Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven

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More About This Book

Overview

"This is riveting stuff . . . unputdownable."
—O, The Oprah Magazine

In 1986, Susan Jane Gilman and a classmate embarked on a bold trek around the globe starting in the People's Republic of China. At that point, China had been open to independent backpackers for roughly ten minutes. Armed only with the collected works of Nietzsche and Linda Goodman's Love Signs, the two friends plunged into the dusty streets of Shanghai. 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.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Youthfully upbeat, Gilman (Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress) delivers an entertaining memoir of her ill-starred attempt to circumnavigate the globe after college graduation in 1986. Eager to embark on life but unsure exactly how to do it, the author, a New Yorker, and her fair-haired Connecticut trust-fund friend, Claire, both graduates from Brown, resolved to backpack around the world for a year and become heroines in their own epic stories. Starting in Hong Kong, the two naïve 21-year-olds, armed with Linda Goodman's Love Signs, volumes of Nietzsche and a year's supply of tampons, ran into shoals fairly immediately, freaked out by fleabag hotels, vermin, importunate fellow travelers and the debilitating effects of illness, homesickness and the sole company of each other. As they roughed it through Communist China, Claire grew increasingly paranoid and delusional, eventually bolting on a bizarre bus trip that got her picked up by the police. Gilman's amusing journey focuses tightly on these first shaky seven weeks, offering the full wallop of disorienting, in-the-moment, transformative travel adventures. (Mar.)

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Library Journal

Part travelog, part mystery, Gilman's latest memoir-after the best-selling Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress-begins in 1986 with the author and a friend studying a placemat at IHOP titled "Pancakes of Many Nations." With more hubris than travel experience, these freshly minted Brown graduates decided to embark on a yearlong, around-the-world backpacking trip, beginning in China. Though they had wonderful experiences, a painful secret led to their undoing. Gilman's work will appeal to those who went in search of an "authentic travel experience" and got more than they bargained for. [See Prepub Alert, LJ11/15/08.]
—Elizabeth Brinkley

More Reviews (1) Fewer Reviews
Kirkus Reviews
Bestselling memoirist Gilman (Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress, 2005, etc.) recalls ill-fated post-collegiate travels. The author's around-the-world backpacking trip began in September 1986 with a perilous nosedive into Hong Kong's international airport that prompted Gilman to reflect on her motives. After growing up poor in inner-city New York, she entered Brown University on a scholarship. When she and her friend Claire Van Houten (a pseudonym) set off to circle the globe following graduation, her motivation was more desire to emulate confident, well-heeled Claire than any personal sense of adventure. The two were eager to undertake rugged exploration in the footsteps of their admired predecessors from Odysseus to Jack Kerouac, "except with lip gloss." They vowed to travel like locals rather than tourists, and the bulk of the book humorously describes their encounters with both squalor and beauty. They ventured headlong into the People's Republic of China, about which they, and the pre-Internet world at large, had little knowledge. Hindsight allows the author to draw comparisons between her journey into adulthood and the growing pains of the newly opened communist nation. Fans of her previous work will enjoy Gilman's latest, but there's little in the way of a story until the final hundred pages, during which the author switches to present tense and her account becomes plot-driven. The tense shift is abrupt, but nothing about the plot trigger-Claire falls ill and has to return home-will come as a surprise, given the heavy-handed clues that have been dropped in advance. A flawed but ambitious and intimate coming-of-age memoir. Author tour to New York, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, SanFrancisco, Portland, Ore., Seattle

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780446696937
  • Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
  • Publication date: 2/8/2010
  • Pages: 320
  • Sales rank: 166,038
  • Product dimensions: 5.90 (w) x 8.90 (h) x 1.00 (d)

Meet the Author

Susan Jane Gilman
Susan Jane Gilman

Susan Jane Gilman is the author of Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress and Kiss My Tiara. She has written commentary for The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and Ms. magazine, among others, and her fiction and essays have received several literary awards. Though she has lived most recently in Geneva, Switzerland, and Washington, D.C., she remains, eternally, a child of New York.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4
( 31 )

