Oracle Bones

A Journey Through Time in China

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Oracle Bones

By: Peter Hessler

Narrated by: Peter Berkrot

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About this listen

A century ago, outsiders saw China as a place where nothing ever changes. Today, the country has become one of the most dynamic regions on earth. In Oracle Bones, Peter Hessler explores the human side of China's transformation, viewing modern-day China and its growing links to the Western world through the lives of a handful of ordinary people. In a narrative that gracefully moves between the ancient and the present, the East and the West, Hessler captures the soul of a country that is undergoing a momentous change before our eyes.

Social Sciences

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Critic reviews

“A brilliant observer with a novelist’s ear for character and dialogue, Hessler is both fascinating and funny.” ( Entertainment Weekly)

“A remarkable travelogue documenting aspects of a country still little understood.” ( Kirkus)

“Engaging.... Acutely observed, moving, frequently funny and a perspicacious X-ray of China’s zeitgeist.” ( South China Morning Post)

Most relevant

Oracle Bones is a book that really has it all, or as much as you could possibly hope to garner from a memoir of real life experience. Oracle Bones has political insight, psychological insight, historical insight, and ultimately, heartfelt real life memoirs.
Experience is often the best teacher in life, and here in you will find real life experience and insight from a former Peace Corps volunteer turned Journalist, told through the prism of the late 90s early 2000s.
The story transpires from the NATO Bombing of the Chinese Belgrade Embassy to the impact of 911 and subsequent "war on terror" told through the prism of the perceptions of common Chinese.
The title itself, Oracle Bones, are the ancient Shang Dynasty Bones on which the earliest pictographic writing was transcribed. From there follows the narrative that one of the biggest connectors of Chinese civilization is language. As such, one feels oneself breathing a sigh of relief that the once touted PRC idea to replace the Characters with an alphabet was ultimately shelved.
In all, a heartfelt memoir. Well written, well read with invaluable real life experience.
Peter Berkot has narrated previously on Peter Hessler's River Town and Country Driving and he is ideally suited for narration, and as such, is a 5 star performance in and of itself.