Civilization: Tales of the Orient

** "Civilization: Tales of the Orient" by Ellen N. La Motte is a set of short stories set in the early 1900s that look at the different lives of characters set against the busy city of Shanghai, China. The stories explore ideas such as who people are, fights between cultures, and what people miss or want in their lives. These stories show how foreigners and local people deal with each other and the hard truths of living in a busy port city. One story starts with a young Englishman, Rogers, who feels lost when he arrives in Shanghai and wants to feel normal again. He doesn't like the wild fun and rough people he finds, so he decides to live alone and be very careful. He then looks for a partner and starts a businesslike relationship with a Chinese girl, which makes people wonder about what is normal in society and what is right personally. This beginning sets the tone for deeper looks at how cultures and relationships work, which will probably be explored more in the rest of these interesting stories. **