Customer Reviews

The Monk from Brooklyn: An American at the Shaolin Temple

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Its my understanding that this book came to be from a series of articles that the author did and it certainly feels like one long article. In fact if one does a web search, you will find those articles online.

To be fair, this is a very addictive book and I wanted so much to like it. It is an interesting story and the author does come across as being charismatic, worldly and interesting. I did enjoy his insightful comments about Kung Fu. As I also study the martial arts and live in Brooklyn, I thought there was a lot for me to like but in the end I found it to be a very disappointing.

This book is incredibly repetitive. For example you are constantly reminded that the author feels that rural Chinese are filthy, backwards and self-centered people. That Chinese Kung Fu for the most part is so stuck in its past and glory that it cannot feasibly compete against many of the today's mix martial artists. That daily communication with rural Chinese is repetitive and frustrating and is indicative of their mental capabilities. While I have no problem with someone who tells it like it is after several times it starts to sound like constant complaining.

One of the most frustrating issues with this book is that you never really know who the author is nor his background. On my copy there is no brief biography on the author. It is left up to the reader to piece this together which I found frustrating. For example, you start to get hints that he has served in the arm forces and since he likes to talk about his favorite Navy watch cap, one can only assume he was in the Navy. Nope, turns out he was in Army. Part of the problem is that the format of this book is that of journal which explains why it is so repetitive. It's almost as though you found this diary on the street and are left to fill in the blanks on who this person is.

Ultimately I have to say that I found the ending disappointing and sad not because of what ultimately happened to Antonio but rather because the book ended as abruptly as it started. Again this is because you are reading someone's journal. Certainly the message here is that training at the Shaolin Temple should not be idealized because ultimately you are dealing with a system that is so corrupt, unsanitary, backward and so full of conflicts and paradoxes that it will wear down the most well-educated, open minded and well-traveled Westerner. I give kudos to Antonio for taking on this challenge but I can't say that the story telling was all that great for me to recommend it.

It's been said before. Graceffo tells it like it is. Or perhaps, like it is for him.

I too spent time at Shaolin and was interested to hear of other people's experiences of the tough and austere life there.

Perhaps I didn't have Antonio's expectations or his luck. What I did have was a life changing six-month experience that I'll never forget. Shaolin became a home to me for a short while and for that I'll always feel lucky.

As far as I'm concerned, that Antonio and I had vastly different experiences and took away very different impressions of this famous little corner of China doesn't detract a bit from this book.

Firstly, it is entirely accurate. Antonio describes places as I remember them. I have no doubt, either, that he was robbed and saw the hard end of prejudice on a daily basis. These things can happen.

He's also right in his description of the ancient and revered Buddhist temple as the Shaolin Market. Underneath the quiet surrounds and peaceful appearance of the monastic lifestyle runs an incongruous and chaotic river of capitalism and greed. The hardships he describes are the simple facts of life for countless young athletes who have known little else.

Secondly, the book stands as a powerful illustration of the inevitable culture clash that faces Western travellers in China. This alone should see copies of the book rushing off the shelves. It's an insight into something that more and more of us will experience as China continues to open its lands to the world.

Much has been written that enthusiastically paints the deep and meaningful experiences, the valuable lessons and, of course, the amazing kung fu of Shaolin. I stand by all of it.

But in all things there should be balance and Antonio provides this. As I said, this book provides an accurate image of Shaolin. Potential travellers, scholars and the just plain interested should acquaint themselves with this book to help them more fully understand this temple that links ancient and modern worlds and helps to bridge diametrically opposed cultures around the world.

Antonio records the side of Shaolin that so many of us chose to ignore or to forget. Read this book and allow it to temper your more fantastic ideas about Shaolin. Accept it as an experience to learn from. And if you're ever lucky enough to visit Shaolin then your experience will be all the more valuable because you'll be prepared and because you'll see balance.

Ah mi to fu.

