EPISODE · Nov 10, 2025 · 35 MIN
What's it Like to Live in China? Mark Kitto on China Running Dog
from Books on Asia · host Mark Kitto, Amy Chavez, John Ross
In his novel China Running Dog, a young man in his early twenties lives in Shanghai in the year 2000, in a greed-crazed free-for-all moral and lawless vacuum created by the Chinese Communist Party. Johnny Trent, small-time entrepreneur from Basildon in the UK, ends up in China, where he meets Felix Fawcett-Smith, fresh off the boat and from the other side of the tracks. An unlikely friendship begins.Johnny impresses the well-bred Felix with his street smarts until Felix takes Johnny’s advice too literally – and too far – and slips into Shanghai’s murky underbelly. He enters a world where the Party, power, and connections to them, are all that matter, where criminals are given sainthoods and saints sent to hell.Johnny tries to stop Felix’s spiral, not least because Felix is taking a sweet, angelic girl, Anita, down with him and Johnny has feelings for Anita that he has never dared to put into words. But Felix thinks he knows best. Like Johnny, all he wants is respect.It’s up to Johnny to save whoever he can, besides himself.Books mentioned in this podcast: Shanghai Baby by Wei Hui, Shanghai by Richie Yokomitsu (transl. Dennis Washburn), Candy by Mian MianMark’s recommended books on Asia:Six Records of a Floating Life by Shen Fu.Frank Dikötter’s trilogy of China,The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea by Yukio Mishima The Books on Asia Podcast is co-produced with Plum Rain Press. Podcast host Amy Chavez is author of The Widow, the Priest, and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island. and Amy's Guide to Best Behavior in Japan.The Books on Asia website posts book reviews, podcast episodes and episode Show Notes. Subscribe to the BOA podcast from your favorite podcast service. Subscribe to the Books on Asia newsletter to receive news of the latest new book releases, reviews and podcast episodes.
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What this episode covers
Actor and writer Mark Kitto talks about his novel China Running Dog, based on his experiences living in China in the 2000's. Much of his experience, rather surprisingly, parallels those of foreigners living in Japan at that time, but certainly not all of them! Take a deep look into what it means to be an outsider in China. In particular a foreigner who has fallen in love with the culture, wants to make his life there, and aspires to start a business. But if that person is hoping for their business to prosper, think again!
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What's it Like to Live in China? Mark Kitto on China Running Dog
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