Shenzhen

by Guy Delisle

This book is very similar in style, if not substance, to Pyongyang, Delisle's first graphic travelogue.

The biggest difference is that, large electric fence notwithstanding, the people of Shenzhen have more freedom in their lives than the average person in China, therefore making them a lot less exotic and interesting than the people of North Korea. As well, where North Korea is all about glorifying the regime, Shenzhen is all about the mighty dollar, which is not as intriguing to Westerners - we're used to it.

To make up for the lack of a sense of peeking behind a forbidden curtain, Delisle opts to derive more humour at the expense of the people around him. I found the door-man who is constantly practising his English on Delisle to be hilarious, even though very little space was given over to him.

I also felt like there was more of an over-all narrative structure to this graphic novel. Pyongyang felt like lots of unconnected vignettes, while this was more of a structured travelogue. The art in this book is great - he really captures the pace with which the city is being constructed, and his figures have more individuality to them than they did in the first book.

Strange Stones

by Peter Hessler

For the last few years, I have been enjoying Hessler's 'Letters from China' as they have been sporadically appearing in the New Yorker. As China becomes an increasingly important player on the global stage, I think it is very appropriate that we start to learn more about the culture and idiosyncrasies of the place. I especially enjoyed his article on going to driving school in China (insert racial joke here), and how he was taught things such as driving straight across wooden planks a couple of feet off the ground, but nothing about how to behave when other cars are also on the road.

In this article, he recounts a road trip he took with a friend from his Peace Corps days, causing him to reflect upon his time spent in the Peace Corp, stationed in China. It is an amusing article of shifty Strange Stone venders, counterfeit contact lenses, and how Kennedy era foreign policy can still provide life paths for aimless midwestern college graduates.