Of all the foreign journalists and writers who have passed through China in recent times, Peter Hessler has managed to make a name for himself among the best. This American, a contributor to National Geographic , The Atlantic Monthly and The New Yorker , has given in the last ten years some of the keys to understanding today’s China. His latest book, Country Driving , is a first-hand account of the situation in the country, from the most remote rural areas of the north to the large factories of the south.
Peter Hessler, following the American tradition, composes a book that he defines as “non-fiction narrative”. Everything that counts is true, nothing is made up; but the book reads like a novel. There are flesh-and-blood characters, stories, situations. Hessler manages to unravel the complexity of a country like China through stories that the reader immediately sympathizes with.
The first of the chapters is called “La Muralla”. The author, after several years in China, decides to get his driving license and explore the country by car. Thanks to his rented cars (nothing like mobility can better explain 21st-century China) Hessler travels for several months along the Great Wall of China, stopping in remote villages, sleeping in a tent and crossing dusty roads. It is the story of some almost desert towns, condemned to oblivion, of some peasants who emigrate en masse to the eastern coastal cities. In a sense, Hessler is walking the reverse path of the country: he travels northwest, while most citizens leave the countryside to reach the prosperous factories of the south.
The American writer finds himself with a lost population, trying to adapt at full speed to the new times. In a sense, the foreigner is not very different from them. The rate at which the country is changing is so fast that it is difficult for everyone to understand what is happening.
The second chapter, “The Village”, recounts the author’s experience in a small village of 150 inhabitants on the outskirts of Beijing, Sancha. Hessler speaks here of the life of the peasants, of the political intrigues and gossip that arise among the citizens. It explains the rise of Wei Ziqi, who takes advantage of the country’s development to go from being a poor peasant to a wealthy middle-class businessman. The author has a couple of excellent chapters on healthcare and education in China (both explained through Wei Ziqi’s son) and this part is probably the best part of the book: it is lovingly written, with the respect of someone who actually he is talking about his home and his friends.
Después de haber visto la situación en el campo en las páginas anteriores, el último capítulo se mete de lleno en las fábricas del sur. En Lishui, en la provincia de Zhejiang, el Gobierno acaba de aprobar una nueva zona especial (con bajos impuestos y facilidades para las fábricas) con la intención de convertirla en un centro de producción. Al igual que en Sancha, una nueva autopista (que la une con la próspera Wenzhou) transformará la región: los empresarios comienzan a llegar, la gente del campo acude a buscar trabajo, la producción comienza, los negocios florecen… Es la historia del modelo de desarrollo chino, muchas veces improvisado, con márgenes de beneficio escasos, basado en los escasos precios que pagan las ciudades al comprar terrenos en el campo, una mano de obra barata y una capacidad de esfuerzo inacabable. Es la historia del actual made in China explicada desde dentro y en profundidad, con personajes con nombre y apellidos.
Tras sus otros dos libros (River Town y Oracle Bones), este último viene a confirmar el talento y la grandeza de Peter Hessler. En sus más de diez años en China, el estadounidense ha sido capaz de explicar a Occidente dónde se encuentra el país, en una mezcla extraordinaria de literatura y periodismo. Si no tienes muy claro qué leer sobre China, no lo pienses más: Peter Hessler es la respuesta.
Note: none of his books are translated into Spanish. In an email exchange a few years ago, Hessler explained to me that his work had been translated into several languages (among them I think I remember Romanian), but not into Spanish. According to some publishers, his books were “too American.” A pity that a work as entertaining and interesting as this does not reach the Spanish-speaking public.
More
► If you are in Spain, you can buy it here on Amazon .
► ZaiChina: more books about China we’ve talked about.
Links
► The China Beat: Behind the Wheel, About to Snap . Hessler explains his process of creating the book and the use of photography.
► Critics have praised his new book, including The New York Times , The Washington Post and Time .
► Asia Society: talk with Peter Hessler (in English)
Hola! felicidades por el blog, poco a poco vamos llenando el vacío informativo sobre CHina en España. Una pena, si señor, que Hessler no haya sido traducido aún al español. Como siempre, Público se avanzó unos años en dar la noticia, jejee ; )
http://www.publico.es/culturas/026730/cuentos/chi…
mucha suerte con el blog, os seguiré!
Andrea