A funny title for a very funny satire of one of the planet's biggest issues today: US-China relations, or should I say, China-US relations. This is the first book by Christopher Buckley that I've read and it is a hoot. No one is spared here: the military-industrial complex, CIA, NSA, Communist Chinese leadership, Chinese propagandists and US public relations spinners all get sliced. Buckley develops characters that are perfect for their political roles, and are often laugh out loud. The book touches now and then on the brutality of the Communist Chinese Party, their Public Security Forces and military, and the atrocious labor conditions in the Workers' Paradise. One key character says to her Chinese counterpart in a TV interview, "I see another miserable worker in Guangdong hurled herself off the roof yesterday. What's the death total for that factory now?" (She's of course referring to the notorious Foxconn factories that manufacture every iPhone, iPod, & iPad on the planet. But, what the heck, the prices are great!) An important conceit of the story is an illness of H.H. The Dalai Lama, so thankfully, the book also refers to the Communist Chinese' horrid oppression of the Tibetan people. I wish there had been more of the tough stuff, but it is, after all, a satire and there are laughs in abundance.
Greg DePrince Arts + Life: Books, film, music, painting, fueled by meditation, chikung, coffee, chocolate, more coffee.
Saturday, June 9, 2012
They Eat Puppies Don't They?
A funny title for a very funny satire of one of the planet's biggest issues today: US-China relations, or should I say, China-US relations. This is the first book by Christopher Buckley that I've read and it is a hoot. No one is spared here: the military-industrial complex, CIA, NSA, Communist Chinese leadership, Chinese propagandists and US public relations spinners all get sliced. Buckley develops characters that are perfect for their political roles, and are often laugh out loud. The book touches now and then on the brutality of the Communist Chinese Party, their Public Security Forces and military, and the atrocious labor conditions in the Workers' Paradise. One key character says to her Chinese counterpart in a TV interview, "I see another miserable worker in Guangdong hurled herself off the roof yesterday. What's the death total for that factory now?" (She's of course referring to the notorious Foxconn factories that manufacture every iPhone, iPod, & iPad on the planet. But, what the heck, the prices are great!) An important conceit of the story is an illness of H.H. The Dalai Lama, so thankfully, the book also refers to the Communist Chinese' horrid oppression of the Tibetan people. I wish there had been more of the tough stuff, but it is, after all, a satire and there are laughs in abundance.
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