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Street of Eternal Happiness
Street of Eternal Happiness: Big City Dreams Along a Shanghai Road | Rob Schmitz
7 posts | 4 read | 1 reading | 5 to read
Shanghai: a global city in the midst of a renaissance, where dreamers arrive each day to partake in a mad torrent of capital, ideas and opportunity. Rob Schmitz is one of them. He immerses himself in his neighbourhood, forging relationships with ordinary people who see a brighter future in the city's sleek skyline. There's Zhao, whose path from factory floor to shopkeeper is sidetracked by her desperate measures to ensure a better future for her sons. Down the street lives Auntie Fu, a fervent capitalist forever trying to improve herself while keeping her sceptical husband at bay. Up a flight of stairs, CK sets up shop to attract young dreamers like himself, but learns he's searching for something more. As Schmitz becomes increasingly involved in their lives, he makes surprising discoveries which untangle the complexities of modern China: a mysterious box of letters that serve as a portal to a family's - and country's - dark past, and an abandoned neighbourhood where fates have been violently altered by unchecked power and greed. A tale of twenty-first-century China, Street of Eternal Happiness profiles China's distinct generations through multifaceted characters who illuminate an enlightening, humorous and, at times, heartrending journey along the winding road to the Chinese dream. Each story adds another layer of humanity to modern China, a tapestry also woven with Schmitz's insight as a foreign correspondent. The result is an intimate and surprising portrait that dispenses with the tired stereotypes of a country we think we know, immersing us instead in the vivid stories of the people who make up one of the world's most captivating cities.
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KateofRivendell
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Rob‘s book tells of life as an American journalist in Shanghai, a unique city of many influences. It opened my eyes to my American prejudices, but also the abuses of power under which many live. The people who live on the Street of Eternal Happiness are like folks anywhere, though, and have a sense of humor about the name! I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys learning about other cultures and modern history. Entertaining, worth the read.

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Pickpick

An engaging look at modern China as told through the lives of several residents living on Shanghai's Street of Eternal Happiness.

sherrynuts Added! Sounds like an interesting book. 8y
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