An American author named Mexico has found an interesting new perspective on China. No kidding!
Zachary Mexico, from New York, spent several years living in China and absorbing information about the world's most populous nation. After a period of reflection, he returned in 2006 for intensive research into the lifestyles of his Chinese peers.
In China Underground (2009, Soft Skull Press, 320 pages), Zachary introduces young Western readers to their Chinese counterparts, highlighting an unfamiliar side of China, its blossoming underground cultures, which are fascinating, yet under-exposed. Readers will meet: a wannabe rock star trying to make it big in Shanghai; a disillusioned journalist; a budding screenwriter; a vagabond ladies' man; an outstanding student at the top university; a mafia kingpin; a punk band trying to stay relevant; and many others.
Born in 1979, Zachary began to study Chinese at age 15. He travelled to China for the first time a year later and lived with a Chinese family as an exchange student at the Harbin Institute of Technology.
In 2006, the author travelled in China and collected stories. Last year, he hosted a TV show set at the Beijing Olympics that aired on Current TV, a new U.S.-based station spearheaded by former vice-president Al Gore.
Wouldn't you know it? Zachary lives in New York City's Chinatown, where he owns a bar and plays in a rock group called The Octagon and in an electronic duo, Gates of Heaven.
Soon, Hong Kong readers can meet this unusual author. On March 3, he'll deliver a talk and sign books from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Bookazine store in the Prince's Building, Central District.
For those who attend or merely read China Underground, the experience may change everything they thought they knew about modern China's diverse cultures, and what those cultures have (and don't have) in common with Western ones.
For more information: www.softskull.com/detailedbook.php?isbn=1-59376-223-2
(February 13, 2009)
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