Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven
by Susan Jane Gilman
List Price:
Our Price: $4.99
You Save: $19.00 (79%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Susan Jane GilmanEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-03-24
ISBN: 0446578924
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Book Reviews of Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven
Book Review: A Novel Menagerie's Perspective on Undress Me In The Temple of Heaven
Summary: 4 Stars
The Review
I read Hypocrite in a White Pouffy Dress by Susan Jane Gilman this January. I really, really liked that book, so much so that I gave it a 9 out of 10 rating. Susan's writing in Hypocrite is very funny and I found the book to be touching and an overall good read. Therefore, Gilman had to live up to that book in my mind, especially because I just read Hypocrite 2 months ago. Expectations were high for Gilman.
Undress Me In The Temple of Heaven has a different flavor than Hypocrite. Whereas Hypocrite has a myriad of stories that span across Gilman's life, Undress Me is a beginning to end story about her post-college travel to China with a college friend. Keep in mind, this was 20+ years ago and China had just opened its doors to Westerners. Add to this these two 21-22 year old gals from New York and it's going to add up to some quirky adventures. Which, it did.
This book took some time for me to warm up to. It may be that I was expecting something more comical like Hypocrite. But, once I got about 1/2 way into the book, I was really hooked on the story. I wanted to know what happened to Susan and Claire (her friend). By the end of the book, I couldn't put it down until I had the ending under my belt.
Another thing to state about this book is that I learned quite a bit about China that I never knew before. She has a remarkable memory to be able to write this book 20+ years after the fact with such clarity. My favorite scene is when she goes to the Great Wall of China (see below). Also, the readers really get to know all of the characters in this story very well! To me, that makes a story. I regretfully cannot go too much more into the review without spoiling the story. But, if you're a Gilman fan, you'll enjoy this read.
This book is a totally different read from Hypocrite, but I enjoyed it in its own way. Susan Jane Gilman has the greatest mind and way of looking at things without taking herself too seriously. I just like her so much and I even subscribe to her blog. In any event, now I'm curious about Kiss My Tiara because I wonder how that reads in comparison to the other two books of hers that I've read. Also, if you check out her website, you'll see that she is doing a book promo tour and, if you're a fan, she may be coming to a town near you. It would definitely would be worth the trip to see her! Unfortunately, she's not scheduled for my area... or, I'd totally go and get my book signed.
A special thanks to Miriam at Hachette for letting me share my experience of this book with you!
Favorite Quotes:
"Although Jonnie's English was excellent, he was unable to reproduce certain sounds. Instead of love, he said ruv, and instead of Susie and Claire, he said Sushi and Crair. His accent laid bare all his hopes and vulnerabilities. I suddenly understood why people struggled to get rid of their accents and teased others for theirs. An accent is a form of public nudity. Listening to Jonnie, I felt a strange mixture of bemusement and protectiveness. Soon enough in China, others would feel this for me."
"... the chronic voices deep in my own head saying: Who do you think you are? You'll never amount to anything. You're untalented and unlovable. You will die alone. -all of this was banished by a slow suffusion of peace. At the Great Wall, I no longer freaed my own powerlessness and insignificance. All individuals are nothing, the stones seemed to say, just a speck in the continuum. Whether we're beautiful or skeletal, whether we're sharecroppers or neurosurgeons, whether we fight in wars or give birth to children, whether we eat tofu or watch Morton Downey Jr. on television, whether we're tormented lovers or house cleaners loaded down with shopping bags on the subway train, whether we're Chinese or American - all of this is irrelevant. In the end, we're all just atomic particles destined to be reabsorbed into the cosmos. And, that's okay. Life will come and go, over and over. Only the mountains and this wall have managed to endure."
"Did Lewis and Clark ever get on each other's nerves?"
Cool Flicks
Here is a quick peek at the Temple of Heaven:
Some Interesting Tidbits:
The Great Wall of China is so amazing!
"Today's picture features the Great Wall Of China, the largest man-made object on earth. Stretching some 4,100 miles along northern China, the Great Wall is actually a series of short walls that more or less follow the ridges of hills and cross desert and grasslands on the southern edge of the Mongolian plain."
"The history of the Great Wall of China spans approximately 2,000 years and several Chinese dynasties, finally taking it's current form under the famous Ming Dynasty. Built as a defense against northern invaders, the wall ultimately failed to fulfill that mission because of the gaps between the various sections."
Although it was believed for many years that the Great Wall Of China was so large that it surely must be visible from the moon, the first successful Apollo Lunar Mission debunked that theory once and for all. But the Great Wall is indeed the last man-made object that can be seen with the naked eye from a spacecraft as it travels away from the planet into space.
Today, the Beijing section of the Great Wall is China's most popular tourist attraction, drawing over 4 million visitors each year."
(Information on Great Wall of China provided by http://www.rlrouse.com/)
On Sher's "Out of Ten Scale:"
I would recommend this book, especially to Gilman's fans. This book is a true story and based on real people. I could totally relate to the time of this setting due to my age. It made me miss my Reeboks! Like Gilman, I'm curious about Claire and what's she's up to today. I wonder if she'll read this story. For the genre Non-Fiction/Memoir, I give this read an 8 out of 10.
