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Street of Eternal Happiness: Big City Dreams Along a Shanghai Road
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An unforgettable portrait of individuals who hope, struggle, and grow along a single street cutting through the heart of Chinas most exhilarating metropolis, from one of the most acclaimed broadcast journalists reporting on China today.
Modern Shanghai: a global city in the midst of a renaissance, where dreamers arrive each day to partake in a mad torrent of capital,
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Rob Schmitz
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Start your review of Street of Eternal Happiness: Big City Dreams Along a Shanghai Road
Author Rob Schmitz is a foreign correspondent, living in Shanghai; to be precise he lives on the Street of Eternal Happiness, a formerly French neighbourhood. During his years living in the city, Schmitz tells the story of the inhabitants of the street where he lives with a great deal of warmth and affection. We learn how the street wakes in the early hours with deliveries of fresh fish, of the vendors who are everywhere selling snacks, of the pasts of the older inhabitants and the difficulties
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Dec 09, 2018
Julie Ehlers
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
nonfiction,
free-library
When I saw a brand-new copy of Street of Eternal Happiness at my local library branch, I recalled my friend Sarah's enthusiastic review and couldn't resist checking it out. It was a risky move. My reading for the remaining weeks of 2018 was pretty much already planned out; was it wise to inject an unexpected book into the mix? Fortunately, in this case it really was! Rob Schmitz is an excellent, engaging writer, and he effectively explores China's past and present via portrayals of some
...more
What a terrific book. I became deeply absorbed in it almost immediately. The life stories of the Chinese people on just one block is fascinating. There is no way I can do this book justice. Anyone who is into sociology or who just wants an amazing and incredibly researched non-fiction title will love Street of Eternal Happiness.
I love any book that helps me understand the place that I have called home for almost 12 years. The author digs deep into the personal histories of shopkeepers and residents who live on Changle Lu, in the Former French Concession. You will find yourself admiring every single person he meets for the tenacity and and dignity that they all posses as they go about their lives. There is humor and hope in all of the stories, and it will help you understand many intricacies of this country, such as
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Won a copy of this fine book in a Goodreads giveaway thanks!
This author often appears on National Public Radio. The stories in this book, about modern Shanghainese along a single street dealing with or failing to deal with life's changes, reads kind of like a string of those texture of life pieces that NPR runs during those short blessed periods, often on weekends, when the world is insufficiently full of horror and misery to fill up the allotted airtime. I enjoy this kind of reportage, usually ...more
This author often appears on National Public Radio. The stories in this book, about modern Shanghainese along a single street dealing with or failing to deal with life's changes, reads kind of like a string of those texture of life pieces that NPR runs during those short blessed periods, often on weekends, when the world is insufficiently full of horror and misery to fill up the allotted airtime. I enjoy this kind of reportage, usually ...more
4.25 stars.
I probably would have rated this 5 stars if I hadn't previously read Peter Hessler's China trilogy (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9... https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9... https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...). I really liked everything about the contents of this book, I just would have preferred the depth of Hessler's books.
Schmitz is a very good storyteller. I was interested in the lives of the people he introduced and thought about them when I wasn't reading the book. ...more
I probably would have rated this 5 stars if I hadn't previously read Peter Hessler's China trilogy (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9... https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9... https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...). I really liked everything about the contents of this book, I just would have preferred the depth of Hessler's books.
Schmitz is a very good storyteller. I was interested in the lives of the people he introduced and thought about them when I wasn't reading the book. ...more
The sound of it is very inspiring, but first the Chinese people need to rejuvenate their trust in this country. There is no patriotism anymore. There is no trust. There is no love, he says. China is on a path without a soul.
I kind of knew I'd like this before I even read it, but Street of Eternal Happiness exceeded even my high expectations.
Rob Schmitz's book follows a number of residents he befriends on a street in the former French Concession of Shanghai, 长乐路 (Chang Le Lu, which Schmitz ...more
Street of Eternal Happiness by Rob Schmitz is a free NetGalley ebook that I read in early May.
This book is a bowl overflowing with noodles of information that are slippery with a piping hot ethnographic broth. Although it may seem odd, I was reading in an environment in near-silence, yet I kept thinking, "TOO LOUD!" Each paragraph is bursting with people and places with such intensity and urgency in a way that completely depicts how busy the street really is. I'd recommend this as a book to read ...more
This book is a bowl overflowing with noodles of information that are slippery with a piping hot ethnographic broth. Although it may seem odd, I was reading in an environment in near-silence, yet I kept thinking, "TOO LOUD!" Each paragraph is bursting with people and places with such intensity and urgency in a way that completely depicts how busy the street really is. I'd recommend this as a book to read ...more
The Street of Eternal Happiness provides its readers of various snapshots in 21st China. The writer and the narrator of our novel tells the stories of different people from all walks of life while giving a detailed background of Chinese history and events.
