Oracle Bones--Book Review

As I said before in my review of Peter Hessler’s other book, River Town, “Peter gets China.” He understands not only the language but the people. This book is his second portal into the world of his (Chinese) life and Chinese friends. Filled with personal stories and personal events that are really not detailed in any other books on China, Oracle Bones is an engaging ethnographic odyssey into personal lives and real stories.As with River Town, this is not a business book. You won’t learn anything new about politics, business, law, or the working environments in China. But you will gain a greater appreciation for where most, if not all, of your Chinese employees are coming from.While I like the personal perspective of Peter as a real person with real friends in China, I think that, overall, Oracle Bones is not as good as River Town. Some of the stories are extended for far too long and many are not concluded; this left me with the expectation of another book in a few years or simply wondering why he (and I) committed so much time to an unfinished manuscript. Granted, many of the lives he writes about are not yet over, but some of the unfinished stories made me doubt that there was ever a point to them beyond filling up a second book.Don’t get me wrong. The insights into the personal conflict of adjusting to a rapidly and constantly changing China are certainly intriguing. The book is written well, if not too long. And the subjects almost become your own personal friends as you read. But when it’s all said and done, there really isn’t much substance that you can take away other than, “well, I’m finished. That was a nice distraction. Now what?”If you’re a Sinophile, you’ll want read it. But if you’re just coming over on business, skip it.