Shenzhen: A Travelogue from China

The first book I read of his was Burma chronicle, I was surprised that this travelogue takes a much darker theme of loneliness and general uncomfort of being in a foreign country with less than a handful of people that you can communicate with. I was painfully reminded of my first few months of my time back in Singapore, reading this book.

This delighted me. It's honest and culture (as well as cultural differences) interest me. I especially enjoyed a part towards the end when he meets another Canadian and they talk of “Canada's only national issue: cultural identity” and Delisle says:
“The problem with Canada is that it's missing a cardinal point. The South is ok, everyone's glued to the border. East and West are fine too... but the North, no one really knows where it ends! Hudson Bay? The Northwest Territories? The Arctic Circle? Baffin Island? After that it's all ice. You can't even tell if there's ground underfoot! How can anyone expect to know where they're going in a country that has no North? The problem doesn't exist anywhere else... France even has an administration called ‘The North'. If you ask me Canada needs to redraw its Northern border so people can situate themselves, psychologically speaking.”
I also liked his general observations about the Chinese cities he saw.

A humourous travelogue about a stranger in a strange land. The culture shock that goes into Delisle's encounter with the Chinese in Shenzhen can be surreal and surprisingly funny.