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A review by alivegurl
Romancing the East: A Literary Odyssey from the Heart of Darkness to the River Kwai by Jerry Hopkins
5.0
Whoa, it took me exactly one month to finish this beast!
When I first saw this book, I was quickly intrigued by the back cover, which mentions the only controversial title of Asian books by Western authors that I know of: Memoirs of a Geisha. I thought I was in for a couple hundred pages of calling out Western authors who tried to depict and explain the East, although they have yet any experience there themselves. However, it turns out, I was wrong. The book talks about more than that. It talks about the fascination and romanticism the West has for the Orient. It talks about Western authors who, having lived in various parts of Asia, sympathises with the locals and wants to deliver their story to the white people or has such strong negative feelings for them a book needs to be written about them. I absolutely love the way the book is sectioned by authors, how it takes various different topics and time periods and really mix them all together well. Jerry Hopkins also seems to be on the side of the citizens of the East, trying to relate to them and understand them and empathise with them throughout the whole ordeal—whatever happens with one author or another. It's really insightful and eye-opening. Now I'm noting down titles from the book to add to my to-read list!
When I first saw this book, I was quickly intrigued by the back cover, which mentions the only controversial title of Asian books by Western authors that I know of: Memoirs of a Geisha. I thought I was in for a couple hundred pages of calling out Western authors who tried to depict and explain the East, although they have yet any experience there themselves. However, it turns out, I was wrong. The book talks about more than that. It talks about the fascination and romanticism the West has for the Orient. It talks about Western authors who, having lived in various parts of Asia, sympathises with the locals and wants to deliver their story to the white people or has such strong negative feelings for them a book needs to be written about them. I absolutely love the way the book is sectioned by authors, how it takes various different topics and time periods and really mix them all together well. Jerry Hopkins also seems to be on the side of the citizens of the East, trying to relate to them and understand them and empathise with them throughout the whole ordeal—whatever happens with one author or another. It's really insightful and eye-opening. Now I'm noting down titles from the book to add to my to-read list!