Shanghai Cocktales

Olden recalls his time as a young man in tumultuous China.

Olden’s memoir opens with his decision to leave behind everything he’d known and join his friend Alex in Shanghai. The year was 1999, and China was buzzing with possibility. The country’s vast economic expansion was underway in earnest, and opportunities were everywhere. Olden left his former life after his fiancee cheated on him with a close friend, and then he chose not to pursue serious relationships with women. So, instead of romance, the story is full of camaraderie between men—particularly after Olden finds a steady, entertaining group of friends—and fleeting interactions with women. He encountered female scam artists, sex workers and business owners (not to mention the extensive collection of digital women he kept on his computer). As Olden went from job to job, scraping by when one position ended and rent was due, he started to gain confidence in himself. A pivotal moment was his meeting Joseph, a former Mormon missionary living in Shanghai who radiated calm from the moment he met Olden. In their first encounter, Joseph gave him a book—Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist—which Olden accepted with some trepidation. As it happened, Joseph’s book allowed Olden to relax and go with the flow of life. This strategy ended up working well for him on the employment front, as he found himself with opportunity after opportunity even when things seemed desperate. Romance wasn’t in the cards for Olden, though he does describe sometimes-amusing, usually vulgar encounters with women from bars and clubs. The memoir traces Olden’s evolution: Readers see him through the process of moving to a foreign country and becoming more of a stable, optimistic adult. The cast, mostly friends and short-term lovers, is vividly portrayed, and Olden writes everyday speech particularly well, helping readers more fully experience his daily life in Shanghai. However, as an effect of culture shock, some dialogue is intentionally unclear, since Olden had difficulty understanding Shanghai’s residents even when they spoke English. From the food carts outside Olden’s first office to descriptions of nightlife, there is more than enough local color to satisfy readers interested in armchair travel. While Olden’s memoir doesn’t have a plot in the traditional sense, his own development touches on milestones and themes that progress throughout the work, giving readers plenty to think about.

Part travel diary, part spiritual education, liberally sprinkled with hedonistic pursuits.