A review by ghiblies
Wuhan Diary: Dispatches from a Quarantined City by Fang Fang
3.5
This was a valuable and informative read, but I feel like I read it all wrong. This isn't the fault of the book, just the circumstances. To clarify:
1. I don't think I should have read this as an audiobook. I know that I speed through them and usually put them on in the background while doing something else (i.e. not fully focusing). I think this should have been read as it was intended, as daily posts, allowing time for reflection. Some of the things Fang Fang touched on really impacted me emotionally and I didn't process any of those feelings, I just squashed them down and moved on. I think that's why I feel hollow when I recall my time reading this book.
2. I should have read this in Chinese. Michael Berry's translation is very good but I wish I could have connected with Fang Fang's meaning directly. I think it would have had more emotional impact and I'd be able to understand why her daily posts became so important to all those thousands of people. All this to say, I'm probably going to reread this in Chinese at some point.
I’ll also add, it did become very repetitive in the middle, but 1. that's exactly how quarantine was lol and 2. it's a diary and Fang Fang did say she didn't edit her posts for this book. So long as you can discern that I think most readers will take a lot from this book.
1. I don't think I should have read this as an audiobook. I know that I speed through them and usually put them on in the background while doing something else (i.e. not fully focusing). I think this should have been read as it was intended, as daily posts, allowing time for reflection. Some of the things Fang Fang touched on really impacted me emotionally and I didn't process any of those feelings, I just squashed them down and moved on. I think that's why I feel hollow when I recall my time reading this book.
2. I should have read this in Chinese. Michael Berry's translation is very good but I wish I could have connected with Fang Fang's meaning directly. I think it would have had more emotional impact and I'd be able to understand why her daily posts became so important to all those thousands of people. All this to say, I'm probably going to reread this in Chinese at some point.
I’ll also add, it did become very repetitive in the middle, but 1. that's exactly how quarantine was lol and 2. it's a diary and Fang Fang did say she didn't edit her posts for this book. So long as you can discern that I think most readers will take a lot from this book.