River Town : Two Years on the Yangtze

by Peter Hessler

Release Date: 24 December, 2001

Edition: Paperback

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A Rare Perspective

This is not an easy book to discuss because it does so many things so well. On the surface, it is the story of a young Peace Corps volunteer, named Peter Hessler, who goes to China to teach English literature to college students. The town where the college is located is known as Fuling. It is in the remote province of Sichuan along the Yangtze River. Hessler and his partner, Admam Meier, are the first foreigners to be seen in the town in 50 years. This alone would make Hessler's situation a little unusual, but the fact that both he and Meier immediately begin to question and indirectly challenge the roles they have been assigned, means that Hessler's experiences develop into real adventures.

Hessler's first year in Fuling is characterized by culture shock, disillusionment and a stubborn refusal to give up on his goal of learning to read and speak Chinese. He is shocked by the brainwashing of his students, by their intelligence and insightfulness when they are dealing with subjects that they don't have preprogrammed responses to. He struggles with the isolation imposed on him by the rest of the faculty, and begins to make forays into the hills just to get away from the regemented college routine, pollution and crowding.

In his second year, his Chinese improves and he begins to make friends in Fuling. He is still frustrated by attempts to control what he teaches, still struggles to understand his students' behavior, but he has begun to find his way in this strange new land. He makes friends with two of the professors, is befriended by a family in town and by a few of the people who have stopped to talk with him. On his breaks he travels to other parts of China. He hikes back into the hills for a second year and talks to the farmers.

But for all his understanding and insight, Hessler is never really happy in Fuling. His health is poor, he is disturbed by events at the school, by the fact that all his mail is opened before he receives it, by the political climate of the town and most especially by an alarming encounter with a group of angry townspeople. This last incident seems to crystallize many things for him, and he is ready to leave as the last few weeks of his term come to an end.

What makes this book special is Hessler's ability to capture the essence of Fuling - its sights, smells, people and overall character- and his willingness to share his inner process. We are there with him during drinking matches sponsored by the head of the English Department, and are introduced to each of his students. We watch as he struggles to understand their responses, and feel his frustation as he struggles with Chinese. Likewise we can see and smell the food at his favorite noodles shop, applaude his victory in a local cross country race and know his feelngs of anger and helplessness when he learns that one of his students has died.

If you have ever wondered what is is like to live in a foreign country, to try to cope with a culture that is radically different from your own; if you have wondered about China and its people, then this is a wonderful place to start your exploration. When you put down River Town you will feel that you have been there too.

River Town - A Magnificent Book

On October, I had a one month trip to China that included Sichuan province. The beautiful scenery, the dusty smell, the people and their strange reaction to foreigners - everything came back to me while I was reading Hessler's book. I read it for two days without putting it down. Reading with enlarging interest the stories and thoughts that Hessler had during his stay in Fuling, laughing so much at events that he had in the college were he was teaching and especially understanding (a bit) more about the unique Chinese character. But above all I was admiring and envying Hessler for the great adventure that he had and wrote of, with such a great talent. I recommend this book to every one that was in China and wants to remember and to every body that wants to go to China and like to know more before his journey.