Search - Lost in Translation

This should not be confused with the Bill Murray-Scarlett Johansson movie of the same name, which was about inter-cultural fatigue in Japan. This novel is about a 33-year-old female American interpreter and translator, who has lived in Beijing, People's Paradise, for 10 years. Because of unwelcome celebrity, she felt she could not live in the US. The problem is that she wants to be Chinese and to the Chinese she will be just another foreigner whose only recommendation is that she can talk (i.e. speak Chinese). Her interacting with cultural representatives sexually - that is, one-night stands with Chinese men - damages her reputation and supports her illusion that she has a place in the country. She takes on a job with a 48-year-old male American archaeologist, who has his own losses and issues. The search for Piltdown man in a remote area leads to adventure and successful romance. This novel has something for every preference: Chinese culture and history, a character-driven brisk narrative, intellectual adventure, and romance. I'd strongly recommend it to readers of any age who are contemplating living and working in China.

Very good story about a female American interpreter, desperate to be Chinese, who joins an archeological search for Peking Man.

No, it's not THAT "Lost in Translation". An interesting book about an American woman living in China as a translator. She has become so lost in the culture of China that she will only consider a Chinese man as a lover, let alone, a husband. When she is commissioned to accompany an American archaeologist on an expedition, she learns a few secrets about China and herself.

Very enjoyable, well-written book. Evokes the beauty and hardship of China, showing both China's headlong rush to forget the past, and a past that permeates through everything.
The story follows an American expat woman working as a translator who wishes she were Chinese and attempts to become so through a series of one night stands with Chinese men. While working as a translator for an American archeologist in search of the long-lost Peking Man skeleton, she becomes involved with a Chinese archeologist searching for his long lost wife, a victim of China's cultural revolution. The interaction of the primary characters is used to examine cultural differences that are often very difficult to pin down or not spoken of at all.

Well-written, interesting insights into American/Chinese cultural similarities and differences.

A gripping story...