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A review by austinbaker11
Never Grow Up by Jackie Chan
3.0
The Good: Jackie Chan has had an incredible life. His biography includes many interesting and funny stories. If you are a fan of Jackie Chan's work, especially his earlier work, you are really going to get a kick out of his behind the scenes stories. Jackie Chan is also not afraid to shy away from his short comings. It's clear that Jackie has reflected on what parts of his life he is most proud of and which aspects he truly regrets. Despite the title, this story really is about Jackie growing up.
The Bad: Unfortunately this extraordinary story is not extraordinarily told. Jackie himself says that he has never been a strong writer and struggled with reading until adulthood, but that's where his co-author Zhu Mo comes in. I suspect most of the shortcomings fall with the translator. The writing and prose is extremely basic uses a very limited vocabulary. As a result, some fairly exciting or emotional stories feel anticlimactic and even comes across as glib at times. The stories being told are very personal, but you still feel a barrier between yourself and the author. I kept getting the sense that Jackie was trying to say more than was on the page or that something was lost in translation.
The Bad: Unfortunately this extraordinary story is not extraordinarily told. Jackie himself says that he has never been a strong writer and struggled with reading until adulthood, but that's where his co-author Zhu Mo comes in. I suspect most of the shortcomings fall with the translator. The writing and prose is extremely basic uses a very limited vocabulary. As a result, some fairly exciting or emotional stories feel anticlimactic and even comes across as glib at times. The stories being told are very personal, but you still feel a barrier between yourself and the author. I kept getting the sense that Jackie was trying to say more than was on the page or that something was lost in translation.