Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the
New China by Evan Osnos is an extraordinary book, giving the reader real
insights into the darkly ironic society of Communist China and its capitalist economic
system.
At first, this book has the unfortunate tone of ridiculing the
Chinese. Osnos writes about people with
extreme idiosyncrasies. But as the book
progresses, it drops this tone, and the author is able to paint a picture of
the nearly unbearable pressure of both ordinary and famous citizens of the PRC. He talks to people from all walks of life,
and draws insights into their predicaments.
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| The "Peoples" Liberation Army suppressing the people, 1989 |
What we get at the end is a book that chronicles the nearly
unfathomable amount of change that China has experienced in the last few
decades through the lens of its people. Osnos certainly suggests that
China, politically, economically, and socially, can’t be sustained. The
state apparatus to suppress criticism and revolt, and the growing legions of
well-heeled Chinese people who want greater reforms and freedoms – will
certainly clash. And what it will bring no one knows.
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