To be honest, sometimes I felt a bit overwhelmed while reading this book. Far too much information, in too little time was being thrown at me. While I was trying to focus on the stories of the people Schmitz profiles in his book, I felt like ...more
To be honest, sometimes I felt a bit overwhelmed while reading this book. Far too much information, in too little time was being thrown at me. While I was trying to focus on the stories of the people Schmitz profiles in his book, I felt like ...more
The focus of this book is one single road in Shanghai and its eclectic mix of inhabitants. For years, author Rob Schmitz, an American journalist, lived on the Street of Eternal Happiness with his family. He spent hours wandering up and down the avenue, eating at cafes and ordering off snack carts, visiting local businesses and chatting up his neighbors. Their stories are Shanghai's story.
Schmitz starts by introducing us to a young, optimistic entrepreneur who splits his time selling accordions ...more
Schmitz starts by introducing us to a young, optimistic entrepreneur who splits his time selling accordions ...more
An interesting overview of a very particular set of people on a very small street in a very, very large city in a huge country. I enjoyed some of the stories of the lives of these cooks, vagrants, activists, retirees, flower resellers, sandwich shop operators and accordion marketers, investing in insane dreams and forcing their children to get married, all while living in one-room hovels. Their lives seemed, at the end, similar to ours, despite their wretched histories of forced "re-education"
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As a foreign correspondent reporting on Chinese economics, Rob Schmitz lives in Shanghai on a street named The Street of Eternal Happiness. As he gets to know the personal stories of the business owners that live on his street he learns about the history, economics, culture and frustrations of China. He follows several different people including a young entrepreneur who keeps pushing ahead at his sandwich shop even when he has no customers, a man who owns a snack business and his bickering wife
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Living the Chinese Dream
It is reasonable to think that a book like Street of Eternal Happiness could be written about any stretch of road on the planet even this country hill where white clapboards and long driveways are separated by acres of margin. Even here, Im sure this winding road is lined on both sides with serial narratives. The difference is, of course, that I have not lived my way into the stories behind these thermal-pane windows as Rob Schmitz has managed to do on the two-mile ...more
It is reasonable to think that a book like Street of Eternal Happiness could be written about any stretch of road on the planet even this country hill where white clapboards and long driveways are separated by acres of margin. Even here, Im sure this winding road is lined on both sides with serial narratives. The difference is, of course, that I have not lived my way into the stories behind these thermal-pane windows as Rob Schmitz has managed to do on the two-mile ...more
Mar 01, 2016
Nancy
rated it
it was amazing
Shelves:
history,
religion,
memoir,
non-fiction,
first-reads,
1960-s-history,
finance,
prison,
aging,
politics
As started to review this book, I found myself choosing many more "bookshelves" than normal. Rob Schmitz introduces the reader to many facets of Chinese life and history through the lives of several families he met during his years as the China correspondent for the radio show Marketplace. China is a huge country with many internal migrants and a complicated bureaucracy. Much of the economy is "off the books."
Reading the book is like following Schmitz as he gossips with his neighbors. We see a ...more
Reading the book is like following Schmitz as he gossips with his neighbors. We see a ...more
*I received a free ARC from Goodreads first to read program*
Full Review to Come!
Full Review to Come!
This made me extremely nostalgic for my birthplace, especially the whole "government is trying to boot me out of my house" aspect to the stories.
4.5 stars.
A great collection of life stories of a few Shanghainese residents, each of which tells a story of China's modern history. The stories are lively, moving and written in a way that reflects the deep friendship the author had built with them over the years. There is tongue-in-cheek humor amidst the helplessness of the people's disenfranchisement, yet reminds us of their resilience and unwavering perseverance. Of course these stories are not representative of the masses, but it is still ...more
A great collection of life stories of a few Shanghainese residents, each of which tells a story of China's modern history. The stories are lively, moving and written in a way that reflects the deep friendship the author had built with them over the years. There is tongue-in-cheek humor amidst the helplessness of the people's disenfranchisement, yet reminds us of their resilience and unwavering perseverance. Of course these stories are not representative of the masses, but it is still ...more
A slice of Shanghai, presented for you. Would you like to really KNOW the Chinese? Meet the author's friends. He patiently digs through layers of life and history and government, and soon you will know friends in Shanghai.
This was a REALLY good book. Schmitz is a journalist who spent several years living in Shanghai along a road that is best translated into English as the Street of Eternal Happiness. There he chronicles the lives of some people who live or work along the street that he knows. You primarily learn about the people in the community, but that also serves as a window into modern China - how it's changing, what advantages it has, what problems it has, how the past influences it (or doesn't influence
...more
Can a book be both inspiring and depressing?
