Book review: Three Tigers, One Mountain by Michael Booth

I was very interested in the topic, but quite hesitant as to how the author would handle this extensive and politically loaded topic. There is just so much to unpack and I could make some connections to books I've read about some of the topics in the past:

• Pachinko by Min Jin-Lee (Korean family saga playing in Japan and Korea - Zainichi)
• The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang (Nanking massacre)
• White Chrysanthemum by Mary Lynn Bracht (book about comfort women, this one is on my TBR, but I haven't read this one yet)

The author unveils the cultural differences between Asia and the West and I found the part about the shame versus guilt culture fascinating. 

I've lived in South East Asia for over 5 years myself, most of the time in Cambodia and there we also have the same issues with teaching accurate historical events to children and students about the genocide and the Khmer Rouge. There is still lots of controversy about past war crimes and history deniers everywhere.

In Germany and Europe we still have people who deny the Holocaust. I guess we have those people in every country and most of the time, the winners write history.

I found it extremely frustrating to read about the never-ending requests about money and apologies from one country to another and the nitpicking about what words were used and if they were heartfelt or not. I do agree that those terrible acts shouldn't go unpunished and shouldn't be forgotten or denied, but personally I feel that countries should move on at some point and learn from the past after they apologized, repented and made sure, that that particular historical event is accurately taught at schools and portrayed in the media.

Despite the sometimes extremely heavy topics, Michael Booth made me laugh and chuckle throughout the book with his witty remarks and observations.

This is a 5 out of 5 star read, for making me want to learn more and for making me reflect on my own country's historical crimes (I was born in Bavaria/Germany) as well as Asia's history. 

I can highly recommend this to anybody who's interested in Asia and Asian history. The book also includes references to additional reading and film material.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This has been published on 14 April 2020 and is now available.

Publisher: St. Martin's Press