Dreaming in Chinese: Mandarin Lessons in Life, Love, And Language

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Dreaming in Chinese: Mandarin Lessons in Life, Love, And Language

3.44 of 5 stars 3.44 · rating details · 854 ratings · 235 reviews

Deborah Fallows has spent much of her life learning languages and traveling around the world. But nothing prepared her for the surprises of learning Mandarin, China's most common language, or the intensity of living in Shanghai and Beijing. Over time, she realized that her struggles and triumphs in studying the language of her adopted home provided small clues to decipher

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Hardcover, 208 pages

Published August 31st 2010 by Walker & Company (first published January 1st 2010)

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Feb 02, 2013 Abby rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-read-in-2010

Deborah Fallows lived and worked in China for three years with her husband, journalist Jim Fallows. She is a linguist by training and sought to understand the country through understanding its language. Even after many years of language study (beginning in Washington DC before she moved abroad and then with both informal tutors and formal classes in China), Fallows seems unable to grasp the rudimentary aspects of either the Chinese language or its people.

Fallows seems to spend the bulk of her t...more Deborah Fallows lived and worked in China for three years with her husband, journalist Jim Fallows. She is a linguist by training and sought to understand the country through understanding its language. Even after many years of language study (beginning in Washington DC before she moved abroad and then with both informal tutors and formal classes in China), Fallows seems unable to grasp the rudimentary aspects of either the Chinese language or its people.

Fallows seems to spend the bulk of her time in China talking to expats, Chinese wives of expats, touts, or service workers (such as manicurists, pedicurists, waiters, etc.) Based on such limited conversations, Fallows proceeds to make generalized statements about China, which would be akin to me writing a book about NYC by just talking to Wall Street brokers or dishwashers. For example -- based on one conversation she had with a Chinese woman, who reportedly said that she loves her husband "for now" -- Fallows makes the generalization that Chinese people have problems saying I love you or expressing love. Fallows does not probe or clarify this statement with her friend or other Chinese people (perhaps she simply misunderstood her friend), but uses this as "evidence" that the Chinese are inscrutable and believe love is transitory. She also says that there is a surprising lack of politeness in the Chinese language, and perhaps throughout all of Chinese society, because she rarely hears the words "please" or "thank you" used by the sellers or buyers who throng the crowded central markets. However, even in a crowded US supermarket, I rarely hear the words "please" or "thank you" spoken by anyone!

Fallows' generalized statements seem to reflect her discomfort with living in China rather than any true insights into the language or its people. She makes generalized statements that have little supporting evidence or grounding in data -- and which could be true of nearly any culture or country in the world!

Despite Fallow's claim that she has traveled the world with her husband and sons for the past two decades, she seems to remain a perpetual tourist and the very worst stereotype of the alternately complaining and condescendingly bemused American expat. It strikes me as unusual that Fallows' beloved cheese and olives would be difficult to find in China when I've heard that anything is available if you look hard enough. Also, her comments about how the Uigher market vendors are darkly attractive to her because of their similar Western features seem both narcissistic and prurient. (less)

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Jan 05, 2011 Eveline Chao rated it 1 of 5 stars

Disappointing only because I had read somewhere before starting on this that the author was a linguist, so I was hoping it would be - not a more academic book, but a book that packages some serious academic stuff into a more accessible form for the average Joe. Turns out it avoids getting too in-depth & just talks about surface observations that any beginner learner of Chinese could make. I was hoping to read stuff that *only* a linguist could have written...like it would have been cool if s...more

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Feb 24, 2013 Ms.pegasus rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: china, nonfiction, memoir

Fallows and her husband spent 3 years living and traveling in China, primarily Shanghai and Beijing. DREAMING IN CHINESE is her travel journal organized around various linguistic themes. Chapters include contemplations on social space, lack of pronouns, language play based on the vast number of homophones, the frustrations of learning a tonal language, and the equal frustration of learning the characters of written Chinese.

