China Was Paradise! China Was Hell! - Softcover

Moss, Leonard; Moss, Shaoping Wu

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1545388318 ISBN 13: 9781545388310

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2017

Synopsis

Many books describe the experiences of an America traveler in China, and still others describe the experiences of Chinese in their native country. But this book is unique. It is a nonfiction love story, not a travelogue—an East-West romance that focuses on the lovers’ responses to absurd bureaucratic challenges during an otherwise idyllic courtship. After the first part, narrated by the American, the authors alternate rather than merge their viewpoints in a single voice. They tell their story from the different perspectives of a Western man and a Chinese woman. As they work through their cultural differences and the obstacles frustrating their desire to marry, the two storytellers mature. Novelists have traced teenagers coming of age, but here is an account of growth achieved by a middle-aged couple. They learn from each other, from their allies in Beijing, even from the bureaucrats, as they move toward an emotional and sexual climax. This memoir has a fictional shape!

About this title

About the Author:

The authors met in China in the 1980s; she was a college teacher of English and he, a Fulbright scholar. After winning a bitter fight against the Chinese bureaucracy they married in Beijing and moved to the United States. Since then Professor Moss wrote books on Arthur Miller, Joseph Conrad, tragedy and philosophy, and Darwin and literature, while Shaoping pursued a new career in librarianship, working at four liberal arts colleges. Besides co-authoring this memoir recalling their courtship, travels, and adventures, they also co-authored a son, Eli, currently an explorer in genetics at Stanford. Now they live happily with their two Siamese cats, Nini and Will, at Rossmoor, an active senior community, in Walnut Creek, California. In retirement, they enjoy reading and writing, swimming and walking, drawing and gardening. Their articles and books can be downloaded or viewed at their website: http://mossfamilypublications.weebly.com/ They can be reached via email: lenmoss@gmail.com or swumoss@gmail.com

About this edition

• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1545388318
• ISBN 13: 9781545388310
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 202