A Tale of Two Melons: Emperor And Subject in Ming China Review

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A Tale of Two Melons: Emperor And Subject in Ming China ReviewThis terrific short volume focuses on a trivial incident recorded in Chinese imperial records--the delivery of an auspicious melon plant to the founder of the Ming dynasty. Sarah Schneewind scrutinizes the various tellings and retellings of this story and uses it to shed light on the politics and ideologies of the era. The tale of the two melons proves to be a an excellent vehicle for examining conflicts between the the new emperor and his mandarin advisors, and the relationship between imperial center and the provinces. In the course of her examination, Schneewind explicates classical ideas about the mandate of heaven and the Confucian social order, making it an excellent entry for a novice into pre-modern Chinese history. The book unfolds artfully; each chapter provides a new lens for understanding the tale. Schneewind transforms a footnote into a thoughtful historical reflection.A Tale of Two Melons: Emperor And Subject in Ming China Overview

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A Time for Tea: Travels Through China and India in Search of Tea Review

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A Time for Tea: Travels Through China and India in Search of Tea ReviewI read this book when it first came out, and I really loved it. I still refer to the facts I learned within; just last week I was explaining Lapsang Souchong to an Irishman. I was left feeling that I knew Mr. Goodwin, and contemplated finding him and making him my husband, primarily so we could travel together.A Time for Tea: Travels Through China and India in Search of Tea Overview

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Empress of China: Wu Ze Tian Review

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Empress of China: Wu Ze Tian ReviewA children's book in English (bilingual, actually) on a the only Chinese female emperor in history. This book definitely breaks stereotypes of passive Asian females. Great book for young students, especially with the lavish pictures. But I would also love to see an adult version of this book.Empress of China: Wu Ze Tian Overview

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The Painter from Shanghai: A Novel Review

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The Painter from Shanghai: A Novel ReviewJennifer Cody Epstein steps into the pantheon of fine contemporary writers with her first book THE PAINTER FROM SHANGHAI, a work of 'historical fiction' so polished in research, so rich in detail not only of the turbulent period in China during the first half of the 20th century, but also in the mysterious social customs of that country, and a source of insight into the changes in the manner in which the visual world was captured by artists as East and West met and married in the art capital of the world - Paris. Yet overriding all of this fascinating information is Epstein's gift for delivering a story of passion and love with a poetic prose style that comes together in this novel in a manner not unlike creating the painting technique that this novel's heroine describes her world. It is a grand feat and a work worth repeated readings.
Westerners may not be familiar with the name Pan Yuliang, one of the more important Chinese artists who influenced the Post-Impressionist art movement, but in Epstein's eloquent novel we grow to know this gifted artist from her birth as Xiuqing in 1895, and her early years as an orphan protected by her opium-addicted uncle who sold her into a brothel at age fourteen. Enough space is allotted in this tale to allow us to learn the traditions of the 'flower houses' and the brutalities and consequences of life as a prostitute, but Epstein is careful to balance the sad with the radiant in the relationship between the newly renamed Yuliang and her beautiful 'teacher' Jinling with whom she has her first love affair, and Yuliang's subsequent rescue from the brothel through the kindness and concern showered upon her by a handsome gentleman Pan Zanhua - the man with whom she not only enters into the relationship of being his concubine, but also benefits from his support of her position as a woman and as an artist.
The story spans Pan Yuliang's life from these early beginnings to her death in 1977, a life that brought her exposure to the West, with awards from the schools of art in China, Italy and France resulting in renown as a gifted artist who just happened to be a woman with a past, the many private and public pains she endured as her native country moved from the reign of the Emperors through the rise and fall of Chiang Kai-shek, the invasion by the Japanese, and the new order of Communism, and the influence of the world perception of art that included defeat of some of the finest artists as the battle of the sexes altered the perception of painting the nude figure as an acceptable subject matter in a climate of global turmoil.
Epstein manages to write as intricately about history and Chinese tradition as well as luminously about the act of creativity. Few writers can match the descriptive language of the emergence of the visual: 'But true art must contain an emotional range that speaks to the viewer. Speaks...not by lulling them into a false sense of complacency, but by probing. Challenging. Even hurting, if need be. Anything to force us beyond life's easier thoughts.' 'Has it ever occurred to you that our wounds are what drive us to create?...What if those who've lost something compensate for it in their work? In that case the damage helps them. It's what compels them to create...And it might explain why the best artists tend to be the poorest.'
THE PAINTER FROM SHANGHAI begs to become a film. But until that happens, this elegant and passionate book is one to treasure repeatedly. It is a work of art. Grady Harp, July 08The Painter from Shanghai: A Novel Overview

