Reassuringly disillusioned
Jul. 1st, 2018 08:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
qatsiBook Review: Wish Lanterns - Young Lives in New China, by Alec Ash
I picked this up a while ago in the work book sale. A little like Born in the GDR, the author has interviewed six Chinese millennials to discover their life stories, aspirations and reality, in contemporary China. The author, who studied in China and remained there, describes Beijing "as if Hieronymous Bosch and Lenin had joined forces as urban planners". Though the people are drawn geographically from across China, there can't be a claim to be particularly representative; they all made it to university, but perhaps with one academic exception, none of them are high flyers either. One has difficulty with internet gaming addiction; another proceeds through a series of TV contests in an attempt to pursue a musical career. Politics is discussed infrequently - the attitudes to the Chinese system are mostly indifferent; they have knowledge of democracy, but any enthusiasm for it is tempered by reports of inequality and instability. The picture that emerges is one of struggle with basic housing, parental pressure for marriage, unfulfilled dreams and resultant mediocrity.
I picked this up a while ago in the work book sale. A little like Born in the GDR, the author has interviewed six Chinese millennials to discover their life stories, aspirations and reality, in contemporary China. The author, who studied in China and remained there, describes Beijing "as if Hieronymous Bosch and Lenin had joined forces as urban planners". Though the people are drawn geographically from across China, there can't be a claim to be particularly representative; they all made it to university, but perhaps with one academic exception, none of them are high flyers either. One has difficulty with internet gaming addiction; another proceeds through a series of TV contests in an attempt to pursue a musical career. Politics is discussed infrequently - the attitudes to the Chinese system are mostly indifferent; they have knowledge of democracy, but any enthusiasm for it is tempered by reports of inequality and instability. The picture that emerges is one of struggle with basic housing, parental pressure for marriage, unfulfilled dreams and resultant mediocrity.