Ebook Home Is a Roof Over a Pig An American Family Journey to China Aminta Arrington 9781468308792 Books
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Title Home Is a Roof Over a Pig( An American Family's Journey to China) Binding Paperback Author AmintaArrington Publisher OverlookPress
Ebook Home Is a Roof Over a Pig An American Family Journey to China Aminta Arrington 9781468308792 Books
"This book was full of surprises and insights. She has a westerner's perspective without the prejudices. I learned a great deal and enjoyed her experiences as did my bookclub. It made for some lively conversation. Share it with people who are traveling to China; I'm positive they will appreciate learning about ordinary life in China's medium sized and small cities and towns. Her children's experiences enriched the understanding as well."
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Tags : Home Is a Roof Over a Pig An American Family's Journey to China [Aminta Arrington] on . Title Home Is a Roof Over a Pig( An American Family's Journey to China) Binding Paperback Author AmintaArrington Publisher OverlookPress,Aminta Arrington,Home Is a Roof Over a Pig An American Family's Journey to China,Harry N. Abrams,1468308793,Cultural Heritage,Personal Memoirs,Asia - China,Asian,BIOGRAPHY AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Cultural, Ethnic Regional / General,BIOGRAPHY AUTOBIOGRAPHY / General,BIOGRAPHY AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Personal Memoirs,Biography Autobiography,Biography Autobiography / Cultural Heritage,Biography/Autobiography,Essays Travelogues,GENERAL,General Adult,Non-Fiction,Travel - General,United States
Home Is a Roof Over a Pig An American Family Journey to China Aminta Arrington 9781468308792 Books Reviews :
Home Is a Roof Over a Pig An American Family Journey to China Aminta Arrington 9781468308792 Books Reviews
- I absolutely loved this book!! I bought two different books with the same theme (adoptive family moves to country of child), and this one was by far the best. Written in the style of Peter Hessler's Rivertown, the author shares interesting cultural insights viewed through the backdrop of Chinese calligraphy and its origins. The family goes "native" and spends time with their community - building endearing relationships with their neighbors, teachers, and students. I enjoyed Aminta's perspective - kindly critical and appropriately admiring depending on the topic. Her ability to listen to the opinions and viewpoints of others and explain them was refreshing - whether or not you agreed with her conclusions. I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in China and its people - especially adoptive families.
- This book was a delightful and informative read. It gives real insight into everyday life in China, as well as its history, from a Westerner's perspective, and the author's humorous anecdotes added to the enjoyment of the book.
The author allows you to get into her heart and her head. It is written as a participant, not just an observer, since she, her husband, and her children live there for years, attending and teaching in Chinese schools, rather than just passing through.
I especially enjoyed the colorful descriptions of the things and people the author and her family witnessed, and the depiction of the struggles to adapt and fit in to a culture that is so vastly different, and yet somehow so humanly similar to our own. I really liked reading the accounts of the children and their impressions of the country and language, and how they adapted to going to school, interacting with Chinese playmates, eating Chinese cuisine, and learning to speak Chinese.
This is the second book I have read this year on an American in China, but this account was so much more informative about China, and the Chinese perspective, rather than only an American's experience.
I ordered a second copy for my mother-in-law who is a teacher, as I felt she would appreciate the teacher perspective of the adventure.
I highly recommend the book. I couldn't put it down. - This book is a most lovely read for anyone who is interested in
1. teaching English in China
2. adopting a Chinese child
3. learning Chinese characters
My wife is Chinese from Nanchang where Anniston's daughter was adopted. Every time we've gone there we've met American couples who had adopted Chinese children. We also met people who were teaching English; one was from Cameroon.
This book is in the line of those by Peter Hessler, John Pomfret, and Jan Wong easy "popular" introductions to contemporary China. - This book was full of surprises and insights. She has a westerner's perspective without the prejudices. I learned a great deal and enjoyed her experiences as did my bookclub. It made for some lively conversation. Share it with people who are traveling to China; I'm positive they will appreciate learning about ordinary life in China's medium sized and small cities and towns. Her children's experiences enriched the understanding as well.
- I loved this book both as a "cultural" travelogue and as a sneak peek into the everyday life and thoughts of the average Chinese. Arrington's many insights include Why the Chinese asks so few questions? What is the evolution and meaning of some Chinese written characters? How do the Chinese view Western criticism of the Tibet demonstrations or the one-child policy? What was life like for Arrington's daughter's first year as an infant, living with a foster family in a poor provincial village? But mostly I admire Arrington and her family's flexibility when faced with a daunting move to China to teach English and connect with her adopted daughter's culture and language. The everyday inconvenience of living in a small cramped, way-to-tiny apartment, to lack of heat until the government turns it on, to the not having American food readily available. It all makes this book unique. This is delightfully well-written and is a must read for anyone who plans to move to China.
- I moved to China 4 months ago, and when a friend suggested I read this book, I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical. It has been, however, a breath of fresh air and a helpful tool in gaining a new perspective on the land that I now call home. Any transition and cultural change is bound to be difficult, but the author and her family have become allies in this journey that I am on. From her insight into the Chinese language (which has been frustrating to learn for me, to say the very least) to her descriptions of the emotions that come with daily life here, this book is spot on! Anyone who has recently moved to (or will move to) China from the West should take the time to read this book!
- Fantastic book! Very insightful. Aminta does a great job of explaining a character, its meaning, and providing several delightful stories about her family and their life in China. If you have ever spent significant amount of time in China, this book will resonate with you.
- This is a fascinating cultural learning experience for the reader as well as the family she writes about. It opened my eyes to what China - at least a part of it - is really like. Since I probably will never travel to China, this is the only way I have of learning about the country. I hope everyone who reads this book likes it as much as I did.
