Synopses & Reviews
The inspiring story of a man, a family, a band, a foreign country, and a new beginning
When Alan Paul's wife was offered the job as the Wall Street Journal's China bureau chief, he saw it as an amazing opportunity to shake up their increasingly staid suburban New Jersey life. Excited and not a little scared, they packed up their three children—ages two, four, and seven—and headed for adventure and uncertainty in Beijing, China.
Based on his award-winning Wall Street Journal Online column, "The Expat Life," Big in China explores Paul's unlikely three-and-a-half-year journey of reinvention in this rapidly developing metropolis. He reveals the challenges that he and his family faced while living in a foreign land, including reaching beyond the expat community, coming to terms with his new role as a stay-at-home dad, and learning to navigate and thrive in an unfamiliar culture. By viewing an intimidating challenge as a golden opportunity rather than as a burden, he saw his world open up around him.
At the heart of the memoir is his time fronting Woodie Alan, a blues band he formed with a Chinese partner. The cross-cultural collaboration became an unlikely success. The band embarked on a tour across China, earning the title "Best Band in Beijing" and recording an acclaimed CD of original music sung in both English and Mandarin, which prompted ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons to say, "This is the best Chinese blues band I ever heard. Who knew?" Woodie Alan was symbolic of Paul's entire China experience and?proof of what transpires when one can suspend preconceived notions and plunge into a new reality.
A testament to the transformative power of a life lived beyond comfortable borders, Big in China reminds us of the importance of always keeping our horizons wide and our thoughts ambitious.
Review
“Alan Paul plunges into Chinese life and takes us along for the ride.... He conveys the thrills and challenges of living abroad, the confusions and regrets, and most of all the opportunity to become the person we always hoped to be.” < b=""> & #8212;Peter Hessler, author of < i=""> Country Driving <> and < i=""> River Town <> <>
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“Alan Pauls evolution from expat-village ‘trailing spouse to star of the Chinese music scene stands for countless similar developments underway in China. I hope many people read this book -- and consider a similar adventure themselves.” < b=""> & #8212;James Fallows, author of < i=""> Postcards from Tomorrow Square <> <>
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“Reads like an epic adventure, with music at its heart and the unity of people as its goal.” < b=""> & #8212;Rick Telander, author < i=""> Heaven Is a Playground <> <>
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“An inspirational, eloquent travelogue that that that flows like a soul-baring letter to friends as it carries readers along on a personal journey of discovery in a land that is rediscovering itself.” < b=""> & #8212;James McGregor, author, < i=""> One Billion Customers <> <>
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“Its hard to imagine a better American musical ambassador than Alan Paul.... With the help of great local musicians, he bridged cultures with notes. Its an amazing story.” < b=""> & #8212;Warren Haynes, the Allman Brothers Band <>
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“An absolute love story. In his embrace of family, friends, music and the new culture hes discovering, Alan Paul leaves us contemplating the love in our own lives, and rethinking the concept of home.” < b=""> & #8212;Jeffrey Zaslow, coauthor, < i=""> The Last Lecture <> <>
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“A charming exploration of an expats unlikely rise to fame, as well as the lessons learned along the way.” < b=""> & #8212; < i=""> Kirkus Reviews <> <>
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This readable, human account of his China experience shows how one can be richly rewarded in a supposedly ‘hard posting when armed with an open, adventurous mind and the Chinese peoples ‘go-get-it spirit.” < b=""> & #8212;Lijia Zhang, author of < i=""> Socialism Is Great <> <>
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“Generations of adventurers have daydreamed of seeing their names up in lights in the worlds biggest country. But Alan Paul-musician, writer, and stay-at-home father of three-actually achieved it through sheer will and talent.” < b=""> & #8212;Evan Osnos, China Correspondent, < i=""> The New Yorker <> <>
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“What a romp. After writing about music for years, Alan Paul walked the walk, preaching the blues in China. Anyone who doubts that music is bigger than words needs to read this great tale.” < b=""> & #8212;Gregg Allman, the Allman Brothers Band <>
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"When the Wall Street Journal offered Alan Paul's wife a posting to Beijing as its China bureau chief in 2005, he had no idea that within three years, he would be a rock star, the front man for Beijing's 'band of the year,' the eponymous 'Woodie Alan.' (The band's handle was a combination of Paul's and his Chinese bandmate Woodie Wu's first names -- a joke surely lost on most of the band's fans.)
The unlikely saga of Woodie Alan is the subject of Big in China, Paul's modestly framed yet keenly observed and entertaining account of his life as an expat. An inquisitive traveler, Paul relied on the reportorial skills honed by his experience as a freelance writer to shape his response to his rather luxurious life abroad." John Strawn, The Oregonian (Read the entire Oregonian review)
Synopsis
"What a romp….Alan Paul walked the walk, preaching the blues in China. Anyone who doubts that music is bigger than words needs to read this great tale." —Gregg Allman
"An absolute love story. In his embrace of family, friends, music and the new culture he's discovering, Alan Paul leaves us contemplating the love in our own lives, and rethinking the concept of home." —Jeffrey Zaslow, coauthor, with Randy Pausch, of The Last Lecture
Alan Paul, award-winning author of the Wall Street Journals online column “The Expat Life,” gives his engaging, inspiring, and unforgettable memoir of blues and new beginnings in Beijing. Pauls three-and-a-half-year journey reinventing himself as an American expat—while raising a family and starting the revolutionary blues band Woodie Alan, voted Beijing Band of the Year in the 2008—is a must-read adventure for anyone who has lived abroad, and for everyone who dreams of rewriting the story of their own future.
About the Author
Alan Paul wrote "The Expat Life" column for WSJ.com from 2005 through 2009, and he was named 2008 Online Columnist of the Year by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. Paul is a senior writer for Slam and Guitar World magazines, and his writing has appeared in The New Yorker, Entertainment Weekly, People, Sports Illustrated, and many other media outlets. He has contributed to The Rolling Stone Jazz and Blues Guide, The Insider's Guide to Beijing, and several other books. He lives with his family in Maplewood, New Jersey.