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Aug 12, 2008

Allison rated it:

I am still in the process of reading this book, but I can definitely provide a recommendation as to the character of Troost's writing. In 2003, I went to northern China (Beijing, Datong, and later, Chengdu) to pursue a career in English Education. I had no idea what China would be like, and wow, "culture shock" doesn't seem like a strong enough phrase.

Troost captures the essence of China in a hilarious and yet well-informed way. The people I met during my travels in China More...

1 comment like (9 people liked it)

Aug 20, 2008

Michael rated it:

I picked up this book because a friend of mine from Barnes and Noble had mentioned how funny the author's previous two books, Sex Lives of Cannibals and Getting Stoned with Savages are. And since Lost on Planet China was in hardcover on the Barnes and Noble shelves--and since booksellers can borrow any hardcover book in the store (but, alas, no paperbacks)--I checked it out.

To be sure, I also had a tinge of interest of China somewhere in the back of my mind, seeing as how I know next More...

0 comments like (8 people liked it)

Mar 14, 2011

Robyn rated it:

I've known about this book for awhile after reading The Sex Lives of Cannibals on the recommendation of a friend. This copy of LOPC was left in the apartment of another teacher here (I'm in Shijiazhuang, south of Beijing) so I decided to read it. Having lived in China for almost 7 months now I can appreciate just about everything Troost describes. Most of it is spot on. He has some experiences I have not had (nor wish to have) but his reactions to and attempts at situations are similar to my own More...

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Feb 21, 2009

Jennie rated it:

Absolute RIOT!!!! After authors grueling description of Beijing's pollution, you have to ask yourself, how in the Hell did they pull off the Olympics in that cesspool?!?

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Nov 17, 2010

Julie rated it:

While not as humorous as his previous Pacific islander books, Troost’s bravery in tackling the massive undertaking that is China is commendable. Since the country is so large, so old and so densely populated, he had to address many more topics than his own astute observations: history, economy, politics, culture, and pollution. And he hardly scratched the surface. He reported on many of the obligatory locations and major cities, stopping in [pre-Olympic:] Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and see More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 26, 2009

Ed rated it:

This book was a joy to read. I've lived in Hong Kong for 17 years and have spent a lot of time in China. Even though he was there for a relatively short time, he nailed a lot of the peculiarities of Chinese culture and the Chinese people.

A good part of his writing is tongue-in-cheek, much in the style of Bill Bryson. He also is humble about his own peculiarities and frank about how they get in the way of his total enjoyment of what he is experiencing. The result creates innumer More...

2 comments like (6 people liked it)

Aug 25, 2008

Bonnie Gayle rated it:

I made it to page 150, but I kept finding myself thinking about the book that was next on my to read stack, WHILE I was reading this book. Never a good sign.

There's a lot of good information contained in this book, which I was looking for, since I don't know much at all about China. A couple examples: 1/3 of the air polution in California has actually drifted over 6,000 miles across the ocean from China. Also, the Great Wall of China is actually several shorter walls, which will all More...

4 comments like (3 people liked it)

Sep 21, 2008

Barbara rated it:

Prior to listening to this, all I knew about contemporary China came from bits of newspaper articles, especially surrounding the Olympics. This book covers Troost's extensive travels there as an absolute novice in all things China. He is at times very funny and certainly informative, particularly for someone like me who knew next to nothing about the subject. He also left me very worried about the way China is growing and the effect it will have on the rest of the world, obviously not a new t More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Nov 21, 2011

Finn rated it:

Oh, Troost. I knew eventually you would have to get a real job and settle down. Not because you didn't want to be a lifelong bohemian traveler but because one day, as a lot of us endless wanderers do, you found yourself with offspring. It's not that children don't benefit from seeing the world, they do- but it's the pure and simple truth that once you care more about the welfare of babies than you do the glorious (self-gratifying) life on the road... well, you kind of end up putting things like More...

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Oct 01, 2011

Troy rated it:

A few weeks ago, I got a hankering for a good China read, but all related volumes on my shelf had been covered. In one of those Who-cares-about-the-cost? moments, I raced off to the bookstore thinking I'd buy either The Party by Richard McGregor or one of Peter Hessler's offerings: Oracle Bones or Country Driving. But the bookstore didn't have those books, and they couldn't be ordered, so, dejectedly, after surveying the sparse China offering, bottom-shelved in politics/history, I made my way to More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 07, 2011

Pikachu rated it:

Reading this book was a treat. China is fast becoming one of the world's greatest economic superpowers but a lot of white folks don't really know much about the culture. I dated a guy who was from Macau and my parents went on a trip to China so a lot of this stuff wasn't really a surprise to me: people with no regard for personal space, a grudging dislike/fanatical awe of foreigners, unabashed staring, cars jockeying for road space alongside bicyclists and horse-drawn carts, Chinese people charg More...

