Reviews
Suzanne Ma has written a perfect little jewel of a book that gets beyond the vague big picture and into specific communities and real lives, richly rewarding us by opening wide a fascinating door into the world of Chinese emigration., 'For hundreds of years, Qingtian's biggest export has been people,' journalist Ma writes in her sharp-eyed look at Chinese immigration. Ma focuses her examination on the aforementioned county of Qingtian and the plight of one particular immigrant, Ye Pei, whose family left Qingtian to make their fortune in Italy. Though it is Pei's father, Shen, who decides to move the Ye family to Italy, his wife Fen's visa comes through first. Fen is promised work in Venice, but the job evaporates when she arrives, so she finds work at a factory in Padua. It takes five years and a change of job before her family can join her. At 17, Pei is reluctant to leave her boyfriend in Qingtian but also excited by the prospect of the canals of Venice. Though the farm her mother works on and the Solesino coffee bar where Pei eventually secures work are far from the glamorous Venetian life she imagined, her optimism about making a better life in Italy remains undiminished. Based on years of communication and interviews with Pei, her family, and other Chinese immigrants, Ma's unique study is essential reading for anyone seeking insight into Chinese immigration and the mind-set of those who seek better fortunes abroad., At a time when China's global reach is increasingly apparent, Suzanne Ma has crafted a fascinating and human portrait of what life is like for young Chinese migrants in Europe. Ma, who reports extensively in both Italy and China, has a wonderful eye for detail. She sits in on a Chinese cooking class called 'Exit the Country,' and she notes that a small city known for out-migration has posted huge 'Welcome' signs in five languages--but nothing that says 'Farewell.' This is a book for anybody who knows what it's like to leave home., Meet Me in Venice is a remarkable book, a reverse Marco Polo journey in which a dutiful Chinese teenager goes to Italy, not to find herself, but to support her immigrant parents' elusive goal of one day opening up their own business. This is a tale of hope and heartache. It is also an unforgettable glimpse into one of the fundamental yearnings of our age, the all-too-human desire for a better life., Meet Me In Venice tells of the courage, hardships, and dreams of a new generation of Chinese who are leaving their homeland to seek fortune and opportunity in faraway lands. Suzanne Ma brings beautiful writing, compassion, and humor to the story of seventeen-year-old Ye Pei, who journeys to Italy to pursue her dreams of success and independence--and along the way, to make a perfect cup of cappuccino. Ranging from the language schools of Qingtian to the mushroom farms and garment factories of Italy, Ma illuminates the contours of Chinese immigrant lives that are at once crucial to the global economy and invisible to the outside world., Suzanne Ma has written a perfect little jewel of a book that gets beyond the vague big picture and into specific communities and real lives, richly rewarding us by opening wide a fascinating door into the world of Chinese emigration. , /Meet Me in Venice/ tells of the courage, hardships, and dreams of a new generation of Chinese who are leaving their homeland to seek fortune and opportunity in faraway lands. Suzanne Ma brings beautiful writing, compassion, and humor to the story of seventeen-year-old Ye Pei, who journeys to Italy to pursue her dreams of success and independence--and along the way, to make a perfect cup of cappuccino. Ranging from the language schools of Qingtian to the mushroom farms and garment factories of Italy, Ma illuminates the contours of Chinese immigrant lives that are at once crucial to the global economy and invisible to the outside world., A Chinese teenager's saga immigrating from Eastern China to Italy. . . .A sensitive writer, Ma expertly channels the yearning and base desires of her subjects through intimate conversation and cultural analysis in a narrative full of genuine compassion and appreciation. A genial, informative chronicle of the hopes and dreams of a Chinese immigrant.
