... a master class on how to chronicle a changing country through the personal narratives of its citizens ... offers an outstanding, touching, honest chronicle of China, arguably America's most important competitor, as it adapts to inner changes and worldwide events ... works mainly for two reasons: Langfitt's educated, simple reporting — and the cast of characters that populate the book ... delves deep into China's troubles. It describes the good, the bad, and the ugly with fairness and honesty. Langfitt loves the country, but isn't afraid to reflect its darkest truths, both historical and contemporary ... blends memorable characters with perceptive observation and informed political analysis to give readers a deep, nuanced look at the world's other superpower at this stage of its long, ongoing, rich history.
Langfitt deftly captures the nature of a rapidly changing China, the effects this has on society on a personal level, and how people attempt to navigate a system whose rules are constantly changing. Drawing on years of reporting, he provides context and a broader picture to anchor the narrative’s kaleidoscope of characters, experiences, and opinions, making for a heartfelt, engaging, and informative read.
Langfitt is particularly good at slotting his subjects into the specifics of this Chinese and global era ... in reality the book is only loosely held together by the conceit of the 'Free Loving Heart Taxi'. Yet, Langfitt is an amiable, informed correspondent, and there is much to enjoy here for those looking to learn about modern China: for anyone in a Beijing-bound cab from the airport, forget about probing your cabbie for some home-spun authentic wisdom, and enjoy a few chapters of The Shanghai Free Taxi instead.
... an engaging and dynamic narrative that offers readers an unusual perspective on modern China ... At times, the free taxi rides feel like a thin conceptual thread to hold the book together. Also, there are too many familiar stories of iconoclastic rebels and a slight overproportion of well-to-do, English-speaking characters, given the milieu of residents in commercialized, cab-hailing Shanghai. By driving farther off the beaten track to pick up passengers, Langfitt might have found more characters whose perspectives truly surprise us ... offers us a small slice of those stories, in a country with a population just like its cab passengers: going places.
Lively, humorous, and touching, the book exposes the struggles of regular people in conflict with an authoritarian state ... Without judgment, the author/driver allows his subjects to narrate their own adventures, leading to honest, raw, human stories.
... an engaging exploration of China in a moment of economic growth and cultural upheaval ... This engaging work is sure to interest those who have enjoyed Langfitt’s NPR reporting or who are curious about contemporary Chinese culture and politics.
... enlightening ... Langfitt’s experience of China since the late 1990s enables him to chart the changes in a nation he sees as 'more repressive by the day' ... The writing in The Shanghai Free Taxi can be a little clunky, as are some of the translations, and the narrative has a frustrating habit of allowing some of its characters to disappear for long stretches, only for them to re-emerge towards the end. Frank Langfitt, a devout Christian, also draws connections between state restrictions on religion and an apparent immorality in today’s China in a manner that may sit uncomfortably with some readers. But he should nonetheless be lauded for a generally readable and admirably sincere attempt to understand a nation and its people.
The cast, roughly equally split in gender, although mostly millennials or middle-aged, are rendered with admirable nuance ... These kinds of debates will be familiar to anyone who has lived in China, but Langfitt’s achievement is to bring them to life ... As Washington risks a new cold war with Beijing, Langfitt excels at humanising a country increasingly presented in purely oppositional terms ... The book has some omissions: there is little here for those seeking a detailed account of economic growth, the education system or the repression of ethnic minority groups in regions such as Xinjiang. But, on the whole, Langfitt achieves a breadth rarely found in journalistic accounts of the country ... All correspondents must perform a balancing act between describing diverse stories and drawing larger conclusions about where a country is heading. Here, Langfitt’s book is sometimes less successful ... The political tightening and nationalist rhetoric are real, but many of the demands made by Langfitt’s characters are hard to fit into this framing ... This resistance to a single narrative is ultimately a testament to the strength of the reporting, which helps show that China’s recent history does not clearly point to a pre-determined destination — unlike a taxi ride.
Langfitt reveals the complex history of modern China through fascinating stories that range from humorous to sorrowful. Importantly, these profiles of individual Chinese men and women successfully humanize an enormous population that other countries tend to see as one homogenous body. His real affection for them shines through on every page, and leads to his hope that 'one day the Chinese people will have a government more worthy of them.'
