** Outdated **
In China, every three years is a generation gap, and Wish Lanterns serves as a time capsule for a period in China 6-9 years ago where affluence and opening to the west was still outpacing patriotic thought and the expectations of family. I remember this time and its optimism, but that was a window of light soon eclipsed by political clouds.
Alec Ash tells the story of people he meets and does a good job with it, yet even through the book you can trace the lines of a foreigner in 三里屯 befriending and then chronicling these stories. It would be as if an aspiring Chinese writer came to Cupertino and told the stories of the Americans they met: interesting, but not representative.
For now, better to start with Young China, and return to Wish Lanterns only if you want more history.
3.5 Stars