Book review: Country Driving: A Chinese Road Trip

Country Driving: A Chinese Road Trip by Peter Hessler is published in hardback by Canongate, priced £14.99.

Previously a staff writer in China for the New Yorker magazine from 2000 to 2007, Peter Hessler is a man ideally placed to write about a country in flux.

He could have turned his talents to dry discourses on the changing face of the world's most populous country, but instead he has written two award-winning books.

Country Driving could certainly win further accolades for a man who clearly loves and understands China.

In it, he takes the reader through the increasingly under-populated rural parts of the country, explores the joys and sorrows of living in a close-knit Chinese village community, and gets to the heart of a fast-growing industrial development area.

This is a fascinating read for lovers of the Chinese way, or for those who want a glimpse of life in a country that has been hidden from Western eyes. Highly recommended.

10/10 Review by Sandra Mangan