Country Driving

As a foreigner living in Beijing, Peter Hessler acquired a Chinese driver’s licence and began taking trips around the country. He used this opportunity to describe the diverse people he encountered along the way, dividing his experiences into three sections: journeys out west alongside the Great Wall, weekends at his second home in a village north of the capital, and the fortunes of a new factory and its workers in southern Zhejiang. His findings present a clear picture of the workings of bureaucracy in China and the ways in which people have learned to navigate the system for their own benefit. The most moving passages, however, are those in which he tells the stories of people with whom he has become close, and it’s through these that the overarching story of the industrial development of China takes on a human face. On occasion, the wealth of information within these pages is its downfall – the level of detail can be overly dense. But overall, it’s an enjoyable and engaging read. [Nine]