GIVEAWAY ENDEDUNDRESS ME IN THE
TEMPLE OF HEAVEN
BY SUSAN JANE GILMAN
ABOUT THE BOOK:
They were young, brilliant, and bold. They set out to conquer the world. But the world had other plans for them. Bestselling author Susan Jane Gilman's new memoir is a hilarious and harrowing journey, a modern heart of darkness filled with Communist operatives, backpackers, and pancakes. In 1986, fresh out of college, Gilman and her friend Claire yearned to do something daring and original that did not involve getting a job. Inspired by a place mat at the International House of Pancakes, they decided to embark on an ambitious trip around the globe, starting in the People's Republic of China.
Unsurprisingly, they quickly found themselves in over their heads--hungry, disoriented, stripped of everything familiar, and under constant government surveillance. Soon, they began to unravel--one physically, the other psychologically. As their journey became increasingly harrowing, they found themselves facing crises that Susan didn't think they'd survive. But by summoning strengths she never knew she had--and with help from unexpected friends--the two travelers found their way out of a Chinese heart of darkness.
UNDRESS ME IN THE TEMPLE OF HEAVEN is a flat-out page-turner, an astonishing true story of naïveté, friendship, and redemption told with Susan's trademark compassion and humor.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
SUSAN JANE GILMAN has written commentary for the New York Times, Ms., US, and the Los Angeles Times, among others. Winner of several literary awards for her fiction and essays, she is a native New Yorker who currently lives in "rent exile" in Washington, D.C.
VISIT SUSAN'S WEBSITE HERE!
REVIEW:
In 1986, on almost a whim after a discussion about a place mat at the IHOP, friends Susan Gilman and Claire Van Houten decide to backpack around the world starting their adventures in the People’s Republic of China. Having just graduated from Brown, THE Ivy League School that it is, these two girls were no more ready for this trip than I would have been at their age (or now, probably, for that matter). With Susan, a New York City girl who worked on scholarship to get through college, and Claire, from the wealthy don’t-want-for-anything-suburbs, we have a pair who are naïve as well as reckless, and so wind up experiencing everything from the beauty of the land and the people, to the horrors only girls so innocent and trusting could find themselves in on such a trek.
At first, Susan is homesick, especially in that Claire challenged her to take the trip from the start, and so Susan calls home frequently. As things develop, however, Susan‘s city street smarts kick in while Claire begins to experience emotional difficulties and things start to unravel for her. There are several warning signs that Claire is going downhill fast and that can only spell trouble for both of them but especially Susan. The story is a true adventure for Gilman and had a huge effect on her and they way she looked at things in the world afterwards. She tells the readers about this and does it in such an endearing way, it just adds to the love you will have for this book. This is a can't-put-it-down memoir that I had wanted to read for a long while and am so glad I finally did. Do not miss UNDRESS ME IN THE TEMPLE OF HEAVEN!
GIVEAWAYThey were young, brilliant, and bold. They set out to conquer the world. But the world had other plans for them. Bestselling author Susan Jane Gilman's new memoir is a hilarious and harrowing journey, a modern heart of darkness filled with Communist operatives, backpackers, and pancakes. In 1986, fresh out of college, Gilman and her friend Claire yearned to do something daring and original that did not involve getting a job. Inspired by a place mat at the International House of Pancakes, they decided to embark on an ambitious trip around the globe, starting in the People's Republic of China.
Audio and Video
Unsurprisingly, they quickly found themselves in over their heads--hungry, disoriented, stripped of everything familiar, and under constant government surveillance. Soon, they began to unravel--one physically, the other psychologically. As their journey became increasingly harrowing, they found themselves facing crises that Susan didn't think they'd survive. But by summoning strengths she never knew she had--and with help from unexpected friends--the two travelers found their way out of a Chinese heart of darkness.
UNDRESS ME IN THE TEMPLE OF HEAVEN is a flat-out page-turner, an astonishing true story of naïveté, friendship, and redemption told with Susan's trademark compassion and humor.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
SUSAN JANE GILMAN has written commentary for the New York Times, Ms., US, and the Los Angeles Times, among others. Winner of several literary awards for her fiction and essays, she is a native New Yorker who currently lives in "rent exile" in Washington, D.C. VISIT SUSAN'S WEBSITE HERE!
REVIEW:
In 1986, on almost a whim after a discussion about a place mat at the IHOP, friends Susan Gilman and Claire Van Houten decide to backpack around the world starting their adventures in the People’s Republic of China. Having just graduated from Brown, THE Ivy League School that it is, these two girls were no more ready for this trip than I would have been at their age (or now, probably, for that matter). With Susan, a New York City girl who worked on scholarship to get through college, and Claire, from the wealthy don’t-want-for-anything-suburbs, we have a pair who are naïve as well as reckless, and so wind up experiencing everything from the beauty of the land and the people, to the horrors only girls so innocent and trusting could find themselves in on such a trek.
At first, Susan is homesick, especially in that Claire challenged her to take the trip from the start, and so Susan calls home frequently. As things develop, however, Susan‘s city street smarts kick in while Claire begins to experience emotional difficulties and things start to unravel for her. There are several warning signs that Claire is going downhill fast and that can only spell trouble for both of them but especially Susan. The story is a true adventure for Gilman and had a huge effect on her and they way she looked at things in the world afterwards. She tells the readers about this and does it in such an endearing way, it just adds to the love you will have for this book. This is a can't-put-it-down memoir that I had wanted to read for a long while and am so glad I finally did. Do not miss UNDRESS ME IN THE TEMPLE OF HEAVEN!
THANKS TO MIRIAM AND THE
HACHETTE BOOK GROUP, I HAVE
FIVE COPIES OF THIS WONDERFUL
MEMOIR/BOOK TO GIVEAWAY!
--U.S. AND CANADIAN RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES
---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN CASE YOU WIN!
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO
COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!
+1 ENTRY: GO TO AUTHOR SUSAN JANE GILMAN'S WEBSITE HERE AND COMMENT ON SOMETHING INTERESTING YOU FIND IN HER FULL BIOGRAPHY THERE
+1 MORE ENTRY: BECOME A FAN OF SUSAN'S ON HER FACEBOOK PAGE HERE: Facebook Fan Page, AND COME BACK AND TELL ME
+1 MORE ENTRY: VISIT ONE OTHER BLOG TOUR STOP AND COMMENT THERE AND TELL ME WHOSE BLOG YOU WENT TO (THEY ARE LISTED BELOW)
BONUS ENTRIES: WATCH FOR MY FABULOUS, HILARIOUS, DON'T-WANT-TO-MISS INTERVIEW WITH SUSAN JANE GILMAN LATER TODAY AND THERE WILL BE MORE CHANCES TO ENTER!!!!
+1 MORE ENTRY: BECOME A FAN OF SUSAN'S ON HER FACEBOOK PAGE HERE: Facebook Fan Page, AND COME BACK AND TELL ME
+1 MORE ENTRY: VISIT ONE OTHER BLOG TOUR STOP AND COMMENT THERE AND TELL ME WHOSE BLOG YOU WENT TO (THEY ARE LISTED BELOW)
BONUS ENTRIES: WATCH FOR MY FABULOUS, HILARIOUS, DON'T-WANT-TO-MISS INTERVIEW WITH SUSAN JANE GILMAN LATER TODAY AND THERE WILL BE MORE CHANCES TO ENTER!!!!
February 22
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