This investigative reporting is done by an American economic journalist who speaks Chinese. His bicultural dexterity is impressive, and the individuals he profiles are fascinating. Its jaw-dropping amazing that these residents of this street in central Shanghai are so frugal in their daily lives that they have money to invest in shops, apartments, dowries, extravagant weddings, pyramid schemes, support of spiritual institutions, trips to other ...more
This investigative reporting is done by an American economic journalist who speaks Chinese. His bicultural dexterity is impressive, and the individuals he profiles are fascinating. Its jaw-dropping amazing that these residents of this street in central Shanghai are so frugal in their daily lives that they have money to invest in shops, apartments, dowries, extravagant weddings, pyramid schemes, support of spiritual institutions, trips to other ...more
I was assigned this book by my nephew, who is living in Shanghai this year and whom I am going to be visiting in a short time. It is a really interesting book told from an incredibly personal perspective. The author delves into the story of his closest neighbors and others like them whose lives provide a glimpse of the seismic changes taking place in modern China. He literally follows the histories of those who he knows from his years of living in Shanghai, and lets their stories be reflective
...more
I really enjoyed this book. I learned a great deal of recent Chinese history while gaining perspective about on Chinese thought and cultural traditions.
When I saw the authors name on the library shelf, I had to read it.
Schmitz has written interesting story (Ive always wanted to say something like that) describing changes in China over the last 50-60 years through lives of a number of people who lived on his street in Shanghai when he was a reporter there.
Miscellaneous:
The Chinese believe the spleen is the site of willpower and temperament.
There are more than 3000 tiny parts in accordion.
Earlier in his career when the author lived in the small ...more
Schmitz has written interesting story (Ive always wanted to say something like that) describing changes in China over the last 50-60 years through lives of a number of people who lived on his street in Shanghai when he was a reporter there.
Miscellaneous:
The Chinese believe the spleen is the site of willpower and temperament.
There are more than 3000 tiny parts in accordion.
Earlier in his career when the author lived in the small ...more
An excellent analysis of the people's history of China over the last 50 years. China's mecurial growth since the 1990's has divided its people. There are those who can adapt and take advantage, and those left bewildered. Furthermore, many are still deeply affected by the actions of Communist China both past and present. Change is happening, but many of the old oppressive ways still exist.
While many of the current stories show a changing capitalist China, the back stories are still daunting. ...more
There were some interesting stories and examples in this book about modern day China, particularly Shanghai since the time of the World's Fair in 2010. I actually had a chance to visit Shanghai and the World's Fair that year and so found many of the examples and discussion of China since then quite interesting. Rob Schmitz has lived there for a while and reports on China's economy. It was interesting to me the many aspects of Chinese culture that affect the economy - obviously politics,
...more
Judging from Trip Advisor, Changle Lu in Shanghai is a very interesting street to spend a bit of time on. It is in the historic French Concession, a very modern mix of old buildings now converted into boutiques, eateries, bars etc, and new high rises. It would appear to have enough charm left in it for a stroll. It is on this street that the author of this book lives, in an apartment building with his wife and young child. He is the Shanghai correspondent for National Public Radio, and has lived
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Another one that I picked up on a whim after listening to a summary by the author on a Marketplace segment. I'm glad that I did. The book is a peek at the individual lives of certain folks living along one road in Shanghai. The author uses this as a backdrop to greater discussions about the changing nature of China's economy and how everyday Chinese have adjusted to greater capitalistic/free market enterprises. One of the themes that I found most interesting was the significant difference in how
...more
I've always been enamored by the idea that the streets of every town contain innumerable stories, most of which are overlooked, lost to history and never retold. Already a juxtaposition of ultra-modern urban-planning skyscrapers and luxury high-rises interspersed with tangled neighborhoods of cramped and rapidly aging buildings, Shanghai seems to be constantly undergoing the growing pains of a rapidly developing city. Street of Eternal Happiness offers a non-fiction cross-section of the lives of
...more
Journalist and NPR correspondent, Rob Schmitz, has written a fascinating firsthand tale of life on a busy road called the Street of Eternal Happiness in Shanghai, China. He, his wife and children live there and have befriended many people on the street. Schmitz tells the story of Uncle Feng, who cooks and sells scallion pancakes to passersby on the street. Feng's wife, Auntie Fu, is constantly making poor investments in get-rich-quick schemes and drags Rob to sales meetings. Uncle and Auntie
...more
Jul 10, 2018
Quinn
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
books-to-sit-back-and-enjoy
This was a look into a culture I knew nothing about. It was an interesting listen, for sure, and I am glad that I stuck around for the entire run time of the audiobook.
Pros:
- As mentioned above, I was able to learn about a culture I have little to no experience with, via a storytelling style that was easy to digest and inviting
- The book delves into the lives of multiple people, meaning that a fresh perspective is never more than a chapter away.
Cons:
- The book did not bring me to tears or give ...more
Pros:
- As mentioned above, I was able to learn about a culture I have little to no experience with, via a storytelling style that was easy to digest and inviting
- The book delves into the lives of multiple people, meaning that a fresh perspective is never more than a chapter away.
Cons:
- The book did not bring me to tears or give ...more
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ROB SCHMITZ is NPR's International Correspondent based in Shanghai, where he covers the human stories of China's economic rise and increasing global influence. He has reported on a range of topics including trade, politics, the environment, education, and labor. His reporting on China's impact beyond its borders has taken him to countries such as Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Vietnam, Thailand, Australia,
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