Customer Reviews

Multicultural Manners: New Rules of Etiquette for a Changing Society

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

 

 

Norine Dresser's work is an invaluable guide to helping people navigate the dangerous shoals of intercultural intersections. From the varying significance of yellow flowers through the opposing attitudes toward salt to the values of folk remedies, Dresser gives excellent and respectful advice.

Organized by clear and useful categories, the book offers interesting anecdotes to illustrate the cultural clashes sparked by apparently small things like the color of the flowers in a thank-you gift. Where I have the experience to know, I find her information accurate. She is invariably respectful of all cultures, and offers explanations of cultural beliefs which may on the surface seem irrational to our Western perceptions.

The book is written in language and style which is available to readers as young as junior high school, but there is no condescension either to the reader or the described cultures.

This is fine and valuable book, helpful to international businesspeople, school teachers, travelers, and neighbors. I recommend it to anyone who comes in contact with people from other countries, either here or abroad.

"Multicultural Manners" was an interesting cruise through the often dauniting seas of custom and manners. Dresser provides succinct vignettes of real world cultural clashes that lend an air of reality to the many differences between peoples. Its easy to read format and small narrratives made for a quick read. I actually found myself in need of some of the information I had gleaned from the pages. The work, however, is disappointingly shallow. It fails to explore the underlying principles of cultural variations in favour of a brief glance at surface phenomena. Dresser's attitude toward non-western medicine was both uninformed and arrogantly dismissive. She would have done well to avoid the issue altogether rather than flaunt her raging ignorance before the world. All in all "Multicultural Manners" was a fun read, worth the time and investment.

For decades I thought it was because some prankster had been on just before me. All that wasted time while no one got on or off had begun to bother me. Now that I know the reason behind it, I smile. So glad to have this and other cultural differences explained. Thank you Norrine Dresser. This one's on my gift list. (Bonus (not in book): Did you know that if you ask someone who is deaf to have lunch and they give a big frown as they nod yes. that it means YES VERY MUCH! The deaf tendency to frown to emphasize has led to a lot of misunderstandings.

Coming from a college student with a high number of international friends, I found this book interesting and succint. The book helped to explain many of the reasons for some of my friend's behaviors because of cultural traditions. Overall, I give this book a nod of approval.

It seems the author did not have enough material to make a book with just the bits of cultural trivia she collected. Each section is padded with several 'real life situation' vignettes showing how a person can innocently and unknowingly (1) ruin a wedding, (2) lose customers, (3) incur the wrath of everyone in a friend's family, (4) be labeled a loose woman by strangers, (5)be subjected to cruel, obscenity-laced screaming at a fast food joint, and so on.

Certainly, it is best to make an effort to familiarize onself with other cultures and behave accordingly. Dresser gives the reader the impression that their demeanor, dress (within reason) and speech must be precisely and perfectly matched to that of the (culturally different) people with whom they interact. She makes the point over and over that an innocent mistake or 'faux pas' will leave you ridiculed, cast out, despised and held in poor regard. By doing so she promotes fear of learning about others and in turn encourages us NOT to bother doing so.

What the author fails to understand is that a person who is respectful and kind, and who makes an effort to learn from and enjoy the company of others is generally a welcome guest anywhere around the world. Cultures differ dramatically, of course, but I think this is understood by ANY reasonable person, no matter who they are or how they were raised. This book has presented the opposing view that 'foreigners' are closed minded, suspicious and judgemental. This is insulting, small minded and, quite frankly, it smacks of racism.


If someone were to follow her advice, getting off the cruise ship to see the local landscape and meet the people would be too daunting a task. Perhaps a person finally voyages to the country they dreamed of visiting since childhood. Being too afraid of offending the local population, they may decide to go directly from the plane, to the taxi, to the hotel where watching tv and ordering room service would be THE vacation. After all, wearing the wrong color beads by accident might upset the locals, right? Perhaps you yourself should reconsider introducing yourself to the new neighbors or a new co-worker, letting them know that they are most welcome? They may hate you forever for daring offering BLUEBERRY muffins, you never know! That is, like this book, complete and total nonsense.