Enakshi reviews Escape from America by Vinnie Apicella, exclusively for Different Truths.
Book: Escape from America
Author: Vinnie Apicella
Rating: 3.5/5
To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. To not dare is to lose oneself.
~ Søren Kierkegaard
One of the disadvantages of not knowing what the unchartered territories hold for our future is that testing the waters becomes even more difficult. But even then, the will power and the desire to reach the apex keep us going. Escape from America is based on a similar idea.
Often, we take a leap of faith when it comes to carving out a niche for ourselves in this populated world. One of the disadvantages of not knowing what the unchartered territories hold for our future is that testing the waters becomes even more difficult. But even then, the will power and the desire to reach the apex keep us going. Escape from America is based on a similar idea. It is a reflective account of the author’s journey to China. It comprises the lessons learnt, and the experiences gathered – all put together using several anecdotes.
Escape from America is divided into three parts: the first part elaborates upon how the author was desirous of leaving his country and travel to a distant land looking for better opportunities. The second part describes what all the author learnt about China as a ‘visitor’ and the last part describes China as it is seen by its ‘residents’. Breaking several stereotypes associated with people from different cultures, the author deftly weaves a narrative that is unbiased and introspective too. One would wonder why does an American present an unprejudiced account of his admiration for China, a growing world power. That’s the bait. The author bluntly confesses that he wouldn’t shy away from airing the dirty laundry. Even though America is all about ‘the best’ of everything, there are other countries, especially China in this case, who are equally equipped to reach the summit.
A wishy-washy approach towards the narrative, which is verbose as it stretches for umpteen number of pages at the beginning is what disappointed me. The idea is repetitive, and the author tries so hard to put his thoughts across to the readers. That takes away a lot of time as well. But the good thing about this book is its collection of lessons that can prove to be life-changing.
A wishy-washy approach towards the narrative, which is verbose as it stretches for umpteen number of pages at the beginning is what disappointed me. The idea is repetitive, and the author tries so hard to put his thoughts across to the readers. That takes away a lot of time as well. But the good thing about this book is its collection of lessons that can prove to be life changing. Being an armchair critic does no good to one’s mind, for an objective approach towards everything is what helps one adapt to the new surroundings. But to develop an open mind, one needs to change sides and then view the situation because the grass always seems greener on the other side. When the author visits China for the first time, he is caught unawares by the cultural complexities and the near-perfect work culture. He also mentions the importance of communication. Interaction with people from different walks of life helped the author familiarize with a foreign land. This not only helped him keep his fears at bay but also helped him view a new country in the new light.
As we progress to the last part, it becomes a little tiresome and that’s the reason I took so long to finish this book. I liked how the author brings the entire narrative to a conclusion by listing what one should and what one shouldn’t do when in a foreign country.
Overall, Escape from America has a fluid narrative and one can read it quite fast but there is quite a lot to take in.
Overall, Escape from America has a fluid narrative and one can read it quite fast but there is quite a lot to take in. Hence, it needs patience and an open mind to empathise with the author and understand what he tries to convey.
Best wishes to the author!
Photos sourced by the author
Enakshi is an educator, an author and a traveller. She loves to learn. Her writings have appeared in The Speaking Tree (Times of India), Woman’s Era, Alive, Infitithoughts, SivanaSpirit, Women’s Web, EfictionIndia and Induswomanwriting. She is an eminent book reviewer and she reviews books by Penguin, Rupa and Hachette India. Her stories and poems have been anthologised widely. She conceptualized two books- ‘Unbounded Trajectories’ and ‘Poison Ivy’.
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