Letter from China
Today we release Letter from China by Peter James Froning:
This is a poignant and irreverent diary of the author’s yearlong (2001-2) experience of teaching English to college students in Beijing, People’s Republic of China. From the very first pages, the author draws you into his struggle with a culture worlds away from his comfort zone. The author’s generous and compelling personality allowed him to gain access to the lives of his students and their families, who became characters in his tale. One can experience the author’s wit and humanity throughout the narrative.
The author’s humorous view of China is especially timely and dovetails with the current explosion of interest in that country as it enters the modern world. The book is neither a travelogue nor a look at the government, although elements of those subjects are woven into the story. Instead, it is an engaging look at China, tailored toward those who know little about it. Still, those who have lived and/or traveled there will also enjoy the book as it reminds them of the absurdities they, too, experienced.
Barrett Whitener provides the narration for this book. Many fans of audiobooks will recognize that name, as he’s a professional narrator with dozens of titles under his belt. A huge thanks to Mary Froning for allowing us to distribute this book.
July 28th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
I absolutely adore this book!! I lived in China until I was 7.5 years old then moving to the states. Hearing his view of Beijing brings back so many memories. I’ve only visited my family back in China twice in 13 years but I can still relate to everything Peter writes, especially the one child rule. I’ve been told I still look amazed when I find out my friends have siblings. I’ve already recommended this to my roommate who desperately wants to go back to China with me one of these years.
July 28th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
A wonderful book! I thoroughly enjoyed the stories and the how much of Peter’s personality comes shining throught. Some humour caught me unawares and I had to stop the playback as I was laughing so hard, I didn’t want to miss anything. It is down to earth recounting of everyday life in China through Western eyes. Peter certainly was a gifted story teller. I was shocked when I heard the epilogue, it was so unexpected. As I went into the epilogue, I was listening and also wondering what other books Peter has written. I was hit by a deep sadness for this wonderful person who I’ll not get to know better through his writings. And I cryed all the way through the 11th installment, yet still smiled at the humourous stories. My daughter thinks I’m crazy to cry over someone I don’t know but it’s a grief for what might have been for this wonderful man, if you know what I mean. Thank you so much for sharing this book. Mr. Whitener has done a terrific narration - an absolute gem of a presentation.
Joan
July 31st, 2008 at 5:10 pm
I’ve know Peter since 1999, where we met in a chat room online, of all places! He encouraged me to join Explora Children’s Museum’s board of directors. He bonded with one of my daughters, and when she was about 11 years old he taught her how to play croquet in his back yard. When Mary told us about his book, I purchased it for my daughter’s Chritmas present. She is now looking forward to listening to the stories that she has already read. I always remember him when I’m cooking–he loved cooking and scolded me for not beating the eggs BEFORE adding them to the rest of the ingredients! He said that Julie Child would have a fit! LOL Mary
August 4th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
what a great story. I was on the second to last chapter, when I noticed that the author is not the narrator, thinking that it was odd and I was going to have to go home and see if the author has any more stories and if they were narrated by the same person. When the ending hit, I actually had to stop what I was doing and go outside. It hit me as such a surprise, I was trying not to cry.
August 14th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
I’m living in Shanghai now and spent the first two years I was here teaching English. Peter’s has such great examples to share with everyone. Makes me regret not having recorded everything I thought when I first arrived in China.
The narrator is quite good, but unfortunately his Chinese is horrible. His pronunciation is almost unrecognizable, but his English is quite clear, lol.
October 15th, 2008 at 8:59 am
Great book. I thought it was interesting that in all of the authors letters I couldn’t remember a single mention of Peter’s faith, but almost every letter from his students in the last chapter discussed God, the afterlife or a quality associated with real Christianity. I’m curious how Peter affected his students in this.
October 20th, 2008 at 7:25 am
As Peter’s sister, I can assure you that he did not discuss faith with his students. As you could see in the book, he did talk with them about the Bible, but only as a way of helping them connect with a culture with which he was familiar. When reading the students’ letters, we were floored by all the spiritual comments from young people ensconced in a Communist nation. But it wasn’t Peter’s influence.
October 20th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Great book,
Kept me up till 4 in the morning. Learned a lot. It seems at least after listening to this fascinating account I don’t have much to fear from the Chinese.