A Million Truths

Jakobson, who lived in China from 1987 to 1997, found that the general feeling toward the U.S. has become more critical and antagonistic as many Chinese, awash in resurgent nationalist pride and xenophobia, perceive America as a bully that wants to prevent China from becoming a superpower. That is one arresting observation among many in her often startling report, which won Finland's 1998 National Nonfiction Book Award. As Far Eastern correspondent for a Finnish news magazine, Jakobson, a fluent speaker of Mandarin and the daughter of a Finnish diplomat, mingled freely with Chinese from all walks of life. Among her noteworthy observations: many, if not most, Chinese have second jobs, which they keep secret from their main employer; China's vastly underfunded education system is a shambles; the news media has been placed under strict control since the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre; clear-cut, ever-widening class divisions beset today's China. She's a wonderful writer, and her highly personal narrative is filled with genuine affection for the Chinese people--and with contempt for a despotic regime that consigns hundreds of thousands to forced labor camps, and thousands to prison for voicing political dissent. (Sept.)