Book works on various levels

On one level, Chan Koonchung's novel, The Unbearable Dreamworld of Champa the Driver is a slightly off-the-wall adventure.

On another, it emphasises the racism and injustices of modern China, especially Beijing's attitude to Tibetans.

Champa lives in Lhasa, working as chauffeur to art-collector Plum, an older woman, with whom he has an affair. He dreams of visiting the Chinese capital but when that becomes reality, he - like every Tibetan - battles for permits, pays bribes and is obsessed with using his iPad.

The combination of light and dark doesn't always work in the book but it's worth reading for a fairly unvarnished view of one aspect of modern Chinese life.

- Gillian Vine is a Dunedin journalist.