Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven
by Susan Jane Gilman
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Book Summary Information
Author: Susan Jane GilmanEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-03-24
ISBN: 0446578924
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Book Reviews of Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven
Book Review: Witty, Compelling, and Moving Memoir of tourism in 1986 Communist China
Summary: 5 Stars
Susan Jane Gilman sits in an IHOP with her Brown University friend Claire Van Houten, when Claire declares they need to take a backpacking trip across the world, starting with the only recently opened Communist China. The next thing Suzie knows, they are equipped and ready, and landing in Hong Kong. From Hong Kong, they take a boat to Shanghai, where they stay in the worst accommodations, (the cheap ones) recommended by their backpacking guide. After all, this is supposed to be a rustic trip, not tourism. Clair is mortified by the open toilets (often an enclosed trench) and open shower facilities. But its still not rustic enough for her.
They meet a German named Gunter, and a Chinese man who speaks English named Jonnie. Jonnie talks them into coming to his hometown of Dinghai, where no Americans have ever traveled. Reality crashes home here when Claire becomes sick and literally has to be "rescued" from a third world hospital with chickens in the reception room and rusty needles offered by misunderstanding doctors.
On to Beijing, The Great Wall, Guilin, and Yangshuo they travel through worse and worse conditions, eventually finding a rose petal named Lisa in Yangshuo who has learned to cook Western food.
During their travels, Claire, who starts out upbeat and the energetic enthusiast of the trip, slowly begins to slide into paranoia and hallucinogenic episodes. She's convinced she's being hunted by the Mossad, the CIA, and the FBI because "her father is a very important business man". She deteriorates daily, until its up to Suzie to find a way to get her insane friend back into the United States before Claire sets off any alarms in Communist China.
'Undress Me In The Temple Of Heaven' is not just an entertaining book but an important one also, one of the few ways you will "see" China as it was back then, before Western commercialism. These two young girls traveled there only ten months after tourism had opened, and all tourists and backpackers were suspect - and the traveling papers horrendous. The overwhelming goodness and decency of the poverty stricken inhabitants of China shocked the two young Americans. The Bureaucracy often confused them. The living conditions disgusted them. The food made them sick. The language barrier frustrated them. But you must read this book to travel along with them and feel each of these thoughts and feelings with Susan Jane Gilman.
Gilman is an excellent writer, keeping her memoir in a very engaging style. She tells the story with wit, enthusiasm, atmosphere, and believability. There are no "lags" in the memoir, its interesting from page one to the end. She has completely captured the heart and soul of travel. In the book, when Suzie is reluctant and Claire is still buoyantly urging her on, Claire says "All good writers have traveled". Perhaps that's true, because this book is extremely well thought out and expertly executed. Don't miss out on this amazing travel tale. Ten Stars. Enjoy!
Summary of Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven
They were young, brilliant, and bold. They set out to conquer the world. But the world had other plans for them.Bestselling author Susan Jane Gilman's new memoir is a hilarious and harrowing journey, a modern heart of darkness filled with Communist operatives, backpackers, and pancakes.
In 1986, fresh out of college, Gilman and her friend Claire yearned to do something daring and original that did not involve getting a job. Inspired by a place mat at the International House of Pancakes, they decided to embark on an ambitious trip around the globe, starting in the People's Republic of
Armed only with the collected works of Nietzsche, an astrological love guide, and an arsenal of bravado, the two friends plunged into the dusty streets of
Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven is a flat-out page-turner, an astonishing true story of hubris and redemption told with Gilman's trademark compassion, lyricism, and wit.
Amazon Best of the Month, March 2009: 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
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