Summary of Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven
They were young, brilliant, and bold. They set out to conquer the world. But the world had other plans for them.Bestselling author Susan Jane Gilman's new memoir is a hilarious and harrowing journey, a modern heart of darkness filled with Communist operatives, backpackers, and pancakes.
In 1986, fresh out of college, Gilman and her friend Claire yearned to do something daring and original that did not involve getting a job. Inspired by a place mat at the International House of Pancakes, they decided to embark on an ambitious trip around the globe, starting in the People's Republic of
Armed only with the collected works of Nietzsche, an astrological love guide, and an arsenal of bravado, the two friends plunged into the dusty streets of
Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven is a flat-out page-turner, an astonishing true story of hubris and redemption told with Gilman's trademark compassion, lyricism, and wit.
Amazon Best of the Month, March 2009: While this latest memoir from Susan Jane Gilman (former Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress) appears to be a saucy account of international sexcapades, it quickly reveals its whip-smarts, sucking you into a story that brilliantly captures the "ecstatic terror" of gleefully leaping from your comfort zone--and finding yourself in freefall. It's 1986, and newly minted ivy league grads Susy and her friend Claire have never left the U.S. when (inspired by a "Pancakes of Many Nations" promotion during a drunken night at IHOP) they hatch a plan to circle the world, starting in China, which has just opened to tourists. From the moment of arrival, they're out of their depth, perpetually hungry, foolish, and paranoid from relentless observation. Claire, who carries the complete works of Nietzsche "like a Gideon Bible," seems more capable than Susy until encounters with military police, hallucinatory fevers, and a frantic escape from a squalid hospital expose cracks in her psyche that utterly derail their plans. Rich with insight, dead-on dialogue, and canny characterization, Gilman's personal tale nails that cataclysmic collision of idealism and reality that so often characterizes young adulthood. Be prepared to wolf down the final hundred pages in one sitting. --Mari Malcolm
Memoirs Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Memoirs Books
Kingdom of Fear: Loathsome Secrets of a Star-Crossed Child in the Final Days of the American Centuryby Hunter S. Thompson
Penguin Books, Limited (UK); Published: 2008-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.11
Price in other shops:
Never Have Your Dog Stuffedby Alan Alda
Arrow Books; Published: 2007-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.59
Price in other shops:
The Hunger: A Story of Food, Desire, and Ambitionby John DeLucie, Graydon Carter
Ecco; Published: 2009-05-12; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $1.77
Price in other shops:
Brotherhood of Warriors: Behind Enemy Lines with a Commando in One of the World's Most Elite Counterterrorism Unitsby Aaron Cohen, Douglas Century
Ecco; Published: 2008-04-29; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.80
Price in other shops:
Not Lost Forever: My Story of Survivalby Carmina Salcido, Steve Jackson
William Morrow; Published: 2009-10-06; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.99
Price in other shops:
Unlocked: The Life and Crimes of a Mafia Insiderby Louis Ferrante
Harper Perennial; Published: 2009-02-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.97
Price in other shops:
Writing Places: The Life Journey of a Writer and Teacherby William Zinsser
Harper; Published: 2009-05-19; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.08
Price in other shops:
Got the Life: My Journey of Addiction, Faith, Recovery, and Kornby Fieldy
William Morrow; Published: 2009-03-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.98
Price in other shops:
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life (P.S.)by Barbara Kingsolver, Camille Kingsolver, Steven L. Hopp
Harper Perennial; Published: 2008-04-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.10
Price in other shops:
The Ride of My Lifeby Mat Hoffman
It Books; Published: 2003-09-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.95
Similar Books and other products
This Is Where I Leave Youby Jonathan Tropper
Dutton Adult; Published: 2009-08-06; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.49
Price in other shops:
Catfish and Mandala: A Two-Wheeled Voyage Through the Landscape and Memory of Vietnamby Andrew X. Pham
Picador; Published: 2000-09-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.93
Price in other shops:
The Motion of the Ocean: 1 Small Boat, 2 Average Lovers, and a Woman's Search for the Meaning of Wifeby Janna Cawrse Esarey
Touchstone; Published: 2009-06-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.14
Price in other shops:
The Piano Teacher: A Novelby Janice Y. K. Lee
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2009-11-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.97
Price in other shops:
The Invisible Bridgeby Julie Orringer
Knopf; Published: 2010-05-04; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $12.49
Price in other shops:
The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club: True Tales from a Magnificent and Clumsy Lifeby Laurie Notaro
Villard; Published: 2002-07-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.07
Price in other shops:
Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Homeby Rhoda Janzen
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 2010-04-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.65
Price in other shops:
Undress Me in the Temple of Heavenby Susan Jane Gilman
Grand Central Publishing; Published: 2010-02-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.41
Price in other shops:
Kiss My Tiara: How to Rule the World as a SmartMouth Goddessby Susan Jane Gilman
Grand Central Publishing; Published: 2001-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.19
Price in other shops:
Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dressby Susan Jane Gilman
Grand Central Publishing; Published: 2005-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.99
Price in other shops: