Beijing Blur by James West

When James West, a 23-year-old journalist from Sydney lands a job at a state-run
radio station in Beijing, he imagines he knows a lot about China. But then he
arrives and finds himself at a rave, dancing on the Great Wall. But is one night of
hedonism on China’s most well-known landmark an accurate reflection of the “Real
Beijing?” Or an anomaly in an otherwise tightly controlled culture, still dealing with
the aftershocks of the Cultural Revolution and Tiananmen Square?

To find answers West talks to the next generation about their experiences and
frustrations, about politics and about the China they will create for themselves long
after the attention of the 2008 Olympic Games has faded away. Throughout
Beijing Blur we meet a wide and wonderful assortment of characters – from
students, entrepreneurs and blue collar workers – to China’s new frontier of
bloggers, rock musicians, and the underground gay (tongzhi) and lesbian (lala)
communities.

Timely, insightful and magically droll, James West provides an intimate
examination of modern China – a nation poised at one of the great turns of the
global historical tide.

Published in the USA + Canada by Cuttyhunk / Landsdown Books under license from Penguin Group (Australia).
Cuttyhunk Books cover by Daniel New © Penguin Books.
Australian & New Zealand edtions published June 2008 by Penguin Books.