Foreign Babes in Beijing

by Rachel DeWoskin

ONE LINE SUMMARY: An American Caucasian goes to Beijing and finds herself starring in a Chinese soap opera.

This book reminds me of a girl I once met. She’d had a wildly eccentric childhood, and various unusual adventures, and yet every story she told just made me think that it should have been more interesting than it actually was. How crazy would it be to go to Beijing for work after graduating from college, and then suddenly find yourself starring in a soap opera? Well, it should be crazier than this book.

I think there are too many topics in this book. I would have gladly read an entire memoir on any of the following: the author’s soap opera career, her relationship with a Chinese man, the upheaval and changes in Beijing while she was there, the death of a close friend. Yet somehow, when all these subjects are tied together in one book, I find myself confused as to timeline and not really enjoying the stories quite as much as I should be.

This book is well-written, but too broad in scope. A pity, because this is the kind of situation that was made for a memoir.

Posted by: ssjane | September 26, 2005 | 8:30 pm
Posted in: Books | Essay/Memoir