Alec Ash

I enjoy reading books about modern China. Reading the synopsis of this book, it seemed right up my alley. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. The steps Alec Ash took to write this book are unclear, but he seems to have simply written brief biographies about six of his friends.

The stories could have been written in simple narratives, but Ash chose to break them up and intersperse them, trying to create cliffhangers. Because the stories don't really climax or have much action, a better format would have been to present six stories separately. There appears to be very little research into these self-reported stories.

The six characters include Fred, an apathetic wealthy daughter of cadres who studies in the US, Dahai, an engineer for a state building firm, Snail, an internet-addict from a farming village, Xiaoxiao, Miao, and Lucifer, three fashionista hip-cats trying to find their identities. They are all young and politically disinterested, even Fred, who ends up teaching politics, though I was interested in her defense of Chinese political power.

I don't think these stories necessarily reflect the broad scope of young people in China. Because three of the young people are openly trying to push or copy fashion trends, it does offer a different take than what one would read in similar books. Unfortunately, no one seemed to be at the bottom rungs of the societal ladder. Considering the sheer amount of poverty in China, an effort could have been made to show people who were trying to work their way up (although plenty of nonfiction has been written on the subject, such as the books from Xinran, Leslie Chang, Evan Osnos, Liao Yiwu, et al.). There was also no inclusion of ethnic minorities in China.

Perhaps these criticisms miss the point, though. Perhaps Ash simply wanted to show youth in China from a different angle. That angle of youth who are politically disengaged and semi-rebellious in a cultural sense is certainly found, though.

Ash's writing is clear and breezy. The book is easy to read, even though the stories are chopped up.… (mer)

Alec Ash, author of Wish Lanterns, a nonfiction book that follows six young Chinese from childhood to late twenties, shares some of his insights about the generational trends shaping young China today, and how it connects to China’s historical legacy of youth and change.
He leaves me frustrated
Indeed, I started writing about contemporary Chinese society time ago, a project I abandoned.
I am in the process of writing my next book (a political manifesto) but also gathering data for a book about "China today", or something like that. But reading Alec's book I feel, how can I "compete" against that?
I admire the way he could make it sound like a novel, but filled with so many contemporary issues that Chinese society is facing. Many of the details he mentions are too familiar to me. And believe me, he is accurate. I wonder how he managed to get and remember so many details from the young people he met, followed and interviewed.
The only criticism I could have is that the different stories are "all mixed up" in the sequence. But I guess that comes from the fact I took a too long time to finish the book... I actually I had to restart from the beginning...
So, a book I strongly recommend if one wants to understand where China stands today. Yes, life is not easy for the young generation… (mer)