This fascinating autobiography offers not a success story; nor a paean to the resilience of the human spirit; nor a search for identity constrained by class, race, and gender or the other usual suspects; nor a tearjerker that engenders in the Western reader a sense of superiority or schadenfreude. Rather, it is a tale of the joys and hardships of simple living, of an enduring curiosity about the world, of teachers and friends, of marriage and divorce, of Chinese and American societies, of tofu and jalapeños, of character flaws and personality quirks, of humbug and folly.
Xiuwu R. Liu
Dr Xiuwu R. Liu studied English at Hunan University in Changsha, contemporary American society at the Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, American studies at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, and the philosophy and methodology of cross-cultural inquiry as well as modern China at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Since 1994 he has been an assistant professor of interdisciplinary studies at Miami University in Oxford, USA. Liu is a member of the American Philosophical Association. His previous books include Western Perspectives on Chinese Higher Education (Fairleigh Dickinson, 1996), Jumping into the Sea (Rowman & Littlefield, 2001), Wandering from China to America (1st ed., Zip, 2006), Deflating Human Beings, corrected version, 4 vols. (2022) and Chinese Satire (2022).
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Delivery time
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Delivery time 2-3 working days.
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Number of Pages |
304
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Language |
English
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Type |
Paperback
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Publication date |
08.04.2024
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2. Edition
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Format |
210,0 mm x 178,0 mm
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ISBN
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978-3-8382-1071-1
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Weight
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400 g
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Why will Wandering from China to America prove of interest to readers who do not know Liu? Because he captures not just the nuances and influences of his own journey, but interacts with, absorbs, and incorporates flavors of two different cultures (plus other ethnic influences) into his life. This creates an inviting interplay which follows his experiences through a myriad of life challenges, from travel and cross-cultural encounters to marriage, divorce, and higher education. . .
Readers can also anticipate a healthy dose of philosophical reflection from Liu's life story. . . . it should be noted at this point that Liu's life story is alternately candid, ironic, playful, and satirical, reflecting his personality and life philosophy and mindset.
The result is a memoir that is firmly and satisfyingly rooted in the personal, but will prove of interest to Chinese-American readers, in particular, who will follow Liu's life events with interest and reflective thinking that's also perfect for book club recommendation.
Libraries will want to consider Wandering from China to America for its accessible form of individual reflection and bigger-picture thinking on cross-cultural assimilation and contrasts.
—D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
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