Another review from a member of the Irvington High School Literary Club:
Title: Big In China
Author: Alan Paul
Age Group: 15 and above
Rating: 8 out of 10
Publication date: March 2011
Price: US $ 25.99
Publishing Company: HarperCollins, NY
Pages: 257
A Review on Big In China by Karthik Balakrishnan
This novel is a memoir written by Alan Paul. The novel dwells upon the idea of Alan Paul moving to China with his wife after she gets a job offer as China Bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal. He wants to get rid of his rather mundane suburban life in the United States, and wants to do something radical with his life in China. The story goes on to narrate his experience in Beijing, dealing with the ups and downs of taking care of three young children, and taking on a new persona. As the story progresses, Alan has to overcome some internal conflicts: he has to confront a new lifestyle since he has to stay home to care for the kids while his wife is out working, he has to adapt his lifestyle to a new environment–he has to find a new way to interact with the Chinese speaking community due to a language barrier, and accepting a new culture. The story goes on how Alan interacts with the Chinese people, and interacts with the expatriate community and achieves his dream of performing successfully with a band and the famous artist Woodie Alan with whom he recorded Beijing Blues, an award winning album that earned much acclaim from ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons.
This book is perfect for teenagers and adults as it shows the themes of love, determination and making the best out of a tough situation. Specifically high school students who are moving out for college or young adults who are starting a new life at a different country or town should read this book. The book has some inspirational ideas, which can be very helpful for people who want to know how to lead a life in China, or any other nation for that matter. The book also deals with the idea of “giving back to the community”, a very important aspect of life since one must strive to help his community as much as possible. Overall this is a very motivational book, and a very intriguing page-turner.
And it can be requested from this link .
I know a few people that might enjoy this book.
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