American+Shaolin+-+Flying+Kicks,+Buddhist+Monks,+and+the+Legend+of+Iron+Crotch+-+an+Odyssey+in+the+New+China

Discussion page for //American Shaolin: Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks, and the Legend of Iron Crotch: an Odyssey in the New China

I liked this book. I've only managed to get a few students to read it. The other teachers who have read it liked it as well. Kelly Budd Keene High School

I enjoy the more artistic martial arts movies (and was also inspired by David Carradine's 'Grasshopper' kung-fu character when I was a teen), and thought "American Shaolin" might be an interesting choice for the kids in our high school age reading group.// //Matthew Polly is a soft, gawky, bored young man who drops out of Princeton to pursue his dream of finding the mythic Shaolin Temple. His quest across China gives him many opportunities to try out his rudimentary Chinese, and he has humorous interactions with the locals, who find this 'laowai' amusing. When at last he finds the Temple, it is shabby and run down, and the culture is in transformation from Communism to free-market. Fortunately, their poverty motivates them to take on a paying Westerner.// //Polly learns to "eat bitter", and struggles to be accepted as one of them. He studies their customs and hierarchy, and is eventually on the path to becoming a real fighting monk. His first serious relationship with a young Chinese woman is mildly graphic, and his fights are often violent and sometimes bloody. But the story is compelling, if at the same time seeming somewhat superficial, as just when he comes close to fully connecting with their culture, he finds reasons to back away from it, and never quite finds the serenity he imagined. I suppose that is the way it is when one is wanting just to experience the culture, and is not planning to stay forever and assimilate. This awareness creates distance in his relationships, but nonetheless the book remains unique and by gives the reader real insight into that world and what it means to follow your dreams.// //I decided that the book didn't have enough appeal for it to be one of our group selections. It could be construed as more of an adventurous 'guys' story, and readers would have to enjoy exploring foreign culture without being perplexed or overwhelmed (or underwhelmed). But his story stays with you, despite its shortcomings, and I would recommend it to anyone who finds the description intriguing.

Cathy Marciniak Fuller Public Library Hillsboro, NH//