Running Away: Maybe. Buddha's Orphans: Don't Bother

Running Away by Jean-Phillipe Toussaint has some extraordinary descriptive writing set in contemporary China and a big contrast in Elba. Some might say it is over-written. This is wrapped around a bare bones story and a slight plot. A young man delivers an envelope of cash to a mysterious Chinese man for his girlfriend. He travels to Beijing with a young woman he meets, & the silent Chinese man tags along, all chock full of vivid descriptions of the city. He goes to Elba for the funeral of his girlfriend's father, more vivid descriptions. They go swimming in the sea. The end. I can't give a hearty recommendation, but there is some tour de force writing. You can knock it off on a long airplane ride.

Buddha's Orphans by Samrat Upadhyay: I was hooked by a review's mention of the book's description of the political turmoil in Nepal over the past two decades. Many of my Tibetan friends have made their way to the U.S. via Nepal, so I was very interested in this book. Unfortunately, that's all the political situation gets in the book: a mention. Most of the other 420 pages are devoted to a sophomoric story of a lifelong romance between two young people from broken families. There is some treatment of the grueling poverty in the country & the social system that keeps people trapped in it, but only cursory mention of the political turmoil that rocked the country. The book is mostly "shy glances" and "aching hearts". Oi vey. Avoid this book unless you need a big dose of melodrama.