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Women in Early Imperial China (Asia/Pacific/Perspectives) Review

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Women in Early Imperial China (Asia/Pacific/Perspectives) ReviewI picked up _Women in Imperial China_, expecting a relatively straight forward history and analysis of the role and place of women during the QIn (221 - 206 BCE) and Han (202 BCE - 220 CE) dynasties. What I got was much more complex, nuanced and detailed than I could have possibly imagined. In his introduction, Hinsch explains that even under the Han China was incredibly varied by region: "every hundred li there were different habits; every thousand li there were different customs; Households had different governments; people wore distinguishing clothes." (Mind you, this is a China much smaller than that of the 21st century.) Added to this are "varied and often contradictory" attitudes towards women even in the same region. In spite of these tremendous obstacles, a comprehensible historical narrative has been written that gives a richly detailed and incredibly nuanced perspective of the role of women during this 400 year (221 BCE - 220 CE) time span.
To help non-Asian specialists such as myself make sense of the variety of roles and perspectives of women, the book is organized topically, with chapters on Kinship, Wealth and Work (detailing social class differences), Law, Government, Education, and Ritual. Regardless of topic, Hinsch finds a number of common threads common to women: how Chinese understanding of gender shapes societal roles from the economic interdependence of genders (in work, regardless of social class and marriage) and the social status of women (within households and, by extension, the empire), to the importance of women's participation in the spiritual life of ancient China. Much to my suprise, the place and role of women was much more vibrant, active and highly regarded than I had imagined.
For those interested in womens' studies, ancient Chinese history or the Han dynasty in particular, I strongly recommend this book. For the armchair historian, Hinsch does not presuppose knowledge of Chinese culture and history and goes to great lengths to explain and "break down" many of the terms and concepts alien to a western audience. It is a fascinating read.Women in Early Imperial China (Asia/Pacific/Perspectives) Overview

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Ruby's Wish Review

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Ruby's Wish ReviewSerendipity brought this book into our home and I'm so grateful. It is a beautiful book in every way, from its vibrant illustrations to its messages of respect -- for oneself, for one's elders, for one's culture and for the never-ending gift of learning. The story of Ruby, a Chinese girl whose intelligence, integrity and confidence inspired her family patriarch to break with tradition, speaks to all. We are African-American parents of a son. We read this book to him often and we know that, through hearing Ruby's story, our son's perspective on life and the world in which he lives has been enormously enriched.Ruby's Wish Overview

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Peking Story: The Last Days of Old China Review

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Peking Story: The Last Days of Old China ReviewBeautifully, lyrically rendered in the author's inimitable voice, full of haunting descriptions of a world that is gone forever yet never to be forgotten. David Kidd was truly one of a kind, unique in every way.Peking Story: The Last Days of Old China Overview

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Red Sorghum: A Novel of China Review

