jackrdeline's review against another edition
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
2.5
I learned from this book, but it’s hard to know what is true as it’s shrouded by vague racism and poking fun of the serious issues that face these countries. I knew very little about these countries’ relationships before, so it was interesting to dive deeper into them, but I would have preferred reading this without the author’s British superiority.
dannybailey's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
straaawbs's review against another edition
4.0
This was an interesting casual dip into the current tensions between China, Japan, and Korea (plus Hong Kong and Taiwan), attempting to answer the question of why they all seem to hate each other (or perhaps that should be, why do they all hate the Japanese so much?). Booth travels through the region, giving some background on the recent conflicts between the countries and speaking with a variety of different people about these issues.
The book is highly readable and decent primer on the area, as told from a Western outsider's perspective. I think you'll get the most out of this book if you already have a passing familiarity with East Asia's recent history. I've lived in both Korea and Japan so was familiar with a lot of what was in here already, but also picked up a lot of new info. Overall I felt it did a pretty good job of addressing the book's central question, although there was some unevenness to the structure, and some of his observations on first arriving in Korea especially felt pretty exaggerated compared to my own experiences there. I felt that the China section struck the best balance, and I especially enjoyed the section on Taiwan, which I knew the least about.
The book is highly readable and decent primer on the area, as told from a Western outsider's perspective. I think you'll get the most out of this book if you already have a passing familiarity with East Asia's recent history. I've lived in both Korea and Japan so was familiar with a lot of what was in here already, but also picked up a lot of new info. Overall I felt it did a pretty good job of addressing the book's central question, although there was some unevenness to the structure, and some of his observations on first arriving in Korea especially felt pretty exaggerated compared to my own experiences there. I felt that the China section struck the best balance, and I especially enjoyed the section on Taiwan, which I knew the least about.
lydiasmith27's review against another edition
4.0
I love Michael Booth. He is one of my new favorite writers. I will say that the China portion of the book feels a little rushed considering how large of a state it really is. It feels like much more attention is dedicated to observing cultural traditions in Japan than in China, which he gives primarily a political angle. Still a fascinating read and I learned a lot.
fetch_me_a_cinnabun's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
minchuus's review
I get this feeling from the writing that the author is... perhaps looking down on the populations he's talking about? I understand that he's likely not right wing, but there was something especially uncomfortable with how he described korean people - how a restaurant worker was supposedly rude to him (I've a feeling he misinterpreted or just missed out what she said in korean, since he doesn't speak the language) or how he describes the country itself... I can't place a finger on it but the further I read on the more uncomfortable I got with how he wrote. I am not East Asian myself so i can't speak certainly but there was something that put me off. I have lived in Korea for an extended period of time so perhaps that's why I was a little sensitive to the korean part in particular - but the part on Japan just before it wasn't so comfortable either.
seeduffy's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
3.0
A book let down by the author’s pre-conceived bias towards Japan and changing focus.