what are the best expat memoirs you have ever read? i just read ‘chasing china’ by mark kitto, which was very interesting. he had scathing, self-critical things to say about why people become expats. but part of it rang true to me, although i’m an ex- expat. 
Learning to Bow, by Bruce S. Feiler, about teaching in a Japanese school.
“Off the Rails in Phnom Penh” by Amit Gilboa
Man, I was just getting ready to post that, while no really good ones come to mind, there has certainly been no shortage of absolute shite in this area, preparing to cite the above POS as one of the most vividly recalled.
“Off the Shitter in Phnom Penh” is more like it.
When this came out, every person I knew who had visited PP was disgusted that this pile of shit had even seen the inside of a print shop.
The useless tit who wrote it chooses the most lurid and exploitative aspects of what a visit there then (the late 90’s IIRC) could entail, and then uses the most stilted and unengaging style possible to relate about how he stood and watched his friend/hostel mate indulge.
Nice pen name, too.
(If I had been responsible for expelling this shit sandwich into the world, I wouldn’t want my name known, either…)
Amit Gilboa watches his friend eat weed pizza.
Amit Gilboa watches his friend go to a whorehouse.
Amit Gilboa watches his friend bang some underage local prostitute.
Amit Gilboa watches his friend’s underage local prostitute who is staying at the hostel offer to suck his dick.
I can’t even remember the rest it was such a crapfest.
I give it FOUR steaming coils with extra corn.
EDIT: Sorry if this sounds personal, it isn’t meant to be. Unless, of course, you’re Ambit Gerboa, in which case you suck ass.
Gweilo by Martin Booth…an account of growing up in Hong Kong is very good.
(Note this was published in the USA as Golden Boy)
and of course Empire of the Sun while we’re talking about expat kids.
[quote=“the bear”]Gweilo by Martin Booth…an account of growing up in Hong Kong is very good.
(Note this was published in the USA as Golden Boy)
and of course Empire of the Sun while we’re talking about expat kids.[/quote]
Those are both cracking good.
‘Touch the Dragon’ by Karen Connelly. Written by a teenage girl about living in rural Thailand, so less of the boring crap expat journals about Asia are full of. (‘Wooo! Third world prostitutes! And the traffic is so crazy!’ )
What about thinly veiled novelizations?
Can I say Orwell’s Burmese Days?
[quote=“the chief”]What about thinly veiled novelizations?
Can I say Orwell’s Burmese Days?[/quote]
Yes!
I was about to post that.
A “cracking good,” as you say depiction of the empire men and their sensibilities, among much else.
I’ve recently begun reading it again.
Since Off the Rails won such acclaim here how about Hardship Posting?
Actually, never mind.
Man, I was just getting ready to post that, while no really good ones come to mind, there has certainly been no shortage of absolute shite in this area, preparing to cite the above POS as one of the most vividly recalled.
“Off the Shitter in Phnom Penh” is more like it.
When this came out, every person I knew who had visited PP was disgusted that this pile of shit had even seen the inside of a print shop.
The useless tit who wrote it chooses the most lurid and exploitative aspects of what a visit there then (the late 90’s IIRC) could entail, and then uses the most stilted and unengaging style possible to relate about how he stood and watched his friend/hostel mate indulge.
Nice pen name, too.
(If I had been responsible for expelling this shit sandwich into the world, I wouldn’t want my name known, either…)
Amit Gilboa watches his friend eat weed pizza.
Amit Gilboa watches his friend go to a whorehouse.
Amit Gilboa watches his friend bang some underage local prostitute.
Amit Gilboa watches his friend’s underage local prostitute who is staying at the hostel offer to suck his dick.
I can’t even remember the rest it was such a crapfest.
I give it FOUR steaming coils with extra corn.
EDIT: Sorry if this sounds personal, it isn’t meant to be. Unless, of course, you’re Ambit Gerboa, in which case you suck ass.[/quote]
I actually agree with you, Chief.
Thank God I’m not Ambit Gerboa. 
“Song of the Forest” by Louis Sarno.
There are so many classic reads. Is this thread only concerned with that of the East?
If not:
My vote would go to ‘Under The Volcano’, by Malcolm Lowry.
or ‘Down and out in Paris and London’ by the previously mentioned Eric Blair.
i was interested in any country, not just asian ones, so thanks for all the great replies. i have a lot of good reading to look forward to. but just to add a refinement, what is the best expat memoir you have read about taiwan? china?
I’m suprised nobody has mentionend Iron and Silk by Mark Salzman. Maybe because you think it sucks. I assumed it was one of the most well known memoirs of teaching English and living in China since it was written way back in 1986. It is actually well written though and was responsible for first sparking my interest into coming to this part of the world.
I like Deirdre Dare’s “Expat.” It’s a thinly-disguised novelization of her life as a lawyer in Moscow.
Two that are damn good - although not entirely sure whether they come under the genre of “expat” or "travelling in China -
“The River at the Centre of the World” - Simon Manchester
“First Pass Under Heaven” - Nathan Hoturoa Gray
I loved the author’s realistic stereotypes of teachers, but all of his characters are non-Canadians…it is because he is a Canadian. While it is a riveting read, he should have put more of his countrymen into the novel to make it an accurate representation.