Graceffo has his moments, but this book reads like a prolonged griping session. The excerpts I had previously read in martial arts magazines suggested that this would be a wry perspective on the Shaolin experience, but reading the book is tough going. Graceffo finds most of the Chinese people he deals with annoying, and seems to resent their presence. This is somewhat odd since he chose to go there, and it is their country, after all. I would also have expected that his time in Taiwan would have prepared him for some of the attitudes he encountered on the mainland.
He chose to live in the school with the students, but then proceeded to detail the experience as an imposition. Of course two alternatives existed: leave, or at least move to some alternative housing. Traveling there without adequate cash reserves seems to have occasioned most of his misery and insecurity, but it was not as if he didn't have the resources. This failure to plan colors much of his perspective for the rest of the book. Some travel writers do a much better job of adapting to circumstances, so much of this reads like an extended experience of culture shock.
Not to dispute the author's experiences. I am sure they all happened, but I am not sure the students and many of the people he dealt with deserved some of the criticism they came under here.
If you are interested in kungfu, you won't find much here, aside from the author teaching his own brand of Brooklyn 'kungfu'. He was apparently not much impressed with techniques he saw there, and frequently made the observation that the kungfu practiced there wouldn't stand up in a street fight.
Other reviewers have stated that this would have been better suited to appear as a magazine article, and I would agree with that. Even as an article, the gist of this work would probably turn off most readers, except for convicted Sinophobes.
One would do better, I think, to read Matthew Polley's "American Shaolin", which does not gloss over the discomforts of life in China or shaolin training, but shows that Polley genuinely seems to have made an effort to bridge the cultural gap, rather than retreating into a fortress mentality.
I suppose that goes to say that both books are more about culture shock and how one deals with it, as opposed to being about the martial arts.
The other aspect of this book that is somewhat disagreeable is that the author often seems to be touting himself as superior to the Chinese, based upon his income, education, or worldliness. But I often felt as if the author was injecting that persona also to show his readers what a great guy he is. This self-promotion seemed very out-of-place to me, but maybe not to most readers.
Still, parts of this book are very amusing and interesting, so it certainly rates a look.

Graceffo is one of the funniest adventure/travel writers I have read. If Kurt Vonnegut traveled the world he would give us side-splitting anecdotes like Antonio has. The Monk from Brooklyn was a difficult book to put down, I was constantly curious how Graceffo would cope with being to only foreigner at "SHAOLIN". I also wondered how long until his American patience would give out and when I would turn the page to read about Antonio going "Bruce Lee" on one of his training brothers or Segu
(I would have used her dinner bowl for a toilet).

Maybe Graceffo is irreverent, but if you are curious how well Americans get on in Asia, this is precisely the read for you. Antonio Graceffo gives us a good look at how we as Americans travel--all out, looking to do the undoable, and we won't take any sh-t.

Anyone notice that Papermate "Bookwriter", Kung-fu Kwang "Rodney Kwang", Haley "Haley" (USA) and FLW "Housebuilder" (Calif)sound like one and the same person?
Anyways, the book is great. Having been to the same parts of Asia, I believe that Graceffo paints an accurate picture of culture and people. Excellent book.

From a personal perspective i found this book informative, humourous, energetic, and at times addictive.

A great story of one mans experiences of living at the shaolin temple, and left me curios to know where he went after arriving in Hong Kong.

Will be looking out for Antonios next book

I'm not a boxer or Kung Fu expert, but I do enjoy travel stories, so I read this book hoping to get a little insight into what the Shaolin temple was really like. Antonio doesn't hold back with what he writes about. It is the brutal honest truth of one man's experience in a place not too many foreigners have visited. Perhaps if more people wrote about Asia in this manner, people wouldn't have a preconceived view of what the place was really like.

An interesting, informative and very funny book. You don't have to be a monk or kung fu fighter to get something out of this.

