A wide-ranging, humorous, often sharp collection.
First English translation of a collection by the prominent Chinese intellectual.
These essays, which Wang Xiaobo (1952-1997) wrote during the 1990s, cover a range of topics, from literature to sexuality to food. What binds them is a concern for the value of an examined life and a wry awareness of the diverse ways in which humans fail to reap the rewards of thinking deeply. “Stupidity is the worst sort of misery, diminishing the intellectual capacity of mankind is the worst sort of atrocity,” writes the author. “To teach ignorance is the worst crime committed by otherwise good people.” Wang is consistently insightful and often charming in his commentary, particularly in his consideration of the logic of censorship, the consequences of intellectual confinement, and the importance of individual resistance to tyranny. Most vivid are the descriptions of Chinese social relations at home and in expatriate communities in America. An essay on village culture memorably describes how information flows are managed by “aunties and grannies [who] are the deities of the earth, an omniscient network.” Another documents the popularity of inane health practices such as arm-shaking and transfusions of chicken blood. The author also conveys in searing detail the soul-crushing demands of the Chinese American restaurant industry, which the author came to know firsthand. Alongside philosophical reflections, the author provides numerous sketches of quirky characters. One highlight is the extended description of an aged, lonesome American farmer, nicknamed Old Lady Wolf, who attempts to teach Wang conversational English by having him recite Milton’s poetry. Less successful are the essays devoted to feminism and homosexuality, which can seem both platitudinous and antiquated in their approaches. Nevertheless, Wang offers an illuminating window on life in China—and Western life seen through the eyes of a Chinese traveler—at the end of the 20th century.
A wide-ranging, humorous, often sharp collection.Pub Date: July 25, 2023
ISBN: 9781662601255
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Astra House
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.
The veteran actor, comedian, and banjo player teams up with the acclaimed illustrator to create a unique book of cartoons that communicates their personalities.
Martin, also a prolific author, has always been intrigued by the cartoons strewn throughout the pages of the New Yorker. So when he was presented with the opportunity to work with Bliss, who has been a staff cartoonist at the magazine since 1997, he seized the moment. “The idea of a one-panel image with or without a caption mystified me,” he writes. “I felt like, yeah, sometimes I’m funny, but there are these other weird freaks who are actually funny.” Once the duo agreed to work together, they established their creative process, which consisted of working forward and backward: “Forwards was me conceiving of several cartoon images and captions, and Harry would select his favorites; backwards was Harry sending me sketched or fully drawn cartoons for dialogue or banners.” Sometimes, he writes, “the perfect joke occurs two seconds before deadline.” There are several cartoons depicting this method, including a humorous multipanel piece highlighting their first meeting called “They Meet,” in which Martin thinks to himself, “He’ll never be able to translate my delicate and finely honed droll notions.” In the next panel, Bliss thinks, “I’m sure he won’t understand that the comic art form is way more subtle than his blunt-force humor.” The team collaborated for a year and created 150 cartoons featuring an array of topics, “from dogs and cats to outer space and art museums.” A witty creation of a bovine family sitting down to a gourmet meal and one of Dumbo getting his comeuppance highlight the duo’s comedic talent. What also makes this project successful is the team’s keen understanding of human behavior as viewed through their unconventional comedic minds.
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-26289-9
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
A football star’s bracing account of his battle for racial equality—and how powerful forces arrayed against him.
A principled athlete strives for social justice.
Kaepernick forthrightly details the activism that earned him global renown but cost him his NFL career. In 2016, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback “was filled with disgust” after police shootings of fellow Black men in several American cities. Before a preseason game, he made a spontaneous decision: “It hit me in that moment that I should find a seat” during the national anthem. He did the same at two more games before reporters noticed. Kaepernick will forever be associated with “taking a knee” during the anthem, but he credits Eric Reid—a teammate who agreed with Kaepernick’s message—for suggesting that they kneel together during subsequent anthems. The protest changed everything for Kaepernick. President Trump vilified him. Kaepernick and his wife received death threats. And though he’d taken the 49ers to a Super Bowl, no teams would sign him. He will likely make news for his take on Jay-Z, whose lucrative partnership with the NFL was criticized as an attempt to launder the league’s reputation. Visiting Africa, where Kaepernick learns about “African leaders who willingly sold their own people to the enslavers,” he “couldn’t help but to think about Jay-Z and the NFL.” In opening chapters, Kaepernick recalls suffering traumatic racial abuse as a child. Being in “white spaces”—he was adopted by white parents—placed him “under a microscope every minute of every day.” He isn’t always nuanced, depicting some people he disagrees with as cartoonishly clueless. But his writing about how college and pro teams “lied” to him about injuries underlines his “feeling of being a disposable commodity.” A decade has passed since Kaepernick played in the NFL, but he stays fit in case “a team needing a QB” calls.
A football star’s bracing account of his battle for racial equality—and how powerful forces arrayed against him.Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2026
ISBN: 9781538777879
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Legacy Lit/Hachette
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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