Interesting conclusion to the trilogy

Like River Town and Oracle Bones, Country Driving takes the form of a memoir, but is in some parts also an ethnography.
The central plot device is the author acquisition of a Chinese Driver's License, and his subsequent travels through the West of China, always likely to resonate with this reader who considers Western China the most interesting place for exploration.
However, most of the book concerns examination of life for lower earners in China, particularly the factory workers.
For those wishing to understand China better, this provides personal first-hand experience. One can always read an issue of The Economist to learn that factory workers work long hours for meager pay, however, Hessler's account provides personal insight into the reality of life for people who are so often merely a statistic.
Again, like in River Town, the social dynamics and personal relationships are explored, with Hessler's notably humorous touch.
The Audio performance by Peter Berkot gives a friendly, down to Earth touch that adds to the flavour of the book, but doesn't score so highly because the narrator didn't take the time (and it doesn't take much time) to learn the basic rules of PinYin names, with many names of people and places sounding completely wrong and confusing.
Overall Country Driving is an easy, enjoyable and informative read that can easily be absorbed by those looking for a personal China experience.

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Over-long but with many highlights

I have to confess that I've yet to make it to the end of this audiobook.

The first part is the only section that really focuses on driving and to be honest, it's not that interesting. Anecdotes about the Chinese driving test and the people he hires his cars from are hilarious and kept me listening, but there's a whole lot of nothing outside Beijing and that's where he went.

Part two deals with the relationships that the author forms while living in a village outside Beijing and for me this is the most interesting part of the book. It is a time of great change for the locals as the new roads bring visitors and money to the area encouraging growth and development. The insight that the author brings to this process is unique.

Then part three moves on to examine how business is established in new development zones and I didn't think that this was particularly interesting. I got lost with the endless strings of names and there were fewer characters and stories to be told. This is where my interest faded, maybe 3/4 into the whole book.

There's much to enjoy here, and I certainly wouldn't have got as far as I did had I been reading the book. To my totally untrained ear, the narrator (American) seems to have a good grasp of Chinese pronunciation and this helps tremendously. I just felt that the book was a little overlong and journalistic where I was expecting a more personal tale.

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1 person found this helpful

Best overview of life in modern China

An essential read/listen for anyone who wants to understand modern China, how and why things are the way they are in the new millennium. Hessler has a great ability to explain cultural differences between East and West. Anyone who has lived in China recently can relate to Hessler's automobile anecdotes and understand how rapidly the country is changing. Shame that P Berkrot, the reader, did not get good tips on Chinese pronunciation!

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2 people found this helpful

A great story, just not Peter Hessler's best

This book is great for anyone that wants a nuanced insight into China's development. If you are looking for something more insightful into Chinese culture, go for one of Peter Hessler's other books on China.

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Ture China!--- in view of a ture Chinese

As a Beijingness living in UK for past 10 years, this book bring me back home. the book is fun to listen and tell you a true China without prejudice. with years experence living in China, he is indeed have deeper and better understanding of China’s progress over the past decade. his book not only covered culture but also the economic, political, and social systems. the best book so far about telling you a ture China and how Chinese life changed for past 10 years.
love it!!!!

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5 people found this helpful