COMING HOME CRAZY An Alphabet of China Essays <i> by Bill Holm (Milkweed Editions: $10.95) </i>

The essays in this collection are not so much about China as about one American’s experiences in and perceptions of China during his tenure as a visiting professor in Xi’an Although Bill Holm clearly loves the Chinese people and their traditional culture, he observes the dirt, overcrowding, bureaucratic intransigence and governmental ineptitude that deforms daily life into a weary struggle. At times, Holm becomes a bit too flip and/or self-involved--a traditional weakness in this type of essay--but “Coming Home” is an entertaining, if only occasionally enlightening, book about the clash that occurs when East and West do not exactly meet, but are thrown into proximity.