An expat's perspective
By Emily Gilbert and Rosemary Reyes |
May 22, 2011, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A bicycle ride through the former French concession in her evening dress was a "snapshot moment" for Valentine Sorret, as she made her way to Maison Pourcel for the launch of her recent autobiographical collection of stories entitled Shanghai Snapshots. "Perhaps that's the point of snapshots," she mentioned later in the evening, "that they are humorous in hindsight."
Hailing from France, and having lived in Shanghai for six years, Sorret's book tells of her experiences as an expat and Western woman in China's biggest and most dynamic city. "It is really a personal portrait," she said of her book and she couldn't be more right. Rather than being a linear narrative, Sorret's book, which was originally published in French, reads as a collection of short stories, each one focusing on a specific event, feeling or observation during her ever-evolving experience of Shanghai. While intended to be an autobiographical documentation or rather a personal souvenir of her life abroad, Shanghai Snapshots can be used as a guidebook on what to expect of everyday life as an expat in Shanghai from someone who has experienced it all first hand.
But the primary aim of her work is to convey the emotions that ensue from her experiences. Having left France for a more fast-paced lifestyle, Sorret sums up living in Shanghai in one word: Energy.
Sorret's colorful vignettes are what she likes to call a "picture of words" vividly capturing her vibrant and hectic life while also shedding light on the lifestyle tendencies of her native French people. From the challenges of communicating with locals, to the glamor of a night out on the Bund, Sorret captures both the Chinese and Western worlds that collide in this city. A main focus of the book is ensuring that each story represents "a snapshot of every day" depicting the sensory overload that one experiences in this dynamic Asian megacity. Sorret goes through all of the different experiences of life in this seductive metropolis from the smells of the streets in the early morning to the mischief encountered in Shanghai's most notorious nightclubs.
When asked what her best advice would be for expatriates new to Shanghai, Sorret said the most important thing is to "keep your eyes open. It's an extraordinary city," she went on to say, and one that will continue to excite and entice even the most reluctant traveler.
The book is available from Garden Books and Charterhouse in town.
Hailing from France, and having lived in Shanghai for six years, Sorret's book tells of her experiences as an expat and Western woman in China's biggest and most dynamic city. "It is really a personal portrait," she said of her book and she couldn't be more right. Rather than being a linear narrative, Sorret's book, which was originally published in French, reads as a collection of short stories, each one focusing on a specific event, feeling or observation during her ever-evolving experience of Shanghai. While intended to be an autobiographical documentation or rather a personal souvenir of her life abroad, Shanghai Snapshots can be used as a guidebook on what to expect of everyday life as an expat in Shanghai from someone who has experienced it all first hand.
But the primary aim of her work is to convey the emotions that ensue from her experiences. Having left France for a more fast-paced lifestyle, Sorret sums up living in Shanghai in one word: Energy.
Sorret's colorful vignettes are what she likes to call a "picture of words" vividly capturing her vibrant and hectic life while also shedding light on the lifestyle tendencies of her native French people. From the challenges of communicating with locals, to the glamor of a night out on the Bund, Sorret captures both the Chinese and Western worlds that collide in this city. A main focus of the book is ensuring that each story represents "a snapshot of every day" depicting the sensory overload that one experiences in this dynamic Asian megacity. Sorret goes through all of the different experiences of life in this seductive metropolis from the smells of the streets in the early morning to the mischief encountered in Shanghai's most notorious nightclubs.
When asked what her best advice would be for expatriates new to Shanghai, Sorret said the most important thing is to "keep your eyes open. It's an extraordinary city," she went on to say, and one that will continue to excite and entice even the most reluctant traveler.
The book is available from Garden Books and Charterhouse in town.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
