Reviews

I raced through this book: a page-turning account written in 1976 by a Taiwanese/Chinese woman married to a Spaniard who realised her dream of living for a while in the Sahara Desert: which was in the 1970s still a Spanish protectorate. Sanmao is infectiously enthusiastic, curious, not to say nosy about the Sahwari people among whom she lived, and tells us much about everyday life and culture, and the reality of living in a climate which is in the course of a single day searingly hot and brain-numbingly cold. All this was interesting, but I couldn't warm to Sanmao, whom I found judgmental, even racist, and impetuous to the point of foolhardiness: whether it was opening her mouth without thinking, or driving endless miles in the - deserted - desert with no particular aim. Nevertheless, since I'm unlikely to get to the Sahara, this was an illuminating and immersive account of what life was - and I suspect still is - like there.

felitfelix's review against another edition

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4.0

这是我第一次读三毛的作品，非常有意思的轶事，让我们抱着好奇的眼光去观察似乎来自另一个世界的故事——有意思！

mochikoreads's review against another edition

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3.0

Echo gives a fascinating glimpse into her life on the Sahara Desert. The stories are captivating and rich with descriptive details as we follow her wild adventures. They also reveal her inspiring ability to persevere through unthinkable difficulties with a remarkable strength, optimism, and compassion. Though she did at points, attempt to be culturally sensitive, I found many parts of her stories problematic because she likes to paint herself as the savior (ex. a compassionate and skillful doctor, lender of all things, etc) and the local culture as exotic, dirty, poor, and greedy. She fails to acknowledge her positionality as a privileged foreigner and the cultural nuances that exist beyond what she observes as an intruder.