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GIVEAWAY ENDEDUNDRESS ME IN THE
TEMPLE OF HEAVEN
BY SUSAN JANE GILMAN
ABOUT THE BOOK:
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 China.
Unsurprisingly, they quickly found themselves in over their heads--hungry, disoriented, stripped of everything familiar, and under constant government surveillance. Soon, they began to unravel--one physically, the other psychologically. As their journey became increasingly harrowing, they found themselves facing crises that Susan didn't think they'd survive. But by summoning strengths she never knew she had--and with help from unexpected friends--the two travelers found their way out of a Chinese heart of darkness.
UNDRESS ME IN THE TEMPLE OF HEAVEN is a flat-out page-turner, an astonishing true story of naïveté, friendship, and redemption told with Susan's trademark compassion and humor.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
SUSAN JANE GILMAN has written commentary for the New York Times, Ms., US, and the Los Angeles Times, among others. Winner of several literary awards for her fiction and essays, she is a native New Yorker who currently lives in "rent exile" in Washington, D.C.
VISIT SUSAN'S WEBSITE HERE!
REVIEW:
In 1986, on almost a whim after a discussion about a place mat at the IHOP, friends Susan Gilman and Claire Van Houten decide to backpack around the world starting their adventures in the People’s Republic of China. Having just graduated from Brown, THE Ivy League School that it is, these two girls were no more ready for this trip than I would have been at their age (or now, probably, for that matter). With Susan, a New York City girl who worked on scholarship to get through college, and Claire, from the wealthy don’t-want-for-anything-suburbs, we have a pair who are naïve as well as reckless, and so wind up experiencing everything from the beauty of the land and the people, to the horrors only girls so innocent and trusting could find themselves in on such a trek.
At first, Susan is homesick, especially in that Claire challenged her to take the trip from the start, and so Susan calls home frequently. As things develop, however, Susan‘s city street smarts kick in while Claire begins to experience emotional difficulties and things start to unravel for her. There are several warning signs that Claire is going downhill fast and that can only spell trouble for both of them but especially Susan. The story is a true adventure for Gilman and had a huge effect on her and they way she looked at things in the world afterwards. She tells the readers about this and does it in such an endearing way, it just adds to the love you will have for this book. This is a can't-put-it-down memoir that I had wanted to read for a long while and am so glad I finally did. Do not miss UNDRESS ME IN THE TEMPLE OF HEAVEN!
GIVEAWAYThey 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 China.
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Unsurprisingly, they quickly found themselves in over their heads--hungry, disoriented, stripped of everything familiar, and under constant government surveillance. Soon, they began to unravel--one physically, the other psychologically. As their journey became increasingly harrowing, they found themselves facing crises that Susan didn't think they'd survive. But by summoning strengths she never knew she had--and with help from unexpected friends--the two travelers found their way out of a Chinese heart of darkness.
UNDRESS ME IN THE TEMPLE OF HEAVEN is a flat-out page-turner, an astonishing true story of naïveté, friendship, and redemption told with Susan's trademark compassion and humor.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
SUSAN JANE GILMAN has written commentary for the New York Times, Ms., US, and the Los Angeles Times, among others. Winner of several literary awards for her fiction and essays, she is a native New Yorker who currently lives in "rent exile" in Washington, D.C. VISIT SUSAN'S WEBSITE HERE!
REVIEW:
In 1986, on almost a whim after a discussion about a place mat at the IHOP, friends Susan Gilman and Claire Van Houten decide to backpack around the world starting their adventures in the People’s Republic of China. Having just graduated from Brown, THE Ivy League School that it is, these two girls were no more ready for this trip than I would have been at their age (or now, probably, for that matter). With Susan, a New York City girl who worked on scholarship to get through college, and Claire, from the wealthy don’t-want-for-anything-suburbs, we have a pair who are naïve as well as reckless, and so wind up experiencing everything from the beauty of the land and the people, to the horrors only girls so innocent and trusting could find themselves in on such a trek.
At first, Susan is homesick, especially in that Claire challenged her to take the trip from the start, and so Susan calls home frequently. As things develop, however, Susan‘s city street smarts kick in while Claire begins to experience emotional difficulties and things start to unravel for her. There are several warning signs that Claire is going downhill fast and that can only spell trouble for both of them but especially Susan. The story is a true adventure for Gilman and had a huge effect on her and they way she looked at things in the world afterwards. She tells the readers about this and does it in such an endearing way, it just adds to the love you will have for this book. This is a can't-put-it-down memoir that I had wanted to read for a long while and am so glad I finally did. Do not miss UNDRESS ME IN THE TEMPLE OF HEAVEN!
THANKS TO MIRIAM AND THE
HACHETTE BOOK GROUP, I HAVE
FIVE COPIES OF THIS WONDERFUL
MEMOIR/BOOK TO GIVEAWAY!
--U.S. AND CANADIAN RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES
---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN CASE YOU WIN!
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO
COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!
