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Big in China

My Unlikely Adventures Raising a Family, Playing the Blues, and Becoming a Star in Beijing
by Alan Paul
Big in China: My Unlikely Adventures Raising a Family, Playing the Blues, and Becoming a Star in Beijing. Harper: HarperCollins. Mar. 2011. c.272p. ISBN 9780061993152. $25.99. TRAV
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Seize seems too mild a word for what Paul did with the opportunities presented by his family's three-year stint in Beijing. Getting a family of five across the globe and settled into a new home, new jobs, and new schools? Check. Writing an award-winning online column for the Wall Street Journal about the expat experience? Check. Turning a piecemeal group of multinational musicians (including a U.S. Treasury official on saxophone) into "Beijing's premier blues and jam band"? Check. That's a whole lot of living to pack into three years, and it's reflected here in the exhilarating pace of Paul's writing as he bounces easily from domestic scenes to rehearsals and gigs to insights about culture and the human condition. The one constant is Paul's enthusiastic commitment to reflection and self-improvement, which shines through in every chapter.
VERDICT A rollicking, inspiring narrative with plenty of memorable characters and scenes. Paul's career hot streak shows no signs of slowing with this entertaining memoir.
Reviewed by Neil Derksen, Gwinnett Cty. P.L., Lawrenceville, GA , Feb 01, 2011
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