Praise for "Chicken Same Duck Talk - Diary of an Australian in China"
"Asheg's romp through China as a stunned yet charmed English teacher jangles the senses and seduces the palate. The
often blind-sided adventures of this Australian outsider
poet and publisher in almighty China make funny and fascinating reading"
- Jen Jewel Brown, editor, researcher, poet, and author of "Skyhooks Million Dollar Riff" and co-author of "Michael: My Brother, Lost Boy of INXS"
"Funny and self-critical, this autobiographical tale of Asheg Brom's experiences as an English teacher in China from 2006-2015 made me laugh, cry and learn. Relevant to unfolding political questions, Brom's insights are invaluable for readers who have not set foot in China yet wish to better understand the complexities of international relations in contemporary times.
Through a fine balance of the personal and political, the emotive and analytical, this engaging and utterly readable narrative offers something the mainstream media simply can't. Beyond political and historical questions, it is a gorgeous new work of life-writing regarding an almost-decade of love, death, growth, pain, discovery and the many mad things we humans do.
I would say something along the lines of that I can't recommend it highly enough, except that all such phrases are hackneyed and don't do justice to the sparkle of this writing. So in lieu of the right words from my own pen, I will steal some Hunter S Thompson, quoted in the work itself: buy the ticket, take the ride. You won't regret it"
- Dr Amelia Walker, Lecturer in Creative Writing, University of South Australia
"This book is so enjoyable to read for its Australian-style humour and the 'friends telling you adventure stories over a beer' writing style. It's like a written series of personal vlogs.
It provides a fair view of what living and teaching English in China for westerners is like, and new and interesting cultural inspections for Chinese readers who are so used to the norms in Chinese society that we tend not to notice them. Because of this, while reading this book, I had many moments like 'oh, I’ve never noticed that!' and 'oh that’s so true!', and 'ah this guy has a better understanding of Chinese culture than many Chinese do!'
The thing is it’s easy to criticise a culture when you don’t know much about it (or when you think you know about it) and it’s truly inspiring to see someone who just lives it, experiences it, and loves it - Asheg is clearly passionate about teaching and loves his job.
I truly hope those people who say 'look, I’m smart. I know all the government conspiracies and have different opinions than normies' read this book. At least then they can get an immersive taste of a different culture. Also, I would recommend it for overseas Chinese who are deciding if they should go back to China, since it gives perspectives to help make a more informed decision".
- Di Shen, ELICOS teacher and Sino-Australian relations officer, Melbourne Polytechnic, Melbourne
Read more reviews at Goodreads!
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