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Red Sorghum: A Novel of China ReviewThe Japanese Invasion of China in 1937 is a dark period in history. The Japanese committed many horrible crimes and atrocities on the Chinese population. Red Sorghum in very graphic graphic detail describes some of these atrocities and their impact on the Chinese civilian population.
But the book is much more than that. WWII does play a major role in the book, but the book is also a look into Chinese culture, family, and is such a moving window on China during this time period.
This is not an easy read. The translation is very good, but the book is very detailed and again at times very graphic. I do not like to bash books like the Good Earth or The Single Pebble as many people do. I agree that neither book was written by a Chinese person and I understand some of the criticism that orginates from that fact. I enjoyed both books and think they are valuable. HOwever, if you are from the school that demands a Chinese author and a Chinese voice to Chinese literature you must read Mo Yan. He is a gifted writer and he brings to life some very difficult times in Chinese History.
This is a very powerful book and parts of it will stay with you long after you have read the book. Again, this is not an easy book to read but well worth the effort.Red Sorghum: A Novel of China Overview

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The Golden Ghetto: The American Commercial Community at Canton and the Shaping of American China Policy, 1784-1844 Review

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The Golden Ghetto: The American Commercial Community at Canton and the Shaping of American China Policy, 1784-1844 ReviewMany readers--not just history buffs--will find The Golden Ghetto: The American Commercial Community at Canton and the Shaping of American China Policy, 1784-1844 fascinating and enlightening. Jacques M. Downs' comprehensive study of American merchants involved in the China trade during the first sixty years of U.S.-China relations, published in 1997 after a lifetime of exhaustive research, is now the definitive work on this topic. The Golden Ghetto is divided into three sections: (1)an account of the American community at Canton [or Guangzhou] under the restrictive Canton System established by Chinese officialdom to buffer the Central Kingdom from the potential harm of foreign activity and influence; (2) a detailed study of American firms and some 200 merchants involved in the China trade over six decades; and (3) an exploration of the path to the first Sino-American treaty--the 1844 Treaty of Wanghsia [Wangxia] negotiated by lawyer, politician, and diplomat Caleb Cushing after the Opium War (1839-42). Focusing on individual actions and attitudes--which Downs has culled from a wealth of sources including letters, diaries, and company histories--his presentation takes on a personal tone, occasionally reading more like a novel than a work of history. At the heart of his account is American trade in tea and silk, and increasingly in opium in the early 19th century. Downs does not mince words in condemning opium traders regardless of their nationality and the deleterious effects of the opium enterprise, but at the same time he explains how opium trade profits came to form the financial bedrock of the foreign community at Canton. He argues persuasively that American merchants with direct personal experience in China, and to a lesser extent missionaries, had a significant influence on official U.S. China policy. Readers familiar with U.S.-China relations in the 20th and early 21st centuries, and in particular with the proliferation of American business interests in China in the past two decades and with the political implications thereof, will find that Downs' study resonates with contemporary as well as historical relevance.The Golden Ghetto: The American Commercial Community at Canton and the Shaping of American China Policy, 1784-1844 Overview

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Dragon of Heaven: The Memoirs of the Last Empress of China Review

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Dragon of Heaven: The Memoirs of the Last Empress of China ReviewThis is a wide-eyed irreverant look (literally!!) at one of the most enigmatic figures in Chinese 'herstory', and while fictionalized, whets your appetite for a longer, more involved recounting of Cixi's life (for example, like that found in Pearl S. Buck's "Imperial Woman")
The playfulness of the incredibly detailed paintings draws you in and the story does as well. It's sort of like a kid's picture book for adults of a world that is almost within living memory, yet seems centuries removed even from the experience of the Chinese!Dragon of Heaven: The Memoirs of the Last Empress of China Overview

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Shanghai: China's Gateway to Modernity Review

