Good, Sensitive Reporting

Rob Schmitz's "Street of Eternal Happiness" is a simple, straightforward book about the current state of a busy, leafy, and well-trafficked avenue in Shanghai. There are many apartments and residential facilities, but there are also several high-rises, two hospitals, and several large hotels, along with many connected alleyways. Many foreigners live on the street, but so do many Chinese, both native to Shanghai and from the countryside. Schmitz profiles the lives of several of these Chinese people, all friends of the author.

In the book, we find a mix of different people. All together, they paint a diverse picture. Schmitz introduces readers to a young accordion-selling, restaurant-running entrepreneur who is discovering his spirituality. Readers also meet the always-arguing older couple who Schmitz affectionately calls Aunty and Uncle. While the husband fries snacks from his corner building, his wife is always looking for the next get-rich-quick scheme. We meet the flower shop owner who is trying to marry off her two sons, the "mayor" of a demolished neighborhood, and a man who makes more as a beggar in Shanghai than he would back home in the country.

Schmitz, a Peace Corps volunteer turned reporter, does a great job living in the present with his subjects. He mentions several historic events in passing, but mostly concentrates on two themes: China's full-throttle capitalism, and the government's insensitivity toward its' own people, though the book is apolitical. In the end, we learn quite a lot about his friends on the street.

"Street of Eternal Happiness" is easy to read. Schmitz provides quick, parenthetical translations when appropriate. Although the author is on very good terms with all his subjects, his reporting on them is clear and focused. The results is a sensitive portrait of people who I feel could all be my friends.

The book includes a very complete index and what appears to be a nice "further reading" section for each chapter.

There are fortunately a number of books that report on the individual lives in modern China. This book fits in nicely with books like "Factory Girls," "River Town," and even more political collections like "China Candid" and "The Corpse Walker." ( )

I prefer Peter Hessler's books, on China or Egypt. This has half as many characters, and is more focused on business (especially pyramid schemes). Much less humor, too. It isn't bad, but I wanted more, especially more stories about daily life.

> They tend to ignore their elders' guidance. Their parents and grandparents toiled most of their lives through Mao's political campaigns without much of an education. Like Auntie Fu and Uncle Feng, they now struggle to cope with the free-market realities of modern China and they usually give lousy advice. ( )

Every time I see the title of this book, I get a little bit more annoyed. It's so exotic, so pretentious, so irritating. The author lived on Chang-le Street, three simple syllables, named after a historic coastal city. Translating each syllable of the name into a polysyllabic English word is just another way of "othering" the Chinese people. Aren't they quaint. Their language is so flowery and so, so precious.

When I stayed with my in-laws in Taipei, they lived on Lossifu Street (named after Franklin Delano Lossifu). Not translating that into Roosevelt Street but rendering it as Street of Bird-Catching Such Good Fortune would be analogous to what Schmitz does to this street name.

I somehow managed to read the book, but I never managed like the author. He is clearly fluent in Chinese, but his decision to foist this initial bit of faux translation on his Anglophone readers is puzzling.

Chang commonly means long, by the way. I wonder if Schmitz now speaks of Eternal Covid. ( )

An American journalist tells the stories of families who live in his street in Shanghai. ( )

The Street of Eternal Happiness provides its readers of various snapshots in 21st China. The writer and the narrator of our novel tells the stories of different people from all walks of life while giving a detailed background of Chinese history and events.

To be honest, sometimes I felt a bit overwhelmed while reading this book. Far too much information, in too little time was being thrown at me. While I was trying to focus on the stories of the people Schmitz profiles in his book, I felt like all these events in Chinese history and etc. were being force-fed to me. This problem doesn’t occur in every single chapter of the book, but I still felt this caused the writing to feel a bit disjointed at times.

I appreciated that Schmitz puts a lot of effort in telling the “Street of Eternal Happiness” residents’ stories. He manages to translate their tales very well, especially since he speaks Chinese, and lets the readers hear their own voices. From the story of CK who overcomes many obstacles, to Old Chen’s constant fight for his home at Maggie Lane which has virtually been destroyed, and even Zhao who builds her own business to provide for her two sons, all of the people in the book manage to find some happiness in their life. The main theme that comes across is that you can find happiness in the smallest of places.

I also learned more about China through reading this book. It delves into the issue of China’s rigid structure and how that it’s a country that wants to advance, but doesn’t want to dispose of its old foundations. Some of the many things I thought that were interesting was the practice of “hukou” which ties Chinese families to their hometown, the concept of “gaokao” where if one studies hard enough they take control of their family’s destiny, and the history of migrant workers. The book manages to teach readers about many aspects of Chinese culture that they might be unfamiliar with.

Overall, this is quite a heavy book. I thought it would be a bit more lighthearted, but I guess I should have paid more attention its synopsis. I wasn’t in the reading mood for a heavy themed book so at the time I read this I think I couldn’t enjoy this book as much as I wanted to. But it is still was an intriguing and informative read. ( )