Frantic and Fantastic

The tone of the last third of the book seemed a little frantic. Over all the book had a very relaxed feel to it, truthful but not in as a rushed confessional way, more like he was telling you his story with a glass of wine listening to classical music. For the first two thirds it was all about Mark, and how he settled into China making it his home and experiencing the culture it has to offer. However, the last third of the book seemed to be about him tying up loose ends. There were multiple relationships that came to an end. He finished his taiji lessons with teacher Liang, and his wushu lessons with Pan drew to a close. "We don't have much time. Just a few months... What is the one thing you want to learn before you leave? Choose it, and I'll give it to you."(pg 185) Mark had two years in China and the last third of the book really concentrated on the different events that would leave an imprint on him. I think they were mainly the relationships that he had. At one point he talks about this professor that he meets who has a heart and liver condition. He practices his calligraphy with him  and the professor helps him perfect his brush strokes. Two weeks later however the professor goes into a coma. There were a lot of moments like this that were mentioned in the last third. The way that Mark told his story kept the reader relaxed while event after event piled onto of each other as the book drew to a close."My last month in China was a busy one, as I had to complete my teaching duties, prepare my belongings for the move back to the States, attend farewell meetings and banquets and begin saying goodbye to my friends, students, colleagues, and teacher."(pg.210) What Mark didn't realize was that he began saying good bye long before the final month or chapter of his story. He was desperate to experience the nation in it's true form and he did. The book had varied syntax which defiantly kept the reader interested and it was extremely funny so that the reader was never board during the journey, The syntax also added to making the reader feel more anxious as the end of Mark's story came to a close. there were more factual shorter sentences which added to the more frantic tone of the third half. The fact that it was frantic made the story unique. It made you want to keep turning the page and experiencing the next awkward encounter for yourself. It compelled you to ward the final word.

I really enjoyed Iron and Silk. It was a light read. I mean that in the way that it was easy to turn to the next page. It was funny and written in a really relaxed style that made it seem like he wanted you to experience what he was feeling, and Salzman did just that. The series of events that he chose to talk about were light and each event always had a moral of it's own. They mad you look on topics or ideas with a different perspective. For example there is an incident with a rat and Mark goes to collect a reward for killing it. However the rat collection office could not give it to him due to the fact that he was a foreigner and they couldn't let the world know that China has rats."I couldn't resist asking the student if he didn't think it was a bit silly. 'Of, of course it is very silly. But the comrades in the office, like anyone else, would rather do something silly that something stupid.'" Salzman did a wonderful job really hitting the morals or the knowledge that he gained from each experience home. I also loved the imagery that He used it really helped bring you into the story. There were many examples of this through out the book but one of my favorite moments was at the very end when he finally is dueling Pan with the sword."At that moment, everything was magnificent- the night, the heat the sword, Pan and I- we were all magnificent. I flew through the routine, and when it was done, I thought i had never known such exhilaration before."(pg. 211) The author did a wonderful job of including just the right amount of imagery with his factual encounters that it really made the story seem realistic and not just the memoir of some guy. Iron and Silk was filled with laughter and the joy of experiencing a different culture, making it light, relaxed, and an inspiration to those that want to go far in life.