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Jul 03, 2011

Ethan rated it:

Had I read this book immediately after arriving in China, I probably would have given it 3 stars or possibly even 4. Maarten Troost's humorous observations, snarky jokes, semi-informed opinions, and sarcastic ranting exactly match what any reasonably educated foreigner thinks if he or she spends a month or two here. Thus, had I picked up his book in the fall of 2009, I would have probably been doubled over in laughter on a regular basis, saying things like "It's so true!"

How More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 26, 2011

Melissa rated it:

This book was not at all what I expected. Having read reviews of Troost's work I had expected something funny, uplifting and definitely a great description of the areas he visited. What I got was something funny, somewhat depressing and a biased view of the areas he visited.

Having lived in the tropics for awhile Troost had already wrote books about those areas. Now, living in California, he decided a trip to China would be interesting. Packing his bags he left his kids and wife in Sacr More...

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Oct 02, 2010

David rated it:

This travelogue is a funny, stream-of-consciousness description of J. Maarten Troost's travels all over China. There's not really a narrative arc, exactly, more just a random assortment of experiences and impressions. It was somewhat difficult to figure out exactly what part of China some events were happening, since no maps were included. The first half of the book centers on stays in some of the megalopolises in eastern China. The author clearly did NOT enjoy himself in Shanghai or Beijing More...

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Jul 19, 2010

Shaun rated it:

Insightful and hilarious, I greatly enjoyed Lost on Planet China, the latest from “travel writer” J Maarten Toost. I say travel writer with quotation marks because I think he’s more than a travel writer. What distinguishes his books is a combination of humor and profundity. Not only is he hilarious, but you actually learn about the cultures you are reading about.
Troost travels to China, and though he goes open minded, he emerges all the more proud of being American and terrified of t More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 13, 2010

Lesley rated it:

I actually stole this review from audible.com, where I purchased this audio book.....
"J. Maarten Troost charmed listeners with his humorous tales of wandering the remote islands of the South Pacific in The Sex Lives of Cannibals and Getting Stoned with Savages. When the travel bug bit again, he took on the world's most populous and intriguing nation. As Troost relates his gonzo adventure... dodging deadly drivers in Shanghai, eating yak in Tibet, deciphering restaurant menus (offering More...

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Jul 03, 2010

Susan rated it:

Troost is posing as a travel writer writes a diary of his observations and his encounters which were funny and entertaining. However, I am not sure where his research information came from. He was lacking the discipline of meticulous research including fact checking and verification. Had he avoided his sidetracking into describing “facts and statistic” he would have been better off. (Or if he actually did his homework and got this information right it would have added to the book.) D More...

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Mar 01, 2010

Sean rated it:

Martin Troost has written THE BEST description of what it is like to travel in China as an American/westerner that I have seen, heard or related to date. His hilarious exploits really describe the different personalities of China that one quickly comes to notice, and reading about his adventures has reignited my desire to keep traveling there – there are so many more places for me to go!

From eating live squid, fishing for tigers, wandering around Tibet and hiking Tiger Leaping Gorge More...

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Dec 21, 2009

Spencer rated it:

If you're planning on going to China, don't read this book. This cynical bitch has very little constructive to say about the place, and paints it pretty negatively. Sure, some of it is due. In the spare two weeks i spent (in only one city, i add), i can confirm that traffic is crazy, people hawk huge loogies on the street, and the pollution is pretty impressive. I'm certainly not as well traveled in the country as the author, but i don't find it anywhere as nasty as he did.

I thi More...

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Nov 28, 2009

Kathleen added it

Lost on Planet China: the Strange Story of One Man’s Attempt to Understand the World’s Most Mystifying Nation, or How He Became Comfortable Eating Live Squid, by J. Maarten Troost, narrated by simon Vance, produced by Blackstone Audio, downloaded from audible.com.

I can’t describe this better than the publisher’s note which I insert here:

J. Maarten Troost charmed listeners with his humorous tales of wandering the remote islands of the South Pacific in The Sex Lives of Can More...

