My Private China: a review in the SCMP

Thanks to the South China Morning Post for a four-star review of My Private China!

Although in recent years the amount of literature about China has grown significantly, Alex Kuo’s My Private China successfully sets itself apart from the rest.

As other books on China aim to discuss its economy, politics or the famous people it has produced, Kuo’s collection of profiles, interviews, essays and poems breathes life into his personal accounts of the mainland.

Disguised as short, sometimes humorous anecdotes, the chapters represent fragments of Kuo’s personal experiences. Each chapter varies greatly in form, style, language and topic. From the recollection of a meeting with Chinese pianist Zhou Guangren to the use of technical words and play-by-play descriptions of multiple intense bridge games, Kuo’s wide range of subjects is strung together by the common theme of himself.