One of my favorite stories was “The Lion-Eating Poet in the Stone Den.” T...more Fallows and her husband spent 3 years living and traveling in China, primarily Shanghai and Beijing. DREAMING IN CHINESE is her travel journal organized around various linguistic themes. Chapters include contemplations on social space, lack of pronouns, language play based on the vast number of homophones, the frustrations of learning a tonal language, and the equal frustration of learning the characters of written Chinese.

One of my favorite stories was “The Lion-Eating Poet in the Stone Den.” There are only around 400 syllabary sounds in Chinese. A poet named Shi loves to eat lions, goes to the market to buy ten of them, takes them home to eat and discovers they are made of stone. All of the bold-faced words are “shi” in Chinese, each with a different written character. The entire story can be narrated with just that one syllable. She later notes that even the Chinese have trouble understanding each other sometimes. For this reason, and because of the many dialects, television programs routinely broadcast with Chinese subtitles. Wily bloggers use puns which appear to tell one story, but in spoken form say something entirely different. Thus a fable about a horse that lives in the desert and is threatened by an invasion of river crabs is really a story about Party censorship on the Internet.

We are impressed that Fallows has gotten as far as she has with the language, so her “takeout” anecdote is both funny and surprising. At, of all places, a Taco Bell, she attempts to ask the sombrero wearing greeter if they do take-out. Using just about every combination of inflection imaginable with the simple query “Dabao,” she manages to ask, apparently, about hail, satiety, and embracing, among other things. Reinforcements from the kitchen are summoned. She might as well be playing a game of charades. Finally, someone apprehends the word she is trying to speak. Just that one tone made her question incomprehensible. Other foreigners encounter similar problems. One friend confides that his Chinese friends tell him to warn them when he is speaking Chinese, so they can focus on the deciphering process better.

Her deconstruction of characters is enlightening. She includes a charming diagram of some pictograms from 12th century BC oracle bones compared to the modern day characters. Using the character for anmo (massage) as an example, she parses out hand + roof + woman + the sound ma. It's a good example of the process foreign students of Chinese (and Japanese) go through in attempting to memorize character after character -- grasping at any clue that might enhance recall.

Fallows' experiences also include the 2008 earthquake. She was 1000 miles from the epicenter and still felt it. From that event her observations offer a touching view of both Chinese grieving and fortitude. It brings her full circle from her initial impressions of a crowded overwhelming country with incomprehensible rules and rude behaviors.

This is an informal and highly personal collection of essays. Along with observations about the language, Fallows offers some of the flavor of life in Beijing and Shanghai. The reader comes away with a small amount of knowledge about the language and a great deal of admiration for her determination to learn, speak and participate rather than merely being an observer.
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Jan 27, 2013 Holly Morrow added it

Fun little book for anyone whos ever done battle with the Chinese language, or tried to navigate the absurdities of living in China as a foreigner. Deborah Fallows is the wife of Atlantic columnist James Fallows, and a linguist in her own right. She recounts her attempts to learn Chinese before and while living in China on a 3-year assignment of her husbands. Americans learning Chinese and living in China generally have some variant of the same experience - laugh at the same things, are bewilder...more

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Jan 12, 2013 Maria rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Travelers

Recommended to Maria by: Politics & Prose Travel Book Club

Washington, D.C.’s, Politics & Prose bookstore’s Travel book club discussed this book for their January 2013 book group.

This was the first time I read a book about a different culture that approached it from a linguistic perspective. Because of this approach little was written about the author or her family, the food, the architecture of their home, or other routinely discussed elements in travel books. It inspired me to picture a different country from a novel perspective.

I appreciated the...more

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Nov 21, 2012 Graham Mulligan rated it 2 of 5 stars

Dreaming in Chinese, Mandarin lessons in life, love and language.
Deborah Fallows, 2010

Reviewed by Graham Mulligan

Deborah Fallows is a linguist married to a journalist, James Fallows. They have lived in Shanghai and Beijing and struggled to learn some Mandarin. This is her collection of fourteen useful, commonly-heard words or phrases and some cultural tales that they inspired her to relate.