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Shanghai: China's Gateway to Modernity ReviewIn "Shanghai: China's Gateway To Modernity", author and China scholar Marie-Claire Bergere provides a detailed history of this significant Chinese port city from its first access to Western trade in 1842 down to the present day. From its beginnings as a treaty port, through its soaring prosperity following the 1911 Revolution, through the decimation of the Japanese invasion in 1937, to its post-war travails under Communism, the focus is on the relationship between the Chinese and the Westerners, upon a culture that is the product of Chinese culture as influenced by western ideas as embodies in a vibrant, complex, reform minded urban city perched on the edge of mainland China. Informed and informative, "Shanghai: China's Gateway To Modernity" is a model of impeccable scholarship. Enhanced with the inclusion of extensive Notes, a substantial Bibliography, and a comprehensive Index, "Shanghai: China's Gateway To Modernity" is an invaluable and strongly recommended addition to academic library International Studies reference collections in general, and Chinese History supplemental reading lists in particular.Shanghai: China's Gateway to Modernity Overview

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Lady of Ch'iao Kuo: Warrior of the South, Southern China A.D. 531 (The Royal Diaries) Review

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Lady of Ch'iao Kuo: Warrior of the South, Southern China A.D. 531 (The Royal Diaries) ReviewWhen I first got this book I expected bamboo, chopsticks, honorable monks and all that other stereotype Chinese stuff. But I saw that life in sixth century China was not that way. The Chinese were beyond bamboo but the Hsien people to the south weren't. The Hsien who lived in Southern China at the time lived a peaceful life in the forests until the jealous Dog Heads (who I think were from India or Vietnam) came and the Chinese help them. The Hsien send their Princess Red Bird to become a liasion and makes a clever plan to defeat the Dog Head Elephants. This Clever Book-loving Princess records in Five Scrolls her life living with her Father the king and then later her brother King Little Tiger who was a royal pain like this other Chinese rich colonist girl who ends up living with Red Bird. But I think lot's of kids who love books can relate to Princess Red Bird. I hope you like it as much as I have.Lady of Ch'iao Kuo: Warrior of the South, Southern China A.D. 531 (The Royal Diaries) Overview

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I Have Seen the World Begin: Travels through China, Cambodia, and Vietnam Review

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I Have Seen the World Begin: Travels through China, Cambodia, and Vietnam Review"The lone traveller is the most dependent of all, because he has need of everybody and no one has need of him."
So notes Carsten Jensen in I HAVE SEEN THE WORLD BEGIN, his narrative account of his journey of discovery through China, Cambodia and Vietnam during the early 90s.
Jensen begins his travelogue in Beijing, but quickly moves on to Shanghai, from which he travels by boat up the Yangtse River, then by rail and bus, into southeastern China near the border of Myanmar (Burma). A constant thread is the state of the country and its inhabitants, individually and collectively, post-Tiananmen Square.
Then it's on to Cambodia, a country yet to recover from the cruel self-immolation imposed by Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge minions. As Jensen writes about this "biblical Judgement Day":
"... when the gates of Paradise were opened, it was only to reveal yet another graveyard. ... It was the humbled, the abased and the desperate who were raised on high, not to put an end to despair, but to extend it to everyone."
And lastly, Vietnam, with which the author is obviously entranced, and the reader with him. Much of Carsten's enthrallment is with the country's women - Tam, Kim and Scent of Spring in particular. It's with the first that he has a physical relationship. And it's Tam who states in the most eloquent manner I've ever encountered the worst thing about not being able to conceive a child:
"You can't pass on the eyes of the one you love to posterity. Like the stars they will be put out, instead of living on in a new face."
Whether Jensen is describing China's Tiger Leap Gorge, Shanghai's New Year fireworks celebration, Cambodia's Angkor Wat, Phnom Penh's horrific Security Prison 21, Vietnam's Hanoi ("like a wood with streets"), the royal tombs at Hue, or Dien Bien Phu, the graveyard of French colonialism in Southeast Asia, his magnificent prose transports you there.
I was tempted to award I HAVE SEEN THE WORLD BEGIN five stars, but am prevented from doing so by what I consider to be a significant omission. There's no photo section. What were the publisher and the author thinking?
Having finished the book, I now want to visit Vietnam, a country I really had no desire to visit before. If a travel essay can accomplish this for any destination, it's very good indeed.I Have Seen the World Begin: Travels through China, Cambodia, and Vietnam Overview

