SlowRain reviewed Walking Macao Reading The Baroque by Jeremy Tambling
Review of 'Walking Macao Reading The Baroque' on Goodreads
3 stars
I have long found Macao to be a fascinating city (I use "Macao" for the colonial period, and "Macau" for the modern period). Its colonial history is quite interesting, and visiting it was a joy--that is, before the modern casino-building ruined it. Still, I like to get my hands on anything that details what life used to be like there. Not an easy task if you only read English.
Unfortunately, this book was a bit of a slog. Not that it's long, but because the writer goes to great lengths to attach some sort of allegorical or symbolic meaning to absolutely everything. That in itself isn't wrong because, no doubt, there was meaning put into things like this. However, a lot of the so-called meaning he attaches to things seems really forced, and his reasoning is often tenuous at best. There was just way too much philosophizing and pontificating, and …
I have long found Macao to be a fascinating city (I use "Macao" for the colonial period, and "Macau" for the modern period). Its colonial history is quite interesting, and visiting it was a joy--that is, before the modern casino-building ruined it. Still, I like to get my hands on anything that details what life used to be like there. Not an easy task if you only read English.
Unfortunately, this book was a bit of a slog. Not that it's long, but because the writer goes to great lengths to attach some sort of allegorical or symbolic meaning to absolutely everything. That in itself isn't wrong because, no doubt, there was meaning put into things like this. However, a lot of the so-called meaning he attaches to things seems really forced, and his reasoning is often tenuous at best. There was just way too much philosophizing and pontificating, and I got annoyed every time he said "seems to...", "as if...", or "as though...". In his defense, though, it is a good listing of interesting buildings to see when visiting Macau, and I think he does get the reader to look at them in a slightly different light than simply as a tourist attraction.
I didn't read the last two chapters on Macau's Post-Modern architecture and the current casino-related boom. My interest is in old Macao, not modern Macau.
If your interest is architecture, you may find this book disappointing. If your interest is Macao, you'll be more willing to put up with the author's foibles.