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Jun 20, 2009

Babs rated it:

I've read Troost's two previous travel essay books - Sex Lives of Cannibals and Getting Stoned with Savages, both of which I enjoyed. So, I was very happy to see another Troost book and on China. This book was not quite as entertaining as the other two - perhaps because Troost is now married with two small children. :^) Or maybe, because as Troost claims, Planet China is a bit scary! Or it might be that in this book Troost is a visitor whereas in his other two books he lived "on location More...

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May 02, 2009

Lygia rated it:

Did this for work. It was a fun read.

Lost on Planet China
Author - J. Maarten Troost
Reader – Simon Vance

Audio book Book
ISBN # 9871433248641 ISBN # 9870767922005
Bib # 1167945 Bib # 1165017

Troost states that in this book he “dodged deadly drivers in Shanghai, ate yak in Tibet, deciphered restaurant menus (offering local favorites such as Cattle Penis with Garlic), and visited with Chairman Mao (still dead, very orange).” This is More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 26, 2009

Becki rated it:

I didn't really find the author as funny as the majority of readers seem to, and I think the book would have been more enjoyable (and shorter) without his running monologue. That might just be me, though. The book seemed to drag on, too, and the ending was disappointing.

That aside, much of this book is very valuable. I have never seen such good insights into Chinese culture. I was especially interested in the Chinese concept of what makes a successful country - namely, making million More...

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Feb 02, 2012

Maree ♫ Light's Shadow ♪ rated it:

I thought this was an exceptionally true book about a visitor's take on China, having just gone last year myself and finding many of the same things as the author, even in my much shorter stay. The tone is chatty and informative, and I really wish I would have read this book before I had gone. Then maybe I wouldn't have been so hesitant to haggle even in the nicer shops (where I did at least catch their incorrect math in giving discount percentages). And the knowledge of the history of variou More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 17, 2011

Emily rated it:

Lost on Planet China: One Man's Attempt to Understand the World's Most Mystifying Nation by J. Maarten Troost is a travel memoir that I read on vacation last month. Troost is both a funny and gifted writer, with a real talent for keeping up the pace, making wry social & political observations, and both educating and entertaining the reader. I loved his two previous books, which are tales of his living in the South Pacific, and while I have never traveled to that region myself, after becom More...

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Jul 10, 2009

Kathy rated it:

I picked this up at the airport bookstore, and I was really excited because I really enjoyed Sex Lives of Cannibals. However, I was greatly disappointed in this writing. I traveled to China for a month in 2008, and while yes, there a number of things that are culturally different, the way the author continuously 'others' the Chinese, and belittles the way of life that is more of necessity in a capitalistic authoritarian country of 1.3 (or more) billion people, than a choice. I will be surprise More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 01, 2011

jennifer rated it:

And here is Number One!

Troost is the author of The Sex Lives of Cannibals and Getting Stones with Savages, about the years he lived in small South Pacific islands. This time, he leaves his family in California and spends months traveling throughout China. He started out with the idea that he might like to move his young family there, that it would be good for the kids to live in an exotic culture for a year. So he went to check it out, starting in Beijing, going south, then west, then More...

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Jul 18, 2008

Liz rated it:

DEPRESSING but very very funny! China apparently is enclosed in a shroud of pollution that occasionally blows across the Pacific and adds to the smog in L.A. The Chinese people, according to Troost, "invented a lot of things, but the handkerchief is not one of them". They don't know how to stand in line, but Troost experiences little flashes of comraderie here & there. Doesn't really make me want to visit! That said, I love the way he writes -- he cracks me up.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 26, 2010

Sarah rated it:

I guess at some point the publishing world realized that readers today don't want epic travel stories pitting man's courage against the untamed wilderness, or inspirational tales of the wisdom gained from wandering. They want stories about people falling off mountains, eating bizarre foods, and having comical mishaps in foreign lands. Sort of the Jackass school of travel writing. Troost is less crass than most - no falsely modest tales of booze and womanizing here - and he is quite funny. But I More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 28, 2009

Carol rated it:

Refreshing look at China, so many people travel to China, visit the main sights and return with stories of how far China has come, what a wonderful place it is and yes, how they really could live there. Troost's view is honest, funny and from the heart. I think it may have more meaning for people who have actually experienced some of the things he has and/or who live vicariously though family members who have resided there for a couple of years :)

If you are living the life of an X-P More...

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