Oracle Bones: A Journey Through Time in China
"Hessler has stepped off the treadmill of events-driven journalism to produce one of the most profoundly original books about China since, well, since his first book, River Town. . . . . Everywhere, the book is shot through with sensitivity, insight, and rollicking good humor too." --The Economist
"Oracle Bones will firmly establish Mr. Hessler as one of the Western world's most thoughtful writers on modern China. . . . A page-turner with great insight into Chinese society. . . . A richly humanistic portrayal." --Wall Street Journal
The acclaimed author of River Town offers us a rare portrait, both intimate and epic, of twenty-first century China.
A century ago, outsiders saw China as a place where nothing ever changes. Today the country has become one of the most dynamic regions on earth. In Oracle Bones, Peter Hessler explores the human side of China's transformation, viewing modern-day China and its growing links to the Western world through the lives of a handful of ordinary people. In a narrative that gracefully moves between the ancient and the present, the East and the West, Hessler captures the soul of a country that is undergoing a momentous change before our eyes.
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Peter Hessler is a staff writer at The New Yorker, where he served as the Beijing correspondent from 2000 to 2007, and is also a contributing writer for National Geographic. He is the author of River Town, which won the Kiriyama Prize; Oracle Bones, which was a finalist for the National Book Award; and, most recently, Country Driving. He won the 2008 National Magazine Award for excellence in reporting, and he was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2011. He lives in Cairo.
"Everyone in the Western world should read this book."--Publishers Weekly, (starred review)
"Engaging. . . . Acutely observed, moving, frequently funny and a perspicacious X-ray of China's zeitgeist."--South China Morning Post
"Insightful. . . . Hessler is a wry and witty writer who manages to bring humor even to tense situations."--Christian Science Monitor
"A brilliant observer with a novelist's ear for character and dialogue, Hessler is both fascinating and funny."--Entertainment Weekly
"Wonderful. . . . Intimate. . . . The book reads like a really good novel."--Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Hessler has written a fascinating and frequently moving account of life in modern China."--Booklist
"A remarkable travelogue documenting aspects of a country still little understood."--Kirkus (starred review)
