Simon Lewis (1)

Out of date, with some map markers that are disastrously misleading. This edition is not very useful in 2010, should not be purchased unless you are desperate for context. If you purchase, it's highly recommended not to rely on this guide as your only source of information.

Also descriptions are written with a distinctly anti Communist government sentiment, expressed through little asides which are sort of funny for a couple of pages, and then just very tiresome for many more after that. YES ROUGH GUIDES BEIJING EDITOR SIMON LEWIS, I UNDERSTAND I AM IN CHINA. THANK YOU FOR MAKING ME AWARE OF THIS FACT ONCE AGAIN.

While it's not completely horrible, generally The Rough Guide to Beijing 3rd Edition is a waste of money. More importantly, it's a waste of space in your bag. Not recommended.… (mais)

When Inspector Jian, a Chinese cop, receives a cryptic call for help from his daughter in England, he drops everything and heads out to find her, despite not knowing how to read or speak English. Meanwhile Ding Ming and his wife Little Ye have been illegally transported to England to work for a Chinese gang in hopes of one day providing a better life for their family back home in China.

When Jian and Ding Ming's paths cross in rural England, sparks start flying. They can help each other but are both ignorant to that fact. Somehow, though, fate keeps bringing them back together and each encounter brings more action and adventure.

It certainly wasn't hard to figure out why BAD TRAFFIC was nominated for the L.A. Times Book Prize in the mystery/thriller category. BAD TRAFFIC is a complex novel populated by complex characters dealing with complex themes. And just when you think it can't possibly get any darker, it does. This gritty, action-packed thriller keeps the reader mesmerized page after page.

While the novel takes place in rural England, it could be placed in almost any developed nation in the world, as illegal immigration and class distinction are common issues around the globe.

I found every aspect of this novel gripping, but I'm sure you won't find it surprising that I was most taken with the characters. There are no white hats in this book. At first glance one might assume Ding Ming to be a white-hatted character, but he's broken the law from the onset by illegally traveling to England. Jian is a crooked Chinese cop, but also has an ethical code that he seems to follow. The lack of white hats contributes to the severe darkness of the tone.

There were many elements of the novel that I thought Lewis did an exceptional job with, but one that stuck out stronger than most for me was his depiction of Jian's alienation in England. Jian is in a strange land and does not understand the language. He cannot read the street signs, billboards, even the paper with his daughter's address.

Not only can he not comprehend the written language, but the spoken language is also beyond his comprehension, Jian often hears flutters instead of comprehensible words. Even other Chinese people are foreign to him, as they speak a completely different dialect. The only thing Jian wants more than to return to the safety of his country is to avenge his daughter's murder. Ding Ming has the benefit of understanding the language because he studied English, but Ding Ming is a peasant and he's amazed by things as common as a automobile.

Ding Ming simply wants to return to his "bosses." He fears for his family back in China who will have to pay his debut if he is assumed dead. And he wants more than anything to be reunited with his wife. Ding Ming's simplicity continues to convince him that he can only prosper if he returns to the ugliness of his new life, the evil bosses are the only people who will protect him and give him a chance to succeed.

Both men are lost in this foreign land. Instead of helping one another, they end up battling each other in addition to their enemies. The complexity of the two men and their relationship to one another challenged me as a reader to see all the dimensions of these characters. Lewis did an outstanding job developing them.

This is most definitely a book that is in contention for a top read of 2009 for me. Absolutely astounding effort by Simon Lewis.… (mais)

THIS MAN HAVE COME FROM CHINA TO FIND HIS DAUGHTER WHO HAVE SOME TROUBLE. HE DO NOT SPEAK ENGLISH are the first words, written on a card, which introduce the reader to Inspector Jian in the novel Bad Traffic by Simon Lewis.
Jian is a hard-bitten Chinese cop whose arrival in Britain to search for his missing daughter Wei Wei throws him into a totally foreign environment - the English countryside. Unable to speak the language he finds himself rapidly becoming embroiled in a dangerous situation when he falls foul of the Snakeheads who traffic peasants from China into the UK where they are forced to work as virtual slaves. These peasants have often paid huge sums to the Snakeheads in China because they believe they are being brought to "Gold Mountain", a country where they will earn a fortune which can then support their impoverished families back home. Ding Ming, one such illegal migrant arrived a few days earlier together with his wife. He has fallen out with his gangmaster as the couple have been split up, and Ding Ming does not know where his wife has been taken. He and Jian find themselves thrown together in a deadly battle against violent criminals. After various twists and turns, and with an ever mounting body count, Jian and Ding Ming manage to win through.

Simon Lewis knows the Chinese well, and speaks Mandarin, having helped write The Rough Guide to China and his descriptions of modern Britain as seen through Chinese eyes is enthralling. Set against the background of human traffiking Bad Traffic is a roller-coaster read, and Inspector Jian is a character I hope we will meet again in further books.… (mais)