+1 ENTRY: GO TO AUTHOR SUSAN JANE GILMAN'S WEBSITE HERE AND COMMENT ON SOMETHING INTERESTING YOU FIND IN HER FULL BIOGRAPHY THERE
+1 MORE ENTRY: BECOME A FAN OF SUSAN'S ON HER FACEBOOK PAGE HERE: Facebook Fan Page, AND COME BACK AND TELL ME
+1 MORE ENTRY: VISIT ONE OTHER BLOG TOUR STOP AND COMMENT THERE AND TELL ME WHOSE BLOG YOU WENT TO (THEY ARE LISTED BELOW)
BONUS ENTRIES: WATCH FOR MY FABULOUS, HILARIOUS, DON'T-WANT-TO-MISS INTERVIEW WITH SUSAN JANE GILMAN LATER TODAY AND THERE WILL BE MORE CHANCES TO ENTER!!!!
+1 MORE ENTRY: BECOME A FAN OF SUSAN'S ON HER FACEBOOK PAGE HERE: Facebook Fan Page, AND COME BACK AND TELL ME
+1 MORE ENTRY: VISIT ONE OTHER BLOG TOUR STOP AND COMMENT THERE AND TELL ME WHOSE BLOG YOU WENT TO (THEY ARE LISTED BELOW)
BONUS ENTRIES: WATCH FOR MY FABULOUS, HILARIOUS, DON'T-WANT-TO-MISS INTERVIEW WITH SUSAN JANE GILMAN LATER TODAY AND THERE WILL BE MORE CHANCES TO ENTER!!!!
February 22
http://readingatthebeach.com
http://frugalplus.com/
http://books-movies-chinesefood.blogspot.com
http://bookjourney.wordpress.com/
http://onemorefoggynotion.blogspot.com/
http://bookseriesreviews.blogspot.com/
February 23
http://foreigncircuslibrary.blogspot.com
http://luanne-abookwormsworld.blogspot.com/
http://www.masoncanyon.blogspot.com
http://www.sheistoofondofbooks.com/
http://booksnyc.blogspot.com
http://bookinwithbingo.blogspot.com
February 24
http://www.rundpinne.com
http://popculturenerd.com
http://stacievaughansblog.blogspot.com
http://blesstheirheartsmom.blogspot.com
http://therempels4.blogspot.com
http://thedmlibrary.blogspot.com
February 25
http://aseaofbooks.blogspot.com/
http://www.madeleineatbooksandphotos.com/
http://www.mgpblog.com
http://www.libslibrary.blogspot.com
http://www.frommipov.blogspot.com
http://metroreader.blogspot.com
February 26
http://my-book-views.blogspot.com
http://booksiesblog.blogspot.com
http://www.thedivinemissmommy.com
http://booknaround.blogspot.com
http://dreyslibrary.blogspot.com
http://chickwithbooks.blogspot.com/
http://cindysloveofbooks.blogspot.com/
54 comments:
This fascinating travel memoir interests me greatly. Thanks for the chance. The author is talented and has written for newspapers and magazines. Fiction and non-fiction. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com
I commented on Reading at the Beach blog on her review of this book. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com
Both my mom and I really enjoyed this book too. Don't enter me.
The author is afraid of clowns and puppets!
mtakala1 AT yahoo DOT com
I'd really like to read this book. I made a comment on Book Journey's review.
mtakala1 AT yahoo DOT com
Ooh, please enter me in! I went to her site and saw that she has been on TV a few times which is cool. The picture of her at age 2 is so cute too!
stephaniet117(at)yahoo(dot)com
Sounds like a very interesting memoir. I'd love to enter. But you always have to make us jump through hoops don't you... :o)
Okay, I visited her website and found it interesting that she was kicked out of secretarial school. Must be a good story there too. :o)
ludeluh at yahoo dot com
I commented on the review at Bookjourney.
ludeluh at yahoo dot com
Please count me in. She is afraid of clown! So am i! Some can be so scary.
lizzi0915 at aol mdot com
I think she's so funny! The fact that she got kicked out of Secretarial school and never meant to be funny, in fact, aspiring to be "An American Dostoevsky with breasts" is hilarious!
melacan at hotmail dot com
She is very funny as is her writing although she never planned on that. She figured she would be an "American Dostoevsky with breasts".
lkish77123 at gmail dot com
I find it interesting that she worked as a speech and staff writer for a member of Congress (I wonder which member?).
Thanks!
denny(dot)gill(at)gmail(dot)com
I too took especial notice of the fear of clowns and puppets - that would be me as well!
nbmars AT yahoo DOT com
I think it's very interesting that Ms. Gilman was a speech writer in Washington D.C. for Congress. That type of writing seems quite different than her books! I always loved her list of prior occupations including waitress and legal aid, though I'm wondering, just a little bit, what that means! I also think it's fantastic tht she was taught by Frank McCourt.
Thank you for this giveaway!
Aimala127 AT gmail DOT com
I signed up as a fan of Susn Jane Gilman's Facebook page.
