"Death of a Red Heroine", Qiu Xiaolong, 2000
Great piece of detective fiction, a mix of politics and murder and sex and poetry set in modern China. I loved the writing and the history and the setting and the plot and many subplots. The protagonist is superb, not your average police detective. My sister Debby, who knows my taste in fiction sent it to me.
"Oracle Bones", Peter Hessler, 2006
Very interesting introduction to some of the challenges facing China and the younger Chinese as the country experiments with capitalism. Hessler is a former Beijing New Yorker correspondent and has covered Asia as a freelamnce writer for many years and is a thoughtful, perceptive occasional funny storyteller. The bits of history are fascinating.
"Cousin Felix meets the Buddha", Lincoln Kaye, 2003
Halfway through it now and coasting through a fascinating read. My wife Cynthia got this one for me. Again, it's China through the eyes of a foreign correspondent ( with more than a quarter century's worth of travel and writing) with an eye for detail and a knack for storytelling. He does enjoy trotting out some odd, never-heard words, seemingly just to impress or intimidate or show off. I'm not sure why he does it, boredom and comfort with his craft perhaps, but from this humble reader's view it gets in the way of the story at times.
347 days to opening ceremonies...hear those trumpets...