Rating: 
Summary: Learning to be human
Review: Biographies in our society are usually reserved for the famous, the infamous, and the dead associated with the famous or infamous. To get to the real meat of what a biography should be, one must turn to the autobiography shelf. Although this area is also filled with the lives of the well-known, there also reside some gems that sparkle with an inner-fire of their own. These are the stories of lives which are unique in themselves, not for what they did on the sports court or the silver screen.Although Mark Salzman has starred in a movie, I somehow doubt that his is a household name. The movie was Iron & Silk, based on his book of the same title. Both book and movie are wonderfully simple yet with deep meaning, telling the story of Salzman's life spent teaching English in China. Salzman has a real gift for taking himself out of the picture, so it seems that you are the subject of the autobiography. At the same time, he remains interesting as a subject. It was this strange mixture of self-depreciation and self-congratulation that endeared Salzman's story to many readers, including myself. The two books that Salzman followed his debut with were both novels, one a fantasy about how the Chinese would and do see America (The Laughing Sutra), the other a novel about playing the cello (The Soloist). Both were good, but neither had the same strange dichotomy of his first. Mark Salzman's latest book, Lost in Place, returns to the autobiographical, and also returns to the strange brew that made Iron & Silk so appealing. Subtitled Growing Up Absurd in Suburbia, Lost in Place chronicles Salzman's life before he went to teach in China. In some ways it is a fairly mundane tale of coming of age in the 1960s. Yet Salzman as a subject is never mundane; from attempting to become a Zen monk at age 12, through the wonder and terror of high school and sadistic karate instruction, Salzman reveals that what might seem mundane on the surface actually teems with absurdity, wit, and...well, life. Instead of a simple listing of happenings which served him well in Iron & Silk, Salzman has added the strength of the novel to his autobiography. Everything that made his writing style so interesting remains--now, though, it has a structure, including a world-shattering climax. (Well, world-shattering for the protagonist--with meaning for the reader.) The book is fascinating, especially for readers of Salzman's previous books. We discover where his love of Chinese culture came from, and how he ended up studying classical Mandarin. We see the study of the cello in his own life, including has brief attempt at jazz cello and the interpretation of classical Indian music. But most of all, we see ourselves in Mark Salzman. We see the insecurities of a teenager in love and sex, ambition and depression, hedonism and the straight-and-narrow. While the specifics may not match our own lives, we can recall the same feelings of wanting so much, when life seemed like it was an endless chore, and also those epiphanies when we realize how much we resemble our parents, how much our parents resemble us, and how much we resemble each other. In Iron & Silk, Mark Salzman used his time in China to reflect on what it meant to be an American. In Lost in Place, he goes one better--here he shows us what it means to be human. That is what true autobiography is about.
Rating: 
Summary: And here I thought it was just me...
Review: You know how sometimes you reflect on things you did when you were growing up and feel embarrased but still laugh, ever wonder if anyone else did the same or worse? Lost in Place will answer that question. Mark Salzman is a great story teller and this work, his own personal "Wonder Years" will delight you! From his childhood desire to be an astronaut to his fascination with Eastern philosophy and martial arts inspired by the TV series "Kung Fu" you will find yourself engrossed. From the hilarious moments to those that are bittersweet you will read along and enjoy. Don't look for some deep, symbolic tale of adolescence. Instead, consider this as time spent with a friend who shares some of his most interesting childhood moments.
Rating:
Summary: Diamond in the Rough
Review: Having read Iron and Silk first, I confess to being a bit disappointed by Lost in Place. I suppose that's to be expected since at least some of the maturity and self-awareness that Salzman demonstrates in Iron and Silk can be attributed to what he learned growing up as a Kung Fu obsessed adolescent in rural Connecticut. However, reading about Salzman's early struggles was both tiresome and painful. Like many gifted and imaginative kids, Salzman didn't exactly fit in at school, and seems to have sensed his father's desolation at an early age. Determined to escape the same fate, he embarks on a unique quest to find and make something of himself. The methods he employs are both unusual and incredibly compulsive. There is the time he sits for hours for days on end in a cardboard box to prepare himself to be an astronaut, and the months he spends burning incense and meditating in the family basement in an effort to become enlightened. The most single-minded and obsessive thing he does by far, however, is to begin studying Kung Fu. The head teacher is a violent alcoholic who abuses his students physically, verbally and psychologically. Despite several broken bones and regular thrashings at the hands of this man, it takes Salzman many long years to realize his teacher has a problem. Kung Fu is but the first in a series of obsessions for Salzman, and the reader is treated to an uncomfortable rendition of each. What saves the book from being just another ho hum growing up tale is Salzman's knack for making fun of himself and ability to probe beneath the raw spots for a look at what is really going on in his psyche. He is at his best when describing the conversations he had with his father while they studied the stars, and his time working in the mailroom of a large office building. Other memorable moments include his realization that he will never become a concert cellist after hearing YoYo Ma play, his meeting with a famous Chinese scholar at Yale, and his participation in the funeral of his best friend. All in all, this is a book that no fan of Salzman should miss since it clearly laid the groundwork for Iron and Silk. Just don't expect it to shine with the sweetness and balance that has characterized Salzman's more recent work.
Rating: 
Summary: Coming-of-age novel, lite.
Review: Growing up in the suburbs can be cruel, tough, weird, and it generally takes too long. Salzman's coming of age story shortens the agony into less than 300 pages of well-told, self-deprecating vignettes. The reader can wince, smile and stay safely on the outside.