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See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 31 Customer Reviews

  • Posted May 12, 2012

    more from this reviewer

    This book is so whip-smart funny, adventurous, insightful and re

    This book is so whip-smart funny, adventurous, insightful and readable, I'm shocked it didn't ride the best-seller lists for weeks. I'm on my second read and know what's going to happen, but I'm still riding the thrill.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted June 14, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    Women's Travelogue

    In 1986, fresh out of college, Susan Jane Gilman and a college friend, Claire, decided to embark on a grand adventure. Before they took up a life of jobs and marriage, why not take the chance to travel the world and see lands and sights they had never seen before? They bought world-wide air tickets, and decided to start their journey in China.

    Naive and armed only with academic knowledge, they were knocked aback by the reality of traveling in a primitive country like China. The trip occurred in the early years of China being opened for travel to Westerners, and there were still multiple governmental restrictions. The stark reality of waking up in a place where you knew absolutely no one, and where even the street signs were in a foreign language unknown to you, overwhelmed the girls. They didn't even know each other that well, and quickly discovered that they were not good traveling mates. They were totally unprepared for the lonliness and isolation they encountered.

    There were also great times. They were stunned at the friendliness of the Chinese people. There were other backpackers around, and the backpacking world was one of instant camaraderie. There was gorgeous scenery, and ancient wonders that they could hardly believe they were seeing in person.

    This book is recommended for travel writing lovers and for any readers looking for an interesting read. Gilman has opened a world of the other side of travel; not just gorgeous sights and new experiences but lonliness and fear. It is a fascinating story and recommended for anyone anticipating such a trip.

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  • Posted May 15, 2010

    I Also Recommend:

    9780446675772 9780446679497

    Susan Gilman does it again...

    If you've read and enjoyed either "Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress" or "Kiss My Tiara", you will love this bout of travel writing from Gilman. Her writing is so completely honest because she writes straight from her life, which is thoroughly entertaining. This book is great for anyone who has gone abroad, is going abroad soon, or would like to at any point in the future. It serves as motivation and advice, and also gives an excellent narrative of the condition of the world in the '80s. Her travels and experiences are worthy of sharing, and she does it in the most entertaining manner in her unique way with words. The minute I was done reading this book I could've turned right back to the beginning to start it again.

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  • Posted January 16, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    Xie Xie Ne

    My review was for the audio book version. I won this audio book from a book reviewer's blog.

    Initially, I was mildly not interested when I heard the author's voice, and this I assume is just because I have grown accustomed to actors reading audio books. I would say that roughly ten minutes into the book, this became a non-issue.

    I was taken in fairly quickly by the possibilities that this story gave me. Two young women embarking a year-long journey into the world. What could be more exciting than a year of adventure in many different countries. Oooooh, my jealousy and interest were equally piqued. It was something that I would have loved to do when I was younger.

    The journey that Susan and her college friend go on, is a journey that most people do not envision when planning a year of back packing their way across the globe. Adventure does not equal comfort or ease. There are times when the girls are at eachother's throats. They have strict guidelines to follow when embarking on their first leg of their journey through China.

    My favorite part of the story was the characters that the women met. I am reminded of the comradery that you develop with fellow travelers. Susan also doesn't shy away from showing the girls as they were. Which means their good sides as well as their flawed sides. I appreciated the honesty of their portrayal. As far as their journey goes, there are times that seem definitely dangerous, but it seems someone is on the girl's side. I truly felt things could have ended up a lot worse. I believe in God, and I think that people were definitely in the right place and the right time for these women. It is an adventure story and a cautionary tale.

    I would give the audio book version of Undress me in the Temple of Heaven 3.5 stars. I enjoyed Susan's work, and look forward to reading some more of it. :)

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