The rise and fall of cabarets

• Source: Global Times
• [11:34 July 02 2010]
• Comments

Andrew David Field.

While clear and unambiguous, Field's prose is occasionally repetitive, with the same point sometimes being made many times within chapters, resulting in a work than could have perhaps been streamlined for a more general readership. The author's academic background is also a strength at times as many different angles and perspectives are considered.

Field shows himself possessed of a wide range of cultural interests and is able to draw some interesting parallels between Eastern and Western cultural mo-tifs; for example in his comparison of "neo-sensualist" Chinese author Mu Shiying (1912-40) with avant-garde German- Jewish social critic Walter Benjamin (1892-1940).

The book published by the Chinese University Press also indicates that Field takes genuine personal enjoyment in the cultural artifacts under discussion. This especially comes across in the paragraphs dedicated to literary criticism, where the reader is invited to linger over particularly expressive passages.

This engagement is also apparent in the treatment of jazz music, a defining cultural element of the period which provided the soundtrack for sweeping changes to the city's nightlife.

"I love music and I love to dance, both of which I get to experience through my research. I think that music and dancing are a way to transcend cultures and bring people together to explore their common humanity and experience the joy of life. And that's a lovely thing, especially in an age when things can get so heavy."

In writing his book Field found that he created new personal connections with the city in which he lives and works.

"There's a constantly shifting, changing, growing-out-of and a boundless energy to the people and place. And people are always coming up with new ways to experience and interpret old things. Plus it's a very colorful sort of place, full of wild juxtapositions of all shapes and sizes. It's hard to find another place quite like it on this planet," he enthused.