I recently finished listening to a podcast of a long interview of writer Peter Hessler by Ken Pomeranz, China Beat contributor and UC Irvine history professor. It’s nearly an hour and a half long, and a few weeks old, but well worth a listen if you like Hessler’s writing or China journalism in general. Particularly interesting for me were some observations during the Q&A at the end about how news organizations tend to report on China and the difference between regular reporting on China, longer form magazine reporting and books.
Hesser used to be the New Yorker’s man in Beijing and is the author of River Town, Oracle Bones and, most recently, Country Driving. River Town probably holds the distinction of being the China book most other contemporary arrivals wish they had written.
The sound quality during the introduction, which is four minutes long, is awful, but the rest of the interview is fine. Its available for free on iTunes or on the web.
Yes, but other than talent, initiative and willpower, why didn't I write that?
Excellent interview! Big Hessler fan.
Here’s a nice print interview too: http://www.timeout.com.hk/books/features/33528/the-unabridged-peter-hessler-interview.html
Hey Will! How the heck are ya?
Agreed that Hessler has become something of an icon amongst expats. The irony is that there is really nothing out of the ordinary about River Town or his other novels. He just happened to write it better than we can
Hey, Tom. When I go to the Amazon page for your book, the top “people also bought…” recommendation is Peter Hessler’s “Country Driving.” No escape, it seems.
Haven’t heard too much buzz about it on the internets of late, but “Country Driving” is really an incredible work. Hessler has access to China that you basically only obtain by…well, living there for 10 years, and making a genuine effort to immerse into society. He uses the topic of of driving culture to springboard into many other contemporary issues in China. Very, very pertinent China material. One of the most inciteful China books I’ve read in a while.