Essayist, novelist, and scholar, John Espey is Professor Emeritus of English at the University of California, Los Angeles. In 1990, Espey's Strong Drink, Strong Language received a nomination for the National Book Critics Circle Award.

"This is a gentle memoir evoking the simple pleasures of Espey's youth, his sense of being influenced simultaneously by the Chinese culture and by the Presbyterian ethic of his parents. . . . Espey's sensitive perceptions evoke a vivid contrast between the earthy, practical Chinese and Shanghai's isolated foreign community during the era between the Boxer Rebellion and the Japanese invasion. . . . [A] droll and graceful memoir.

Essayist, novelist, and scholar, John Espey is Professor Emeritus of English at the University of California, Los Angeles. In 1990, Espey's Strong Drink, Strong Language received a nomination for the National Book Critics Circle Award.

"This is a gentle memoir evoking the simple pleasures of Espey's youth, his sense of being influenced simultaneously by the Chinese culture and by the Presbyterian ethic of his parents. . . . Espey's sensitive perceptions evoke a vivid contrast between the earthy, practical Chinese and Shanghai's isolated foreign community during the era between the Boxer Rebellion and the Japanese invasion. . . . [A] droll and graceful memoir.

Essayist, novelist, and scholar, John Espey is Professor Emeritus of English at the University of California, Los Angeles. In 1990, Espey's Strong Drink, Strong Language received a nomination for the National Book Critics Circle Award.

"This is a gentle memoir evoking the simple pleasures of Espey's youth, his sense of being influenced simultaneously by the Chinese culture and by the Presbyterian ethic of his parents. . . . Espey's sensitive perceptions evoke a vivid contrast between the earthy, practical Chinese and Shanghai's isolated foreign community during the era between the Boxer Rebellion and the Japanese invasion. . . . [A] droll and graceful memoir.