Wo ai ni – I love you! (the grammar of romance)
Bu yao – Don’t want, don’t need! (When rude is polite)
Shi, S...more

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Sep 15, 2012 Znic added it

Author is a PhD in linguistics who has lived in Beijing and Shanghai for extended periods of time, and studied Mandarin. Each of the short chapters is framed around a Chinese phrase or concept, from Wǒ ài nǐ ("I love you") to Nǐ de Zhōngwěn hěn hǎo ("your Chinese is really good" - I am copying from the text here and apologise if I've stuffed up the tone markers. I spent a year trying to learn Mandarin and am still not convinced I ever got a tone right intentionally). There are some nice moments...more

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Sep 05, 2012 Elizabeth rated it 4 of 5 stars

Deborah Fallows is a linguist whose husband had an opportunity to work in China. She used this as a reason to learn Chinese. For anyone interested in languages this will be fascinating. There are so many differences between Chinese and the Romance languages (for example). This is no future or past tense, many words sound the same, the tone of the sound changes the meaning. There are many dialects in Chinese that are incomprehensible one to the other. When the Communists took over, literacy was l...more

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Jan 02, 2012 Neil Crossan rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Neil by: SF Book Club

There is a part of me that wants to just unload on this book. And then there’s the other part that says, “C’mon now Neil. Let’s be fair here. You’ve never been to China.” And then the first part gets really annoyed and just takes over like an irrational two year old on a cross country flight. Here comes the screaming …
#1: No book under 100 pages deserves to be published in hard cover unless it’s a photo book of my trip to Vancouver for my parents or its poetry. And don’t tell me this book is 18...more

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Oct 10, 2011 Agnes Mack rated it 3 of 5 stars

Dreaming in Chinese: Mandarin Lessons in Life, Love and Language was sent to me by the publisher through the GoodReads First Reads program. I looked into the book a bit before I got started, and learned that it was written by Deborah Fallows, who is a Harvard graduate with a PhD in linguistics - though you'd never know it from reading this.

The book was written in a quasi-diary format, and each chapter focused on a different language concept. Tone, diction, dialects, etc. I am a person who's g...more

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Jun 11, 2011 Stewart rated it 4 of 5 stars

When I saw a review of this book, I made an effort to get a copy. I have several Chinese-American friends in the Bay Area who came to this country as adults whom I have helped with some of the finer points of English. Because Chinese has a simpler grammatical structure than English and does not have articles (a, an, the) or verb tenses, learning to use these in English is difficult. Also, Chinese does not distinguish between he and she. The word "ta" serves for both.
Deborah Fallows, who has a...more When I saw a review of this book, I made an effort to get a copy. I have several Chinese-American friends in the Bay Area who came to this country as adults whom I have helped with some of the finer points of English. Because Chinese has a simpler grammatical structure than English and does not have articles (a, an, the) or verb tenses, learning to use these in English is difficult. Also, Chinese does not distinguish between he and she. The word "ta" serves for both.
Deborah Fallows, who has a Ph.D in linguistics and spent three years with her writer husband in Shanghai 2005-2008, shows that learning Mandarin is as difficult for an English-language user as learning English is to a native of China. The biggest hurdle for an English speaker is that Chinese is not an Indo-European language (Spanish, German, and even Russian share at least a few words with English) and does not have an alphabet, using pictographs instead.
The Chinese sound system uses only 400 syllables compared to 4,000 in English. Most Chinese syllables consist of a consonant and a vowel. English, in contrast, has many consonant clusters unknown to Mandarin or Cantonese: st, str, br, bl, pr, cr, fts, shr, thr, etc. Because of this paucity of consonant sounds, Chinese uses four tones to differentiate between the multitude of homonyms. Ma (first tone) means mother, ma (second tone) means hemp, ma (third tone) means horse, and ma (fourth tone) means curse. "Ma" without a tone when used at the end of a sentence signals a question.
Fallows relates a funny story about trying to order takeout at a Taco Bell in Beijing. She thought she was saying "da3bao1" (takeout) but because she used the wrong tones, the clerk could have thought she was asking for a newspaper or a hug. She writes, "Mastering tones shouldn't be as hard as in practice it seems to be; there is no physiological or linguistics reason for tones to be so difficult. In fact, more languages of the world use tones than don't. And many have more tones than Mandarin does; Cantonese has seven tones; Vietnamese and Thai five." (English only uses one tone -- a rising one -- at the end of questions.)
Fallows said that learning the language helped her to learn about the country; indeed, knowledge of the language is indispensable. "For me, chipping away at the language not only made China more survivable, it also tipped the balance ever so slightly from my being an observer to being a participant in the fray and chaos of developing China."
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Mar 06, 2011 Diane rated it 3 of 5 stars