The current generation of new venturers from Western nations heading into Asia rely on guides such as Lonely Planet, Let's Go and other travel series books that provide the ultimate guide into surviving in a new environment. However, in spite of the encyclopaedic information on virtually every aspect that is seemingly required to look inwards from an honest perspective, there is a distinct lack of availability of publications that tell it like it is to an audience whose uttered words seem to repeat themselves over and over again "What if...?" With the emergence of The Monk From Brooklyn, Antonio Graceffo provides something that is highly sought after; a genuine account of a person, who could be your neighbour, seeking to relay what goes on in other parts of the world networks don't dare cover, and re-telling his version of how the world works in a way that will get you hooked and keep you in suspense, because, let's face it, we have all asked the same questions at some point in time.
Graceffo's extensive experience in the martial arts arena, and re-counting what he encounters in his times, sees him excel in a way that almost makes you want to grab the nearest punching bag or anything resembling a bag and go to work on your shinkicks. Having read many of his accounts while trekking through Asia, whether it be Taiwan, Cambodia, Thailand or elsewhere, it is easy to forget that he is one of the lucky few people to be at the original Shaolin Temple. This is a culmination of gruelling research, extreme patience and persistence, and the street knowledge only a New Yorker can possess that gets Antonio where he wants to go, in a manner that makes it worthwhile to follow. What we see between these covers makes up for the stereotypes that we have been fed by the likes of Pat Morita and Ralph Maccio over the years, about what martial arts are all about, and neither of those two individuals dared set foot where Antonio Graceffo treaded.

Graceffo's writings embody the type of wit, truth, and frankness that passes through our minds when we embark on those "once in a lifetime" journeys. There's an unabashed honesty in the writing that makes it mandatory prepatory reading material from a real perspective. The difference is, Graceffo goes the extra step, and puts these entries into a forum in a brash style that is more at home in conversation over a fine pasta dish, red wine and some relaxing Frank Sinatra music with only the closest friends imaginable. That is, because, it takes a lot of balls to freely admit that there are times when you are take out of your natural environment, when things aren't going to plan, that you just want to scream "Why doesn't the world see things my way, just for once?", instead of pretending to play the all-around nice guy that is making a difference in the world. Anyone who dares to be an apologist in not wanting to read this type of material, note the following. One big-headed Bono prototype sporting a pretentious trademark on this planet for the "good" of all mankind and lambasting anyone who does not dare to see things his way is enough already, thank you.

Flick off the switch of your television remote countrol, and open your mind and heart to a real style of travel writing and experience re-telling that common people can relate to. The education classes start here....it's time to sign up.

What could be more funny? An Italian from Brooklyn schooled in the arts of boxing and finance, enrolling in the Shaolin Temple in China to study Kung Fu and live a life of ascetic misery! Any illusions anyone may have about the integrity, the spirituality, or the sanctity of the Buddhist Monks at Shaolin will be slowly, methodically and hilariously stripped away as you read this incredible journal. Although you come away thinking -- come on, things in China can't be that bad! -- at the same time, you cannot help but know in your heart that Graceffo's story is true. I learned a great deal about the way Kung Fu is taught, the way the Chinese mentality thinks, and the the terrible double-think and fear that goes hand-in-hand in life under a totalitarian government. I also admired the amazing dedication of the young fighters, not to mention Gracefoo himself, but at the same time, the horrible silence and harsh realities of a system based on abuse and ignorance. Even though the book is often funny, it cannot help but be grim, and I identified with Graceffo as he earned his little victories, and suffered his agonizing defeats, as, like a fish out of water, he struggles to adapt to a culture that to our western minds is utterly alien. This book, direct and honest, saying things that are tough to accept, will remind you how fortunate you are to live in a land where people read, eat, sleep in private, and have a chance to be free. I strongly recommend this book, particularly in these present times, since it so clearly depicts the contrast between free and oppressive societies. Naturally, if you like Kung Fu, it also a must-read, but I think it will appeal to anyone with an interest in exploring the world.

Antonio Graceffo's account is entertaining, educational, and emotional. It is the most honest account of the reality of living in China I have encountered. I met Antonio at Shaolin, I had no idea of the ordeals he was going through while training. Anyone who is considering to go live in China, especially in a rural area, should read this book. Nothing can fully prepare you for the experience of actually living nearby the Shaolin Temple, but Antonio's book is as close as it gets.