Salzman's writing is not powerful enough to draw the reader in, but it is true enough to keep the reader interested. It has the same detached, keep-your-distance feel as "Lying Awake," which Salzman did better to avoided in "Iron and Silk" and "The Soloist."
Some of his stories have no conclusion or point, but they don't seem to need one. Witnessing the sometimes wrenching transition of boy to almost-man is a satisfaction in itself.
Rating:
Summary: Only read this book if you like to laugh
Review: I truly love this book. I think it's one of the best books I have read about being a teenager. Mark is as pensive as Salinger's Holden, but this book always makes me laugh, whereas Catcher in the Rye makes me cry. I agree with the reviewer who said that it has mature content, especially about marajuana, but the "musings about sex" are negligable. I would recommend it to anyone 12 or older, as nothing in it would be shocking to most of today's youth. Not only is the book funny, but it also explores more serious issues, such as parent/teenager relationships, ambition, even the meaning of life. I particularly liked the depiction of Mark's father. My favorite aspect of this book is that the author/narrator is not afraid to laugh at himself.
Rating:
Summary: Not life-changing, but poignant all the same...
Review: This author's voice should strike a nerve in all of us somewhere. While not an earth-shaking, life-altering read, it was a touching look-back-over-the-shoulder at one boy's adolescence, and general teenage strife suffered en masse. Salzman gives us a stark yet believable look into an "average" American household of the 70's, and makes us chuckle, wince, "tsk" and grin accordingly. A great writer with a gentle touch, and a finger on the pulse of human frailty and foible. I'm scouting up his other books if that's any indication...
Rating:
Summary: Hysterically funny look at one boy's search for meaning.
Review: I just happened across Salzman's video of "Iron & Silk" (about his experiences teaching English and learning wushu in China) and I was so charmed, I decided to give "Lost in Place" a try. From page one I was laughing out loud. There is much more here than just a boy's quest to be a wandering Zen monk from the age of 13. He also has a sometime career as a cellist, a summer as a pothead and an everlasting struggle with the public school system. The main theme of this book is that basic question: what's the purpose of my life? Salzman explores this in tandem with touching vignettes of his relationship with his implacable father, an amateur astronomer, painter and disenchanted social worker. As someone who has recently taken up martial arts, I enjoyed the descriptions of Salzman's early training. How I'm glad I didn't go to his school! The book is a quick, pleasureable read. Even though Salzman describes some dark times in his life, his self-analysis is too interesting to put down. I wish I could recommend this to the under 18 crowd, but due to vivid descriptions of drug use, a lot of musings about sex and a lot of profanity on the part of his kung fu instructor, I'd hesitate to give this book to any but the most mature of teenagers. Highly recommended for parents trying to renew their familiarity with the teenage mind, though!
Rating:
Summary: The rite of passage called Being A Teenager......
Review: I liked this book. It didn't change my life, but it was definitely a fun read with a few life lessons tossed in covertly. The story is told first person by the author, Mark Salzman, about growing up in the drug-ridden, rebel-without-a-clue 70's. His humorous portrayal of the neighborhood kids he grew up with and his obession with Americanized Kung Fu had me in stitches. It is also nice to read an take on the post-60's American culture that, for once, doesn't try to imply that nothing good happened after 1969. It's also nice to read a book that takes the time to explore teenage drug use without glorifying it. I don't know if this book is for your average teen--they can usually spot the slightest hint of a story chock full of good advice for them a mile away. No, I think this book is really for the post-undergrad/grad, did-I-just-waste-four/six-years-of-my-life crowd. It was nice to put this book down at the end and think, "Well, at least I'm not the only one." It actually helped me feel a lot better about life, so I guess you could say that this book did change my life. I recommend this book over Iron and Silk (by the same author). As a matter of fact, I would recommend reading this one especially if you have read I&S. This one helps the reader understand the insane things the author does in that one.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Read.
Review: Lost in Place is an absolutely sublime window into the mind of a teenage boy. Salzman's poigniant, often times funny experiences, leap off the page, due in large part to the witty and nuanced language the book is written in. Much in the same vein as "The Wonder Years," it's as if everyone is able to see a little of themselves in the title character. It's one of those books where you find yourself laughing out loud, much to the bemusement of those around you. I started this book on a flight to London, and was finished well before the plane was halfway across the Atlantic; it was absolutely impossible to put it down. I would highly recommend it to any reader young or old, as everyone can relate at least in part to this story.
Rating:
Summary: Absurd Kids Grow Up To Be Great Writers
Review: Anyone who has enjoyed Mark Salzman's book and subsequent film "Iron and Silk" will love the glimpse at Salzman's adolescence offered in "Lost in Place." This warm and honest introspective look at the author's childhood is charming and funny. The author's love of martial arts and all things Asian manifested itself early, and Salzman's accomplishments as an adult have blossomed from his early eccentricities. Salzman was a bizarre kid, and this fact makes for terrific storytelling (at one point, he attempted to become a Zen monk, living austerely in the basement of his family home). The author has a natural, easy-going writing style that is at the same time intelligent and concise. He admits to the stranger moments of his adolescence with grace and dignity, and treats his accomplishments humbly. "Growing Up Absurd" is such a terrific story - Salzman's early teen experiences make a case for the adage "from humble beginnings come great things!." With a childhood like this (weird as he was), it's easy to see how Salzman grew up to be a great writer and filmmaker.
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