In light of my upcoming trip to China, a friend recommended this book.

Deborah Fallows has a PhD in linguistics, and recently spent three years living in Shanghai and Beijing. She talks about the difficulty of learning Chinese (Mandarin), and weaves in and around her language growth some of the life experiences she had while living there.

It's a short book, and gives some interesting insights into the Chinese people and culture. I'm glad I read it. I think it will enhance my experience while I'm t...more

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Mar 12, 2011 Yun Zhen rated it 3 of 5 stars

An easy read about the author's experiences and struggles with understanding China's culture through its the embedding of its culture in its language.

Personally coming from a bilingual background, being able to speak and understand both English and Chinese since young, the book provides an interesting insight as to how Westerners might approach this daunting language and uncovers the quaint little details of the language that disappears once assimilated with it.

But it gets rather heavy towards...more

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Sep 04, 2010 Jane rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biography

Dreaming in Chinese is a book about learning about Chinese language and culture, written by a British author-linguist who had the good fortune to live in China for a few years. If you're already studying Chinese or thinking of studying it, it's a great read.

And yet you really don't have to be a language buff to enjoy reading this little (188-page) book. If you like to take mental vacations to exotic places; if you want or need to learn more about Chinese culture, perhaps to make it easier to wor...more

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Jan 06, 2012 Pete Wung rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is an interesting book from my perspective because I am a native speaker of mandarin Chinese, so the approach that Deborah Fallows takes: approaching the Chinese culture through the initial attempts to learn the Chinese language was a very good one. After a while though the inadequacies of the English language to deal with the nuance heavy Chinese became very pronounced. The sounding guides that Fallows put in the book was of no help, I resorted to reading the Chinese characters to understa...more

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Apr 29, 2011 Jack Cheng rated it 5 of 5 stars

After finishing this book, I immediately thought: "This will now be the first book I recommend to someone travelling to China." And then last night, someone called and it WAS the first book I recommended.

In this slim volume, Fallows presents language oddities through a memory or anecdote, and then considers some of the implications. You don't need to know Chinese to enjoy it; at the same time, when I discussed this with my mother, she was delighted by some of the observations Fallows made that a...more

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May 11, 2012 Lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'm biased because my 11-year old speaks fluent Mandarin, thanks to a Chinese Immersion program in our local public schools. This book gave me a great appreciation of what my daughter has been able to accomplish in terms of becoming fluent in this language that has so many nuances.

Prior to this book, I hadn't really thought about how language helps shape a culture, and vice versa. The author had some great antecdotes that illustrate this relationship between language and culture.

I especially fou...more

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Nov 29, 2011 Mag rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: asia, china, early-reviewers, language

Deborah Fallows, a Harvard linguistics professor, writes about her adventures with learning and practicing Chinese in China. An admirable effort in itself as Chinese is really difficult to learn and practice for anybody speaking a Western language. Talking about Western, I was amused by Fallows’ typically Western behavior including washing market raisins in an effort to disinfect them at the beginning of her stay, but then reassured by her jaywalking together with the Chinese as she grew accusto...more

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Jan 02, 2011 Nikki rated it 2 of 5 stars

I've been studying Cantonese a little, and I hoped that, despite being about Mandarin, this book would provide some good insights into the relationship between Chinese language and culture. Unfortunately, it doesn't go deep enough into any topic to achieve what I would think of as an insight into anything.

