The Street of Eternal Happiness

In The Street of Eternal Happiness, following the tradition of books like Dominique Lapierre' City of Joy,  Rob Schmitz describes the tapestry of life in Shanghai by embedding with its inhabitants. The book follows a cast of people who live on a street known as the Street of Eternal Joy, the rough equivalent of Fifth Avenue or Bourbon Street except fraught with China's uncertain economic state and political legacies of former days. Schmitz avoids psychoanalysis and socio-political commentary, and instead leaves the reader to paint his own picture of life from the lives of the people themselves. The vivid descriptions bring the scene to life as if it is his own life Schmitz is writing about. Workers, entrepreneurs, schemers, family men- they take on their surroundings with an attitude that is hopeful and enterprising, leaving the reader with encouraging hopes for both the people of China and people everywhere.