Aimala127 T gmail DOT com
I visited the blog One More Foggy Notion on the blog tour for "Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven". A great new blog to follow, thank you!
Aimala127 AT gmail DOT com
I found it interesting that she was kicked out of Betty Owen Secretarial School.
pbclark(at)netins(dot)net
I visited Frugal Plus and commented on her blog for this book.
pbclark(at)netins(dot)net
I love adding memiors to my classroom library.
enyl(at)inbox(dot)com
On the author's website I learned that she wants to be the American Dostoevsky;Dostoevsky is my favorite liteary auhtor.
enyl(at)inbox(dot)com
I visted Drey's Library and commented on the Feb Feature Author . . .Shares Some Thoughts.
enyl(at)inbox(dot)com
She went to Stuyvesant High School and so she must have been a very good student as they only take really bright kids!
anjamie4 AT gmail dot com
I went to Bless Their Hearts Mom blog and entered her giveaway and looked around as I had never been there before
anjamie4 AT gmail dot com
I thought it was interesting that she was forced to learn Transcendental Meditation as a child...you don't hear that much!
Colleen
candc320@gmail.com
I became a fan on facebook. Yay...another good author to follow! I love finding new authors.
Colleen
candc320@gmail.com
I find it interesting that she never set out to write books that make people laugh...even though they do!
vvperesk@gmail.com
She is afraid of clowns and so am I!
wickdogg AT gmaildot com
I visited bookchicks and read the review there
wickdogg AT gmaildot com
This book has been on my wish list since it came out in hardback..but clueless..I didn't realize Gilman was also the author of Hypocrite In A Poofy White Dress, which I loved! :P I'm loosing it.
I became a fan of Susan's on Facebook- I am Waitman Willie on facebook.
waitmantwillie at hotmail dot com
I commented on Drey's Library blog too.
waitmantwillie at hotmail dot com
Susan was born and raised in New York City.She appeared twice on “The Today Show” for promotion of books as well as ABC
World News; WGN-America; WCAU-TV "The 10!" in Philadelphia; "AM Northwest" on ABC in
Portland, OR; NBC affiliates in New Haven & Seattle; “Connie Martinson Talks Books";“The
Iyanla Show"; “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus.”
aikychien at yahoo dot com
I am a Facebook fan of Susan's Facebook page: Bekki Orr
bekki1820cb at gmail
I found it interesting that she was a student of Frank McCourt's. I used to live a few houses down from his summer home in Milford, PA when I was about 10, I used to see him taking walks with his wife. My mom has his books (which I still have yet to read...shame on me). Thanks for the chance. bekki1820cb at gmail
She was born and raised in New York City. She's also written for newspapers and magazines.
Dutchlvr1(at)aol(dot)com
I have been trying to get my hands on this book for forever. The library doesn't have it, nor does the elibrary.
I follow your blog
Dutchlvr1(at)aol(dot)com
She's afraid of clowns and puppets, just like me!
misusedinnocence@aol.com
I love that she was "armed only with the collected works of
Nietzsche and an astrology book" when she head to Shanghai!
nfmgirl AT gmail DOT com
I find it interesting that she worked as Washington D.C. speech writer and as staff writer for Member of U.S. Congress.
bgcchs(at)yahoo(dot)com
I find it funny that she paid $17 to see a bunch of "ho-hum dildos" when she toured a Sex Machines Museum in Prague.
Thank you,
Christine
womackcm@sbcglobal.net
I am now a Fan of Susan's on Facebook.
Thank you,
Christine
womackcm@sbcglobal.net
I went to the blog for Frugal Plus. Jill has already had her giveaway for "Undress Me In the Temple Of Heaven." I had entered as much as I could but was not selected as a winner.
Thank you,
Christine
womackcm@sbcglobal.net
I found out the author is afraid of clowns! My brothers is too!
dcf_beth at verizon dot net
I would love to read this - it sounds so interesting! Please enter me!
dcf_beth at verizon dot net
What a great sounding book! I love offbeat travel memoir.
I commented at chickwithbooks, and was amazed to learn there is such a thing as a sex machines museum. or sex "machines", for that matter!
mayamissani AT yahoo DOT ca
I learned from her blog that she's been living abroad for awhile now and getting confused about the temperate metric.
catss99@yahoo.com
i became a fan on facebook under amanda v
catss99@yahoo.com
I learned that Susan was once a speech writer and staff writer for Member of U.S. Congress. cardshark42(at)hotmail(dot)com
I learned she aspired to be an American Dostoevsky with breasts.
dlodden at frontiernet dot net
FB fan
Co-host of "Bookmark," a monthly book show on World Radio Switzerland. aitmama {{ta}} gmail {{tod}} com
Facebook fan of Susan
nancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net
Interesting fact: Susan got kicked out of Betty Owen Secretarial School. Ooooh! I wonder why??
nancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net
I commented/ entered at "My Blog View". Who knows, maybe my name will be picked?
nancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net
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