certainly didn't give me any reason to visit China based on her experiences. Truthfully, If I was stupid enough to travel to China as unprepared as she did, I wouldn't write a book celebrating my ignorance. I would have been embarassed.

I had to force myself to finish as I lost interest (and my appetite) about half of the way through. I had considered traveling to China, but after reading this I was initially scared off--but then I realized Polly Evans had not done her homework or prepared herself for the trip and I shouldn't let that keep me home. Perhaps it would have been better for everyone if she had hired a travel companion that spoke Mandarin, or at least hooked up with a tour company that could line up the ferries and other transportation for her. I also would have liked a chapter on what she might have done differently since she seemed to have such a miserable time.

I wanted to like this book, but frankly it is such a superficial view that I ended up not liking the author very much, and sympathizing with those Chinese people who went out of their way to help her, since she was so obviously unprepared for even a ride to the outskirts of Beijing, let alone a tour of the country.

She travels into some fairly remote areas, but then is bemused and at times aggravated that people find her presence so noteworthy. She frequently extrapolates Chinese conversations she did not (could not) understand as "jabber jabber", and sometimes engages in absurd and improbable flights of fancy about what the people were saying. The rather few insights or unique experiences she has are overwhelmed by her continual observations about dirt, "mei you", smoking, nasty toilets, and spitting.

This is hardly a "hilarious adventure", rather it is tedious and fairly patronizing to the Chinese.

For instance, she observes of some miners and their families boarding a bus: "Presumably they were off to enjoy a Sunday afternoon in the happening hub of Datong." To a world-traveler such as Ms. Evans, I am sure Datong is not Paree, but for people lots of people in China, even a trip to some blighted industrial city is a real adventure. At least she did not call them bumpkins, although I kept waiting for her to employ such a turn of phrase.

(This book also serves as something of an oblique advertisement for her friends' travel agency; be sure to note their URL in the acknowledgments.)

For a view of the Chinese back-country that is dated in comparison, but genuinely deep try Ma Jian's "Red Dust". Almost any other travel writing you select will be more insightful and balanced than this book.

If you are looking for a normal, point A to point B travel book providing you the distance between, or which hotel to stay in or to stay away from, do not read this book.
However, if you want a light hearted, off the cuff, bold and bluntly honest review from a very witty, realistic, very brave not to mention very talented story teller, who takes on a tough country to tackle as a single woman traveling alone who places a stipulation on herself (only to utilize the means of public transportation available) then you are going to find this book a jewel in the rough. I found myself laughing out loud and recalling many of the same things about my own travels to China. Just never thought anyone would write about them.
I really do not believe as in some of the other reviews that the author did little or no research, or found she disliked everything about China. More so I think she was placing a very real view on what is expected if you think China is going to be conquered by the faint at heart or those who need privacy to sleep, eat, or to enjoy their travels. Happy Reading...don't get offended, learn to laugh a little.

As a Chinese, I am not offended by this book at all. I actually appreciate Polly Evans' courage and sense of adventure in seeing China in the way that she did. By choosing to use the transportation the locals used, she got to see what life is actually like. An average tourist on an air-conditioned tour bus would have seen a much different China than what she saw. I loved Polly's honest descriptions. I thoroughly enjoyed the book.

There's many a fool who would criticize this book for TELLING THE TRUTH! If ever a book rang true, it's this woman's account of trying to get around China independently, without prior planning. I know it all to be true because I foolishly tried it myself. Yes, I and a Finn bumbled our rocky way through China in October 1990, as so-called "backpack travellers", using the same guidebook as all the other silly unprepared and unaccompanied foreigners. LONELY PLANET guidebook is the Bible this author used, and refers to, in choosing accommodations, restaurants, and transport. We also relied exclusively on our well-thumbed 1990 Lonely Planet, just like this determined young Englishwoman, but she in 2002.

Our author is good-hearted in her goodwill efforts to do China herself. She is flexible, has experience from other countries and adventures, and doesn't give up when discouraged. These are the most important qualities of any visitor to China, even those with professional, pre-paid upscale itineraries. The official tourist traps are well arranged and therefore, theoretically, presenting no worries. The Chinese are a proud people, wishing to show you their best. It is in their own stubborn determination to keep a foreigner out of trouble, and out of ugly and dirty situations, that visitors find themselves irritated by the pushing and pulling, the MeH-YO's! (NO's) that surround them when they propose anything spontaneous. The Chinese are willing to show you anything for a price, but they feel a lot better about it if some authority has sanctioned your presence in a muddy village, on a decrepid bus, etc. Their fear of "getting into trouble" is not as bad as in the Cultural Revolution, but it's still latent and serious.

So, she proceeds to tell us exactly what a person can expect: strange foods that can only be identified by pointing (that's what we did!!!); filthy toilet systems outside of Western hotels and restaurants; greedy taxidrivers, confusion and loneliness when surrounded by a language and culture so different from the Westerner's. She is disgusted by the hygiene, amazed that the population rate could be so high in such a soup of dirty places and toilets, male spitting and unclean public places. I often commented on this myself back in 1990! The rates of TB are about 1 in 5, while the spitting (male habit) never stops. The current preparations for the Olympics are full of beseeching propaganda to STOP SPITTING and STOP LITTERING (No toss). Well, such injunctions were in place in 1990, too! Didn't seem to make an impact!

However, why a person goes to China makes the book. Apparently, our author went out of a mild curiosity, a sense of adventure, and the intent to write about her experiences. All in all, a quite honest endeavor - not a travel guide to historical places, not a deep analysis of the Chinese mentality, just observations of what happens around her. Her straightforward accounts of discouragement, followed by good-luck sunshine, amused me. I, too, had fallen into lethargy and indifference by the second week, wondering if I were insane to attempt my journey, yet I didn't want to give up after so much effort to get there. I gave it four weeks total, had some good times, a lot of dubious times, and some very bad experiences.

What any reader can get out of this book is a no-punches-pulled reality trip through modern China, WITHOUT PRE-TRIP PLANNING and WITHOUT THE LANGUAGE. That people will stare at you, at first a novelty, becomes a monstrous aggravation, as she does write, yet it is good that she writes it. Wouldn't you WANT to know in advance that these things will happen to you, too, rather than becoming disconcerted on the first day, the hard way?

This author admits that she was foolish not to have prepared for her journey, that she didn't even learn the word for RICE, that she was out of her depth as soon as she left her acquaintances in Beijing. But in the depths of her loneliness, on top of a holy mountain soaked in fog, she did the smart thing - which we two also did: she simply approached any WEsterners and joined them. We did this habitually and enlivened our trip enormously, because they knew more than us and could help us, or even let them join in on their little side trips, etc.

So this is a great travel book because it DOES whine! Telling the truth is a dying art in PC-America! One has to dig up old travel books sometimes to get the real sense of life somewhere. For armchair travellers, this book is also great - it saves you all the unsavory parts of Chinese encounters (e.g. toilets), while keeping an amused tone. She plays jokes on the female callers looking for business (yes, that kind of business) on her hotel telephone, changing her voice to a man's! There's plenty of Chinese girls "selling hot water" everywhere, once you look around! What would Mao say? Can't they work in sweatshops as he said?

[...]

I hope all of you thinking of going there read this book & my epinion! Plus get to the library and START STUDYING everything about China. YOu may even decide not to go, more's the pity, but it's an informed choice, at least. Finally, if you get back in one piece, not too sick, then you can really begin the plunge into Sinology. In spite of your almost inevitable disgust with some primitive parts there, and male customs, you will slowly read more, see more films, and take an interest in China because of the trip. Easy way - don't go; or pay a fortune and be guided.