Travel Guide Books: Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven

Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven

Description:

While this latest memoir from Susan Jane Gilman (former Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress) appears to be a saucy account of international sexcapades, it quickly reveals its whip-smarts, sucking you into a story that brilliantly captures the "ecstatic terror" of gleefully leaping from your comfort zone--and finding yourself in freefall. It's 1986, and newly minted ivy league grads Susy and her friend Claire have never left the U.S. when (inspired by a "Pancakes of Many Nations" promotion during a drunken night at IHOP) they hatch a plan to circle the world, starting in China, which has just opened to tourists. From the moment of arrival, they're out of their depth, perpetually hungry, foolish, and paranoid from relentless observation. Claire, who carries the complete works of Nietzsche "like a Gideon Bible," seems more capable than Susy until encounters with military police, hallucinatory fevers, and a frantic escape from a squalid hospital expose cracks in her psyche that utterly derail their plans. Rich with insight, dead-on dialogue, and canny characterization, Gilman's personal tale nails that cataclysmic collision of idealism and reality that so often characterizes young adulthood. Be prepared to wolf down the final hundred pages in one sitting. --Mari Malcolm

Customer Reviews:

I first picked this book up on a whim. i love books about history & like books about travel, but judging by the title & cover, I was not expecting too much from this book when I first picked it up. Instead of a wild & witty travel story, you get an up close & personal face to face with hospitals, hotels, & villages of 1980's China & what their ordinary citizens endured on a daily basis & you get the chance to meet a number of these citizens & hear their feedback about everything from Western Civilization to common table manners. You get a chance to experience everything from the minor inconveniences that can effect a traveller to the terror of falling ill in an out of the way type of place. This whole tale will change your whole perception about people, travel, friendship & everything that comes in between. When you put this book down, prepare to look at the world in a different way. Highly recommended from someone that begun the book with such a skeptical attitude.

I found this book a great read from the beginning; by the time I was a third of the way through, I couldn't put it down. It's an exciting, oh-my-god-what's-going-to-happen-next experience of a book. Instead of the usual let down after you finish, this book leaves you thinking. Gilman shows us our humanity. they has a message that's not in your face & they delivers it with her characteristic tough New Yorker wit. I laughed & I cried reading this book. Gilman's message is that they can survive even awful circumstances. As Gilman pointed out in Seattle on her book tour, in these times, even sitting in our own living rooms is being on unfamiliar ground. Faced with the stunning differentness of the world financial collapse & the challenge of potential climate disaster, they can take from Susan Jane Gilman's book a useful lesson: they are resourceful. they will survive.
I can't wait for the movie!

Having travelled a lot myself, I was drawn to this book & was not disappointed. The author was courageous given the circumstances they found herself & her friend very fortunate to have been in her company. The encounters in China some 25 yrs ago were scary to say the least. It was surprising to read the afterword as to the author's friend. I would definitely recommend this book.

I enjoyed this book. Susan Gilman's style of writing engages you in the story. I loved learning the details of travelling in China in the 1980's. I travelled in Europe & Australia in the 90's & a number of the experiences - the initial homesickness, the backpackers camaraderie, & (forgive the cliche), the kindness of strangers, made me remember my own travels. I wish they had an update on Claire. At the end I was upset that they don't know what happens to her. I wish Oprah would feature this book - I'm sure they could track her down. I would also recommend Hurry Down Sunshine by Michael Greenberg.

three of the better memoirs I have read in a while, & I have read most of them! Susan Jane Gilman is truly a wonderful writer & i'm eager to read what comes next. I was sorry to have this book end -- Gilman has the ability to completely draw you in to the story. This story is harrowing -- & I completely disagree with the reviewers who found the book to be a representative of the "Ugly American" genre of storytelling about an alien culture. This is the work of a woman who can write powerfully about both her own experience & about the people around her. Great reading -- great writing. Bravo!

For more information visit :Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven

Similar Items: