RaveThe Guardian (UK)It is deeply satisfying to read a book about China that could only have been written after decades of serious engagement with the country ... Johnson closes the book with a plea to readers to engage with his subjects, despite the political, geographical and linguistic challenges.
Yan Lianke, Trans. by Carlos Rojas
PositiveThe Times Literary Supplement (UK)... delicately translated ... moments spark extended passages of philosophical reflection. The timeline contributes to the feeling that this is not a traditional memoir. Major life events such as marriage and the births of children get passing mentions, while others, such as the university admissions test, feature repeatedly in different contexts, throwing light on his relationships with his father, First Uncle and Fourth Uncle. Indeed, Three Brothers is more about them than it is about Yan ... His prose is at once reverential and detached. It’s clear that although he means this book to be a tribute to the three brothers, he also suspects it might be meaningless.
James Griffiths
PositiveThe Times Literary SupplementThe thesis is convincing ... The Great Firewall of China is threaded with social history narratives, which provide a human meaning to the language of ISPs, DDoSs and SORMs that form the backbone of censorship apparatus ... [Griffiths] provides a larger-scale analysis than most other studies of the Great Firewall have offered, situating China’s policy in the global debate about whether the United States or the United Nations should control the internet ... it is clear that Griffiths is as skeptical of U.S. companies’ moralistic claims as he is critical of China’s dogmatic regime.