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Pearl Buck in China: Journey to The Good Earth Review

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Pearl Buck in China: Journey to The Good Earth ReviewHow many average American readers know that Pearl Buck won a Pulitzer Prize, or that she was the first American woman awarded a Nobel Prize for literature? How many realize she was read by Gandhi, Matisse, and Eleanor Roosevelt? In fact, how many even know of her at all? "The Good Earth" remains one of my all-time favorite novels, and Olan stands out as one of my favorite female characters in fiction. My own travels in China only enhanced my enjoyment of the book, and my experience as a child raised in multiple cultures gives me empathy for Ms. Buck's own upbringing as an American-born child raised in China as the daughter of Presbyterian missionaries. Imagine my excitement to see a modern biography of this fascinating woman.
"Pearl Buck in China" gives a detailed and well-researched view into her upbringing, her struggles, and her influence as a novelist. Despite the slow first two chapters, much of which are devoted to her father's missionary zeal at the expense of his family, as well as his misogyny in the name of God, the book dives deeply into the psyche of young Pearl. By the age of ten, she had decided to be a novelist, finding escape in fiction from her parents' unrest, and enjoying connection with the Western world--particularly through Dickens' novels--which was still foreign to her. As we discover, she knew the street vernacular of the average Chinese, and grew to love them as her own. This familiarity caused a strain on her religious beliefs when fellow Westerners treated the Chinese with condescension. Later, she found a husband with a more practical approach to his missionary work, teaching the locals agricultural skills.
Although I appreciated the history of Pearl's stalwart mother and stubborn father, I grew more attentive as the book moved into her years as a young women, as a writer, as a wife and, later, a mother. She fought for the rights of women, of handicapped children, and of all races and cultures. She humanized the Chinese in America's eyes, even at the risk of losing her place with the missionaries she had grown up among. She was not perfect. She had physical, creative, and spiritual struggles. She left her husband after years of frustration. The book never glamorizes her life, and yet it causes me to appreciate her more than ever.
Pearl tells us: "Fiction is a painting, biography is photography. Fiction is creation, biography is arrangement." This book does provide snapshots of her life, arranging those scenes into some sort of sense. It's through her fiction, though, that we find paintings of her, both bright and bleak, creations of character and setting and moral fortitude that allow her to live beyond her earthly years. I hope "Pearl Buck in China" helps bring her to life for new readers, young and old.Pearl Buck in China: Journey to The Good Earth Overview

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The Mark of the Golden Dragon: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, Jewel of the East, Vexation of the West, and Pearl of the South China Sea (Bloody Jack Adventures) Review

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The Mark of the Golden Dragon: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, Jewel of the East, Vexation of the West, and Pearl of the South China Sea (Bloody Jack Adventures) ReviewJacky Faber's piratical adventures are fast paced and engaging in this ninth book of the continuing series. Jacky continues to do her best for herself, her love(s) and her friends, but the consequences of her actions now catch up with her and as she says, she can be very hard on her friends. Meyer creates characters with depth and purpose, and the historical detail and characters he weaves into the narrative will make the people who recognize it smile, but does not disrupt the flow of the novel for those who don't. I highly suggest this series to young women especially. Despite a certain amount of moral ambiguity in her stories, Jacky Faber may not be a role model exactly, but she is an intelligent and strong young female with depth and courage. I have read all of the Bloody Jack Adventures and especially look forward to the next installment, as this one ended in a bit of a cliff-hanger (as usual).The Mark of the Golden Dragon: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, Jewel of the East, Vexation of the West, and Pearl of the South China Sea (Bloody Jack Adventures) Overview

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Where Underpants Come From: From Cotton Fields to Checkout Counters --Travels Through the New China and Into the New Global Economy Review

