Writers Who See Clearly

When the book you are reading is littered with sticky notes marking great images, you know you have a writer who sees clearly. Check out Peter Hessler, author of River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze. Through his ‘eyes’, I revisit Fuling, China, a city situated where the Wu River meets the Yangtze.

“Fuling is not an easy city. Old people rest on the staircases, panting. To carry anything up the hills is backbreaking work and so the city is full of porters. They haul their loads on bamboo poles balanced across their shoulders, the same way freight was carried in the south of China in the 1800’s… The porters are called Bang-Bang Jun, the Stick-Stick Army. They have uniforms (the simple blue clothes of the Chinese peasantry), and the weapons of their trade (bamboo poles and loops of cheap rope), and they tend to gather in packs, in companies, in battalions….their leisure is an air not so much of relaxation as of a lull in the battle.”

With all this on page 28, I know the following pages will not disappoint(and they don’t!). Hessler sees clearly, allowing me to experience what he experiences through the simple, yet vivid text he writes.

Question of the Day

Which author(s) impress you with their clear vision? Share a quote that demonstrates that clarity.