Wish Lanterns

January 2, 2017
Ash (co-editor of While We’re Here), a British-born journalist living in Beijing, explores differences among China’s millennial generations in this fascinating book. The author follows six young Chinese from vastly different backgrounds and with even more diverse ambitions. Explaining his theme, he reports the Chinese observation that the country’s rapid changes in recent decades mean that a significant generation gap opens up every three to five years. Those born in 1980 remember a pre-prosperity China, those born in 1985 wouldn’t remember Tiananmen Square, and those born in 1990 take the Internet and China’s global status for granted. Ash profiles three 1985 babies: Dahai, from Huber province, a “self-styled loser” from a military family; Xiaoxiao, a small business owner from the Heilongjiang province; and Fred, a party member’s daughter and academic from Hainan province. He also includes Snail, born in 1987 in rural Anhui province and now addicted to online gaming; Lucifer, a pop star wannabe from Hebei province, born in 1989; and Mia, a rebellious fashion stylist born in 1990 in Xinjiang province. Ash’s deeply insightful exploration paints a vivid picture of growing up in China today, and, by implication, this powerful and ever-morphing nation’s future leaders. Agent: Rebecca Carter, Janklow & Nesbit.

January 1, 2017
Novelistic anecdotes reveal Chinese young people struggling with universal themes of education, employment, and love.In alternating chapters, Beijing-based British journalist Ash (co-editor: While We're Here: China Stories from a Writers' Colony, 2016) pursues the mostly unglamorous, daily slogs of six young Chinese, born from 1985 to 1990, and how, as the single-child generation, they are making their ways in the new China. Initially, readers must work to remember which character is which, and some have English nicknames. There is art student Xiaoxiao, from the northernmost Heilongjiang province; academically gifted Fred, the daughter of Communist party apparatchiks in China's far south island, Hainan; gaming addict Snail, from Anhui province; Dahai, from Wuhan, who was forced to study computer science and settled for a stable team-leader position building a tunnel under Beijing; Mia, a rebel who scored a stylist job at the Chinese edition of Harper's Bazaar; and Lucifer, who scraped by at Peking University and only wanted to be a rock star. Each dreamed of the good life, undergoing the rigorous exams for university and attending college and then joining the massive work force as "just another worker ant." Some, like Snail and Dahai, discovered power in venting on the internet ("reposting is power"). Lucifer found gratification in joining bands and screaming English lyrics, and Mia delved into the fashionista club scene. Forced to live frugally, Snail inhabited one of the tiny spaces in the basements of cheap apartment blocks on the outskirts of the city, living with other members of the underclass called the "rat tribe." Fred, a graduate student in politics, did a year abroad at Cornell University; while she was intrigued by the American way, she was not tempted to stay. By their late 20s, all young people are expected to get married; a few of Ash's subjects obliged, to enormous cost and fanfare by their delighted parents. Ultimately, the author eloquently delineates the dreams and disappointments of young Chinese. Sensitive, fascinating reports.

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March 1, 2017

Following the lives of six Chinese Millennials (the people profiled were born between 1985 and 1990), this work by journalist Ash shows readers how these six individuals are coming of age in a world very different from their parents, and in a time of great transition in China. While they all end up with a university education and have common issues relating to their family, relationships, housing, and cultural traditions, each person is unique in their own way. Profiles span the gamut of patriots, rebels, a college instructor, small business owners, a singer, a fashionista, and even an Internet gamer. Readers can easily see how they are similar to other Millennials around the world, struggling to live their lives and work toward their goals and dreams. VERDICT This entertaining look into modern China that provides a glimpse into the experiences of its young citizens will be of interest to those seeking stories of the country and its culture.--Melissa Aho, Univ. of Minnesota Bio-Medical Lib., Minneapolis

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from March 1, 2017
Profiles of six Chinese millennials reveal a hidden world of pressures, aspirations, and idealism, bringing intimate perspective to debates about China's present and future. Coming of age in an era of economic liberalization and global perspective, these young people have more options than ever before; they are also victims of a new volatility. When Xiaoxiao's fashion boutique fails, her mother starts hounding her about getting married, worried that she will be a leftover woman, single after 30. An aspiring pop star who took the English name Lucifer for shock value aims high and wins big at an international music competition, but without the financial success to match, he must repeatedly revise his plans. A young man who calls himself Snail gets sent to detox to cure his World of Warcraft addiction. To the extent that these are all stories about dreams colliding with reality, it's tempting to see parallels with Western millennials caught between their ideals and the crush of the marketplace. But such similarities disappear when Beijing-based journalist Ash turns to politics, noting the subtle ways in which Chinese youth now signal resistance. The result is a perceptive and quietly profound book that leaves open the possibility that personal disillusionment may one day lead to political change.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)