The author is a linguist, so presumably she is better at this than I am, but I could have told you after 10 hours of studying Cantonese why Chinese people mix up the words "he" and "she" in En...more

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Sep 23, 2010 Kathrina rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: china, bn-concept-group

What this book has made immensely clear to me is that I have, at some vague point, clearly passed the era of my life where all-thing-are-possible. There are some things I'm good at, very many more that I am no good at, and those two lists are not likely to change a whole lot in the future. I know that I will never climb mountains, perform surgery, skateboard, or ever again have the complexion/figure of a 19-year-old. I don't mean to say that I've given up on striving or learning new things -- th...more What this book has made immensely clear to me is that I have, at some vague point, clearly passed the era of my life where all-thing-are-possible. There are some things I'm good at, very many more that I am no good at, and those two lists are not likely to change a whole lot in the future. I know that I will never climb mountains, perform surgery, skateboard, or ever again have the complexion/figure of a 19-year-old. I don't mean to say that I've given up on striving or learning new things -- that's equal to death. I'm just saying, the world is not as limitless as I was once given to believe.
This book presented to me a brand-new limit to contemplate: I will never learn Cantonese, Mandarin, Wu, Gan, Min, Hakka, Yue, or Xiang, and I certainly will never keep room in my head for all those Chinese characters. Even if I learn a few helpful phrases -- where's the bathroom? no icecubes, please -- in the most popular Chinese language, Mandarin, I will probably pronounce them wrong and be utterly misunderstood. But, I can accept that. Having no pressing need to learn the language, I can be content with my ignorance. And I can enjoy the memoirs and stories of others who have tried and sometimes failed.
Fallows doesn't utterly fail, but even after years of living in China, taking endless classes and hiring numerous tutors, I still don't think she'd call herself fluent by any means. Unfortunately, her book doesn't feel fluent, either. She kind of tap-dances over ideas about the nature of Chinese people, Chinese language, and the learning of a language in general, without really making any solid, sustained case for anything. The book is too short and choppy to really be a memoir -- she gives barely any sense of self to her narrative -- she seems to have written out a few ideas that she kept in a notebook in her back pocket, without much sense of order or progression. The bits are interesting, but they remain just bits.
I think this book was interesting because Chinese languages are endlessly interesting, and she's dug up some fascinating facts and asked some good questions. But for me, the only question she's answered is, "Should I learn Chinese?"(less)

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Jul 02, 2011 Yoonmee rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: travel-writing, asia

I'm torn on this one. Sometimes Fallows overgeneralizes about the Chinese so much that it really annoyed me and other times I found myself nodding my head at her descriptions of her attempts to learn a new and difficult language, of living in a foreign country, of being utterly confused by different customs. (Note: I was an expat in Seoul, Korea for three years.) I'm giving this one 3 stars because I'm in a good mood, but it's probably somewhere between 2 and 3 stars. I just wish Fallows hadn't...more

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Jan 29, 2012 Rebecca Martin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: china

Many of the books I've read about China have been fascinating, compelling and informative, but none so much as this one. The author spent time in China in the 1980s and then 20 years later, so she has a valuable double vision of China as it was then and as it is now. What I enjoyed the most about the book though, and what sets it apart from all of the others, is that this is a book about language. It is about the connection of language and culture. It is both deeply intellectual (but easily enjo...more

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Nov 28, 2010 Alan rated it 4 of 5 stars

"I did inch away from being overwhelmed at such a massive, intense, overwhelming country or touching a few people one by one and getting a little closer to their lives however small the increments this reward gave me at least the illusion that I belong, if just for a little bit, in this extraordinary country at this moment in history." Don't be mislead by this seemingly short book. It is about so much more than the challenge of mastering the Chinese language. I was struck by my continuing disagr...more

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May 16, 2012 Ariel Marie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-about-asia

Deborah Fallows graduates from Harvard with a PhD in linguistics, which gives her the credentials to write a novel on language. What her PhD does not mean is her talent or skill in writing a good novel. Dreaming in Chinese follows Fallows sporadic mishaps while living in both Shanghai and Beijing. Since Chinese is not her native language, she uses her misadventures to enlighten readers on what may seem quirky for Western speakers.