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Where Underpants Come From: From Cotton Fields to Checkout Counters --Travels Through the New China and Into the New Global Economy ReviewWow, what a book! Joe is an excellent author in three ways:
1) He is really very good with using imagery to punctuate his humor while driving a point home
2) His no-bull style is refreshing. The book does not set out to be a primer for international commerce or a guide to Chinese history - he makes that clear. It's better. His writing is the same consistency of the thoughts we'd all have if we were standing in the cotton fields of Urumqi or in a dive Irish pub in Shanghai, but he does a much better job of articulating them. I laughed several times out loud and said to myself, "How'd he get into my head?!"
3) Inspiring insights. One of the last chapters, "Faces", really struck a chord. Joe rehashes his experiences in China and the journey for greater understanding in a way that is so much more than mere regurgitation.
The book is great and should be read by anyone. But if you've been to China or are planning to go anytime soon, "Where Underpants Come From" comes more than just recommended - it's an absolute must.Where Underpants Come From: From Cotton Fields to Checkout Counters --Travels Through the New China and Into the New Global Economy Overview

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Elephants and Golden Thrones: Inside China's Forbidden City Review

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Elephants and Golden Thrones: Inside China's Forbidden City ReviewTrish Marx has chosen to tell the story of China's Forbidden City through its inhabitants. She takes us back in time to wake up in the palace with the Empress Dowager Gixi in the late 19th century. We see her bed and bedcovers. We watch her select her embroidered gown, and don her saphire dragonfly pin. We experience the exotic elegance of the enormous palace city from the 14th century to the present, always with an eye to the personal: the squadrons of servants laboring to maintain the emperor and his family, the thousands of candles and lanterns lighting the enormous rooms, the celebrations and rituals that dazzled visitors. Marx brings history to life...the next best thing to a visit to the Forbidden City itself!Elephants and Golden Thrones: Inside China's Forbidden City Overview

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Shanghai Diary: A Young Girl's Journey from Hitler's Hate to War-Torn China Review

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Shanghai Diary: A Young Girl's Journey from Hitler's Hate to War-Torn China ReviewWhen I started Shanghai Diary, I found that I simply couldn't put it down. I hadn't known the story of the Shanghai Jews in the Hongkew ghetto, and I was riveted by the well-written story of Ursula Bacon's 8 years as a young girl in Shanghai, where it was nothing to see a dead baby girl thrown on a heap of trash and where day-to-day existence was harsh and often degrading. Despite all of this, Ursula's family managed to maintain their dignity and prevail. To me it was a story of great courage. When she left Shanghai at the end of the war, far from being devastated by the experience, Ursula took away the lesson that she had seen first hand what hate can do, and she would never hate anyone as long as she lived. The book was so moving that I had to sit quietly and reflect for quite some time after I read the final page.Shanghai Diary: A Young Girl's Journey from Hitler's Hate to War-Torn China Overview

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Daughter of Heaven: The True Story of The Only Woman to Become Emperor of China Review

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Daughter of Heaven: The True Story of The Only Woman to Become Emperor of China ReviewAlthough I have never been what you could call a raging feminist, I was offended by the sexism apparent in this novel. In some places, Wu Chao appeared to commit sins in the eyes of the author simply due to her gender, which is what the official Chinese history vilifies her for; after all, she dared to do things no woman had done before. Once, after describing the huge bureaucracy in the Forbidden City, the author then stated that it "would all fall into the hands of just one woman, Wu Chao." As opposed to the hands of just one man, her husband? Furthermore, is any bureaucracy ever really under the control of just one person?
I was also disappointed in that the author in several places, in describing an event, would describe likely alternative reasons or scenarios, and then invariably conclude by laying the most evil and sensational reason at Wu Chao's door. In one place, where he is describing the system of new characters she invents, he says that "chillingly, the character for 'moon' was a swastika." Why was this chilling? This was 660 A.D.! A swastika was used for centuries before the Nazis vilified it forever as the symbol of the Holocaust. It was perfectly innocent in Wu Chao's time. The author does not seem to be able to resist throwing in these sensationalistic touches.
However, when he stays away from Wu Chao's personal character (and a surprising amount of the time he does and it's not actually irritating), his scholarship on ancient China is remarkable. I have never encountered anywhere such detailed information on how the Forbidden City was laid out, how concubines were prepared for the Emperor, and how the Emperor interacted with them. For a scholar of ancient China, this is a worthy read in that right. But I have read other books on Wu Chao, or "Heavenlight", as her given name translates, and I intend to read more. I don't think this book tells the whole story, despite its title. Try "Empress", by Sa Shan.
At the time I wrote this review, I had not read the other books I mentioned. "Empress" by Sa Shan is just as biased as this book, just in the other way. Read "Wu: The Woman Who Schemed, Seduced, and Murdered Her Way to Become a Living God" by Jonathan Clements for a truly balanced view. It is the best of the bunch.Daughter of Heaven: The True Story of The Only Woman to Become Emperor of China Overview

