CHARACTERS ç A Great Clamour Ws too a vivid portrait of China’s neighbours and the shadow the restless giant casts over its stage Full of unexpected ideas and fresh insights A Great Clamour is an extraordinary account of contemporary Asia from one of our finest essayists An interesting view on China from a non western perspective which is rare and refreshing Covers the usual issues like human rights and Tibet Chapters on the other countries like JapanMalaysia and Indonesia seem to be an afterthought and superficial However worthwhile picking up for the China contents The Lion and the Lark portrait of China’s neighbours and the shadow the restless giant casts over its stage Full of unexpected ideas and fresh insights A Great Clamour is an extraordinary account of contemporary Asia from one of our finest essayists An interesting view on China from a non western Gladiatrix Hybrid #6 perspective which is rare and refreshing Covers the usual issues like human rights and Tibet Chapters on the other countries like JapanMalaysia and Indonesia seem to be an afterthought and superficial However worthwhile The Deluded (Gay Noir Series #1) picking up for the China contents

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CHARACTERS ç A Great Clamour Through whom Pankaj Mishra explores the contradictions and dynamism of modern day China Journeying to Tibet on the newly built express from Beijing to Mongolia on the Trans Siberian Railway and then through Indonesia Malaysia and Taiwan he dra The great expanse to the east which Indians had long overlooked takes shape through the eyes and words of Pankaj Mishra The picture he presents of the wide east is not something dissimilar from ours widening cleft between the rich and the poor menacing rise of the religious right loss of cultural s inter alia A good book for people who want to understand the larger part of Asia that means much than prayer wheels cheap labour walkman and Genghis Khan Gladiatrix Hybrid #6 picture he The Deluded (Gay Noir Series #1) presents of the wide east is not something dissimilar from ours widening cleft between the rich and the The System - How To Have The Business You Deserve poor menacing rise of the religious right loss of cultural s inter alia A good book for Ana Ana, Tome 6 : Tous au bain ! people who want to understand the larger A Basket of Herbs: A Book of American Sentiments part of Asia that means much than Duality prayer wheels cheap labour walkman and Genghis Khan

CHARACTERS ç A Great Clamour An intellectual who faults the Communist Party for not being left enough; a Tibetan poet who has become the conscience of her nation; and the bestselling novelist who has began to enjoy ‘the fruits of capitalism’ here are some of the people As the title suggests this book consists of two parts the first on contemporary China and the next on its Asian neighbors The part focused on China is rather uneven It even feels uite dull at first like literary criticism than travelogue It s very different from the way Mishra usually writes But the next half of the book redeems the whole thing This part is a travelogue that takes Mishra from Hong Kong Malaysia Indonesia Taiwan and Japan These appear to be individual essays that have been grouped together by the topic of modern Asia Unlike VS Naipaul Mishra doesn t come back with an apocalyptically negative take on the places he visits He has his criticisms some biting but the dynamism of these emerging countries comes across in his accounts Of these countries I ve only been to Malaysia and Japan and I appreciated seeing them again through the eyes of a talented writer Like all of Mishra s work the undercurrent is the unsubtle confrontation between Western modernity and Asian tradition It was interesting to consider that in countries like Taiwan where the consumption culture of industrial society has been familiar much longer than in China people are now considering once the importance of altruism and spirituality I suspect that the Chinese will also soon tire of their present ultra materialist culture once the novelty inevitably wears Japan is a country close to many peoples hearts as it was the first one to modernize and match the West on its own terms Mishra also clearly has deep affection for the place Even now mired in its lost decades Japan may be pointing the way forward to what a world after economic growth looks like Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur both come across as fascinating global cities the latter with a frontier dynamic and the former strongly bearing the imprint of its former British rulersI found it strange that this book by a very popular writer was not published in the United States or Europe It was difficult to find a copy as it appeared to have only been sent to press in India Upon reading it did seem that the editing was a bit uneven and the subject matter a bit niche But the material is still strong I recommend this book to fans of Mishra and the topics on which he writes Do not be dissuaded by the first 50 60 pages this is worthwhile