The first half of Fallows novel is wonderful. Her mishaps provide...more Deborah Fallows graduates from Harvard with a PhD in linguistics, which gives her the credentials to write a novel on language. What her PhD does not mean is her talent or skill in writing a good novel. Dreaming in Chinese follows Fallows sporadic mishaps while living in both Shanghai and Beijing. Since Chinese is not her native language, she uses her misadventures to enlighten readers on what may seem quirky for Western speakers.

The first half of Fallows novel is wonderful. Her mishaps provide an enlightening look into the grammar/language of Mandarin, but also a cultural understanding to see where everything is coming from. While her narrative remains in first person throughout, she provides interviews from travelers learning to speak Chinese and locals. With her knowledge of language and their input. It certainly was a useful read as Fallows went in depth about little language quirks. For example, one of the more fascinating chapters focused on the lack of pronouns. At least, to an English speaker, it is hard to wrap our minds around the "lack" of pronouns used in Chinese. In addition, there are no tenses. All of which are useful to know and understand especially when studying the language or preparing to study for the language.

Fallows main flaw in her work is the inability to focus on one topic. She is writing a book about language and culture. Therefore, she should focus on language and culture. While she provides her credentials and personal journey there are chapters that are drawn out as she rambles about her experiences such as sneaking chocolate into the Olympic games. This is one example of where she fell out of focus for the overall meaning of her novel. It is different compared to other journeys such as her going to Taco Bell and not being able to order due to tone differences in words. The last half of the novel focuses too much on how uncomfortable she felt in her visit in China.

Her lack of focus build Dreaming in Chinese into more of a cautionary tale. She pulled away from the grammar lessons into her discomfort, which stole away from her knowledge. It leaves the reader wondering what she learned and how honest of a person she was. The start was filled with humor and fun as she dissected the language only to end with a contrasting voice and how uneasy she felt. Living in another country is challenging and of course uncomfortable, but her words took away from the confidence of her earlier lessons.

Still, I would recommend this novel to anybody interested in the connections between language and culture. The first half is worth a read. I found moments where I could not put the novel down because I was excited for the next chapter's lesson. (less)

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Aug 03, 2010 Warnie B. rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2010, non-fiction, first-reads, travel, language, china

Really I'd give this 2.5 stars, because there were certainly some things I liked about this book. The actual words and definitions and origins included were really interesting; I very much enjoyed the linguistic parts. But I had a lot of problems with the cultural descriptions and with the way the book as a whole is written.

Each chapter is basically a short essay based around a particular Mandarin word or phrase, and Fallows generally includes anecdotes relating to the word or phrase from her t...more Really I'd give this 2.5 stars, because there were certainly some things I liked about this book. The actual words and definitions and origins included were really interesting; I very much enjoyed the linguistic parts. But I had a lot of problems with the cultural descriptions and with the way the book as a whole is written.

Each chapter is basically a short essay based around a particular Mandarin word or phrase, and Fallows generally includes anecdotes relating to the word or phrase from her time in China. It's a great idea in theory, but I found a lot of her sentences awkward and repetitious, and a lot of times I didn't feel like she was actually saying ANYTHING about China at all. For example, the first chapter is "I love you!" and her dramtic conclusion seems to be that there are conflicting views of the meaning of love in China. Really? That's it? There are conflicting views of the meaning of love in every country in the world! Later on she goes on about how there are a million rules in China and that people tend to disregard the rules they know they can get away with breaking. Again, how is that different from life in other places? What on earth makes that Chinese in particular?

