Comments on nebulous age: America Smells Like..

Oracle Bones is well worth reading. As are books b...

2008-05-02T23:12:00.000-04:00

Oracle Bones is well worth reading. As are books by Lisa See, Maxine Hong Kingston, and others by Ha Jin. I particularly liked his book Waiting.

Smells are largely missing from American life. I remember last summer driving past a dead skunk and smelling nothing.

I was intrigued by most of it because it discussed...

2008-01-26T08:24:00.000-05:00

I was intrigued by most of it because it discussed when China first opened up, and Pomfret was there as a student which offered him a unique perspective. I found certain parts of it more interesting than others. I guess what I most enjoyed was his description of his relationships with his Chinese friends and acquaintances, as well as the nature of their relationships with each other, and the political backdrops and/or origins of those. I think I would like to read Oracle Bones as well to expand my perspective.

Interesting. I don't think I've thought about it t...

2008-01-24T15:40:00.000-05:00

Interesting. I don't think I've thought about it that much, but I'm not a very smell-oriented person, unless it's really strong/distinctive.

On another note, what did you think about Chinese Lessons? I read it recently for work, and I didn't think it was nearly as good at Oracle Bones, but I was directly comparing them, and it probably made me overly critical.