Half Baked in Taiwan [Paperback]

Beth Fowler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 18, 2000

Half Baked in Taiwan is a humorous, insightful, no-holds-barred account of one true-blue Yankee's two-and-a-half years of living in Taiwan, a quintessentially Chinese island that gets battered in the international shuffle. Beth Fowler's anatomy of culture shock will make you grin, giggle and reconsider the cliché "It's a small world."

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Who would've thunk it? A small-town English teacher traveling the world, writing about it and having her byline appear in national newspapers, inflight magazines, Buddhist newsletters, slick periodicals and now this? Which goes to show, If you can dream it, you can do it. A native Pennsylvanian, Beth Fowler has had hundreds of articles and two books published in America and internationally. She's still trying to decide if getting a master's degree in education contributed to her current status or if true education happens after one leaves school and steps out into the great big world. For now, she's veering toward the latter.

Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: Xlibris Corp; 1 edition (July 18, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738825751
• ISBN-13: 978-0738825755
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,854,281 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #69 in Books > Travel > Asia > Taiwan

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Like title, book is half-baked, July 7, 2002

By 

A. Silverstone (Durham, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Half Baked in Taiwan (Paperback)

Although this book has some very interesting insights into Taiwan's culture, it was a disappointment. Too many words are devoted to the author's whining about not understanding or fitting in to the culture. For example, the traffic is not the complete chaos as described. The traffic laws and signals are used as loose guidelines that lead to an elaborate ballet-like movement of cars, motorbikes, scooters and pedestrians.
Another problem is that the book is a series of vignettes, some of which survive on their own, some of which just mystify the reader (a set of diary excerpts about some fashion show is one example) because they are not placed in any context. Alas, there are few books describing Taiwan from an American viewpoint. Yet, with the high price for a slim paperback, I would only give this book a half-hearted endorsement.

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Half Baked is Mostly Raw, January 17, 2003

By 

Norm Zurawski (Millington, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Half Baked in Taiwan (Paperback)

I gave myself several weeks to sit on this book before I submitted a review. I was so disappointed after reading Half Baked in Taiwan that I didn't want to sit down and immediately start reeling off things that were wrong with it. I wanted to digest it a bit before I reviewed it.

Two weeks have passed and I am still annoyed at having read this book. My mistake was being fooled into thinking it was worth the purchase. When I put it on my wish list, I had read nothing but good reviews. When I got it for Christmas, I was excited to read it because of those reviews.

As it turns out, I shouldn't have believed the hype. An Internet search leads me to believe that several of the reviews posted here are friends of the author. I was able to find the very same reviews being touted as 'expert reviews' on a website where Mrs. Fowler has some web space along with other authors.

So what is wrong with this book? Let me preface this by giving my "credentials", if you will. My wife, who I have been with for 7 years, is Taiwanese. We have been to the island together twice. She and her entire family were born there. Her immediate family lives in the US and we frequently spend time together. While I do not claim to be an expert on Taiwan, my comments don't come with zero experience either. Additionally, I questioned my wife frequently while reading this book to make sure my annoyances were well founded.

I expected this book to be a humorous look at a culture different from our own, but one I am familiar with all the same. I also expected to read a variety of small things the author liked and disliked while living in Taiwan. Instead, I find this text to be a thinly veiled attempt in which the author repeatedly claims Taiwanese people do scores of things the wrong way. Page after page I could not shake the feeling that this was an outlet for her not being happy in Taiwan.

For an English teacher, I find the composition to be below average. She should have added another 50 pages to expand her ideas. Too often the reader is left with an unclear notion of precisely what the author is trying to say. The text is often comprised of sentences which are a hybrid between full sentences and poetic verse, even ignoring the untasty dim sum chapters.

One reviewer's comment that this book, "By far describes the real Taiwan culture," is so far removed from reality that I find it almost impossible to believe the reviewer has been to Taiwan as claimed. I see little resemblance between Taiwanese life and that as described in this book.

I don't think the author ever truly attempts to immerse herself in the culture in an effort to fully absorb it. As opposed to being a sponge and allowing it seep in, she acts as a raft which floats above it; in contact but not in. She doesn't let the culture become part of her, and the result is her frequently commenting about not understanding various idiosyncrasies of Taiwan; and how things should change to her standards.

As far as being factually accurate, I find several of the passages either incorrect or deficient. As an avid tea drinker, the chapter on tea can hardly be considered complete as she does not utter the word 'Oolong' once. How one manages to write about tea and Taiwan and not mention Oolong is puzzling, as Taiwan is known primarily for its Oolong tea production. In fact, it's world famous.

I feel somewhat bad writing this review because such a meager amount of literature exists discussing Taiwan. Having been there, I enjoy the country and try to read as much as I can about it. But this book is so severely lacking that it's hard for me to recommend it. In fact, it's impossible to do such a thing.

In summary, here's how I would typify this book. The last time I was in Taiwan, I was asked how I would describe the country. I said the 3 best things are the tea, the food, and the scenery. The fact that the author only touches on one of these 3 topics extensively (and does a mediocre job at that) is reason enough to not recommend this.

Considering my general opinion of the book, combined with the price, and the paltry 168 pages of text, there's no way I can honestly sit here and say you should buy this book. Those interested in reading about Taiwan would be better off buying Culture Shock, Taiwan by Chris & Ling-Li Bates or the Lonely Planet travel guide by Robert Storey. Both of those give the reader a more accurate narrative on the culture, both are more smoothly written, and both are better values.

Half Baked needs more time in the oven. Leave it there and buy a better book.

10 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's Just Like Here, Only Different, September 7, 2000

By 

"jviener" (Baltimore, MD USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Half Baked in Taiwan (Paperback)

So you're thinking about visiting Taiwan. So you're thinking maybe you should read about life in that island nation before you go. Then "Half Baked in Taiwan" is the book for you. Beth Fowler, self-described expatriate American, has written a funny, insightful, and at times shocking, account of her life in Taiwan.

Fowler explores and explains to us pale (thus the phrase "Half Baked") Euro-origin Westerners the Taiwanese version of such activities as eating, driving, sports, dating and marriage, stimulants both legal and addictive, earthquakes, shopping, personal space, and that all-important, yet often misunderstood, "face".

Bear in mind in Taiwan many of these activities are conducted simultaneously, with little regard for anyone's safety.

Fowler, a world traveler and accomplished observer of human nature, has produced a book that is more than just a travelogue. Even as she is relating her experiences in Taiwan through a Westerner's eyes, she is detailing an ancient Asian culture as it enters the 21st century. Buddhist monks jostle with old ladies in the post office. The military conducts exercises in case the Peoples Republic of China invades the Taiwan Republic of China. Christmas decorations may stay year round. "Why take them down? They're pretty."

Some comments for when you go to Taiwan. Save your efforts to be American style friendly. Traditionally, Chinese rely on close friends and family to fulfill their business, financial, babysitting, and care giving needs. Never strangers. They simply are unaccustomed to, and sometimes confounded by, our "Hi! How you doing?" friendliness.

Finally, if someone says to you "You've gained a little weight" you are to be complimented. Why? Because that means the speaker is showing a sincere concern for your health. If you have indeed gained weight, well, you have "more gravity".

You see, it's just like here. Only different.