To me, it felt like the majority of her observations on life in China were based more on her discomfort as a foreigner than they were on the actual culture or people of China--it's very much an outsider's view, and that of an outsider who seems to have trouble recognizing the fact that just because China is different from what she's used to doesn't mean things are "arbitrary" or have "no reason." She does qualify her statements with words like "seemingly" or "to me" at times, but it always comes across as an afterthought. There are also several times when she makes statements about foreigners when she is clearly talking about Westerners--as though Westerners are the ONLY foreigners in China. It's a very narrow point of view.

I do have an advance reading copy, so it's possible that some of this has been cleaned up for the actual finished publication. But as it stands, I feel like this has all the depth (and length) of a high school research paper--a few interesting points, but for the most part unilluminating.(less)

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Jan 05, 2011 Cathy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, first-reads

Fallows spent three years in China and describes her experience with the language and with the Chinese people in this slim, easy to read volume.

Among her many observations, the author points out that each Chinese child has four grandparents with a sole grandchild to spoil. While it's an obvious consequence of the one-child policy, I'd never really considered it before.

Her perspective on daily life in China and descriptions of the intricacies of the language including it's use of tones to disti...more

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Jan 09, 2011 Donald Blum rated it 4 of 5 stars

I found this book to almost be more about Chinese society than its language. In analyzing how the language is used by the people of China, the reader gets a true sense of what life is like for them in their country. If you have a serious need for learning the language and its people, this is truly a 5-star, must-read book. As an American with more than passing, but not academic or life-necessitating need, I'll leave it at 4 stars, but its light and joyous quality alone is top notch. Debbie Fallo...more

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Sep 17, 2010 Alice rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, asia, giveaways, travel

I heard about this on an NPR interview the other day and immediately added it to my "to read" list. Now, I've won a copy through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.

Before I review this book, I have to admit two things: 1. I've toyed with learning Chinese a few times in the past and 2. I've long nursed a theory that you can tell a lot about a culture and people by looking at the structure of their language. So, of course, this book was written just for me!!

The author agrees with my theory. This bo...more

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Aug 05, 2011 Ruth rated it 3 of 5 stars

Whenever I miss China and find that I cannot afford a visit back (which happens every six months or so), I pick up a book on China instead. Barring a new release by Peter Hessler, these books generally constitute rag-tag crew of poorly-written disappointments. Not so Dreaming in Chinese, in which Fallows has -- at least for me -- captured much of the essence of what it feels like to live as a foreigner in China. Most of the essays, while focusing on a link between a phrase of spoken Chinese and...more

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Oct 12, 2012 Anita rated it 4 of 5 stars

As a second generation Chinese-American, there were several "a-ha" moments for me and sections that I could really relate to. That's why I gave it 5 stars.

For example, I like how she describes the difference in etiquette – politeness: bluntness—notes from a Chinese linguist friend that “please” as in “please pass the salt” has the opposite effect of politeness. The Chinese way of being polite to each other with words is shorten the social distance between you; saying please serves to insert a k...more

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About Deborah Fallows

Deborah Fallows has lived in Shanghai and Beijing and traveled throughout China for three years with her husband, writer James Fallows. She is a Harvard graduate and has a PhD in Linguistics. She most recently worked in research and polling for the Pew Internet Project and in data architecture for Oxygen Media. When in the U.S., she and her husband live in Washington, DC. They have two sons and tw...more

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“One day, in a grocery store, I swept clean a shelf of microbrew beer for my husband and three giant jars of mustard, leaving none for future shoppers. It was victory tinged with guilt. What would the next expat shopper think, when looking for beer or mustard? I couldn't afford to think about them. Every man for himself, in modern China!” — 2 people liked it

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title link	preview: Dreaming in Chinese: Mandarin Lessons in Life, Love, And Language
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8030224-dreaming-in-chinese?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1316129840l/8030224.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8030224-dreaming-in-chinese?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Dreaming in Chinese: Mandarin Lessons in Life, Love, And Language by Deborah Fallows[/url]

Dreaming in Chinese: Mandarin Lessons in Life, Love, And Language

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