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Korea Strait: A Novel (Dan Lenson Novels) Review

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Korea Strait: A Novel (Dan Lenson Novels) Review
KOREA STRAIT is the tenth in a series that follows the naval career of Dan Lenson. He began his missions in THE MED (first published twenty years ago) as a young lieutenant. These days thirty-nine-year-old Commander Lenson wears a Congressional Medal of Honor decoration but his high-profile history is a hot potato for his commanding officer. When Dan refuses to retire early, he's assigned to what should be a routine and inglorious shipboard tour in the Orient. He's to command a TAG (Tactical Analysis Group) gathering information during joint war game exercises with South Korea, Japan and Australia in the Korea Strait. Of course, Dan's timing is impeccable and while he's afloat on the South Korean flagship, Chung Nam, the games tracking friendly targets are interrupted by a genuine attack by a squad of subs. The TAG commander is a "rider" with no command authority on the Chung Nam. But he and his team, determined to stand by an ally, disobey orders to evacuate (crossdeck) along with the rest of the American presence. Faced with typhoon seas and an unidentified enemy; Lenson aids Commodore Jung and the ship's company in such diverse ways as, among other things, calculating threat probabilities on his laptop and working with a belowdeck repair and rescue detail. The battle rages... and then the true destructive power of the enemy's weapons is discovered. Now, Dan must convince his superiors to approve a daring proposal in hopes of preventing mutual destruction in the strait!
This thriller is highly engrossing in many respects besides the tautly-told main plot of battle against foe and sea. For instance, it convincingly portrays the tensions and strains that an American naval officer could experience aboard a foreign nation's ship. A few of the South Korean officers speak passable English, and they teach Dan a few phrases of Korean, but the language barrier isolates Dan and seriously impairs the allies' abilities to work together. Chung Nam's captain despises Lenson's sometimes ugly-Americanness, and the commodore's aloof leadership challenges Dan. Basically, Dan can't help feeling like a fish out of water in a navy so alien. Even his digestive system is thrown wildly out of whack by the food and the stress, leaving Dan in less than fighting trim during combat.
But here is one nit to be picked: the narrative's formulaic inserts occasionally break the surface. We learn one of Lenson's team has a penchant for underage Korean girls, and sure enough, he gets himself arrested. That plot is ripped from past headlines about American military men and Asian host countries' women. And what do you think happens to another man, whose command decision on his own ship cost some sailors their lives? Does he get a chance to redeem himself? KOREA STRAIT can and does lean into the predictable.
On the whole, though, Poyer delivers a suspenseful and, unfortunately, plausible scenario. The real world Koreas, China, Japan, and America all have great stakes in that ongoing political and military brinksmanship. One of these days KOREA STRAIT might not be fiction anymore. KOREA STRAIT is an expert tale of the modern Navy, authored by a real pro. (nearly 4.5 stars)Korea Strait: A Novel (Dan Lenson Novels) Overview

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