River Town

Two Years on the Yangtze

By: Peter Hessler

Narrated by: Peter Berkrot

In the heart of China's Sichuan province, amid the terraced hills of the Yangtze River valley, lies the remote town of Fuling. Like many other small cities in this ever-evolving country, Fuling is heading down a new path of change and growth, which came into remarkably sharp focus when Peter Hessler arrived as a Peace Corps volunteer, marking the first time in more than half a century that the city had an American resident. Hessler taught English and American literature at the local college, but it was his students who taught him about the complex processes of understanding that take place when one is immersed in a radically different society.

Poignant, thoughtful, funny, and enormously compelling, River Town is an unforgettable portrait of a city that is seeking to understand both what it was and what it someday will be.

©2006 Peter Hessler (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Hessler's writing is lovely. His observations are evocative, insightful, and often poignant--and just as often, funny. It's a pleasure to read of his (mis)adventures. Hessler returned to the U.S. with a new perspective on modern China and its people. After reading River Town, you'll have one, too." (Amazon.com review)

Fascinating insights

This book was a fascinating inside look from an American living in China, who learned Chinese, and had all kinds of adventures in his two years there. Almost as good as going there, myself!

A true and honest story. Intriguing and touching.

The author honestly revealed the life of a secluded people in a Chinese town at the beginning of China’s opening up policy.

Fabulous Read!

If you have never been to China, get ready! Peter will take you there! After reading Oracle Bones I quickly grabbed the other two. The performance was just the best also!

Stellar story, middling performance

Great story. It mirrors a great deal of my time as a teacher in East Asia. I felt nostalgic, almost reminiscing alongside the author despite teaching in a different but similar country.

Something that is repeated in these reviews incessantly is the narrator’s weak grasp of Chinese pronunciation. Before reading i thought the reviews were filled with pedantic crybabies eager to show off their knowledge of the Chinese language, but after listening through this book, I think the criticisms are warranted.

Couldn’t the narrator have familiarized himself even somewhat with Chinese mandarin pronunciation? “Cheng’DUH”? Really?

If you can get past the strangeness with the pronunciation, it’s really a fantastic story. Loved it.

Great story of spending two years in China

I really enjoyed this book, especially after spending a year teaching at a university in Shanghai. Some shared experiences, some very different. I like how personal Peter makes this while sharing history and culture. Well done.