For Neville "Bunt" Mullard and his mother, Betty, Hong Kong is part of Britain - one of the pleasanter parts; it is also cozy, monotonous, profitable, and homely. Now ninety-nine years of colonial rule are about to end, and the British government is about to hand over Hong Kong to China. Betty and Bunt can see China from their parlor, but they have never been there. They detest Chinese food. "The Chinese take-away, " as they call the Hand-over, does not particularly concern them. When Bunt first meets Mr. Hung, a well-spoken gentleman from the Chinese mainland, he pays him little heed. And when Mr. Hung offers the Mullards a handsome sum for their family business - a fifty-year-old textile factory, Imperial Stitching, that was cofounded by Bunt's late father - Bunt refuses him out of hand. Yet it soon grows clear that Mr. Hung is different from the Chinese the Mullards have lived alongside for years. For Mr. Hung will accept no refusals. Then a young woman from the Mullards' factory vanishes, one of many disappearances. But this one is different. Ah Fu has last been seen in the company of Mr. Hung. And so Bunt is forced for the first time in his forty-three years to make decisions that matter. He even begins, maybe, to discover love. Yet against all of Bunt's good, if half-formed, intentions are pitted the will of Mr. Hung and the looming threat of the ultimate betrayal.
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"A moody thriller . . . cleverly, tightly constructed, fast-paced."
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SOME DAYS Hong Kong seemed no different from the London suburb she had lived in before the war. Read the first page
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SOME DAYS Hong Kong seemed no different from the London suburb she had lived in before the war. Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I first read this while living in Stanley, Hong Kong in the late nineties, and have re-read it several times. As another reviewer says, a great Graham Greene-ish plot (with a touch or satire ala Evelyn Waugh or Gore Vidal).
Aside from the great story, the numerous little observations of British, Chinese and American characters so accurately reflect the Hong Kong I experienced on a day-to-day basis. Theroux is very good on the "underbelly" of Hong Kong, the sleazy side which one had to deal with but which Hong Kong doesn't really like to talk about (nor does China - the book was banned there!). Local Chinese are sympathetically described, and Theroux does a great job of getting across the sad story of all the millions of refugees who fled China in recent decades to become Hong Kong's population of today. The American who renounces his citizenship to avoid paying USA taxes is also a (sadly) recognizable type, if not the norm, and the type of Briton who settles permanently in a place like Hong Kong is, like the above, very accurately described (however much some may object to such face-losing bluntness on the part of Theroux).
An excellent depiction of Hong Kong, warts and all, that was a painful read for some (chiefly western and eastern permanent residents) but will prove a thrilling and informative read for the detached reader.
As an ex-Hong Kong resident, I found this book as useful and enjoyable as Timothy Mo's The Monkey King, Austin Coates' Myself a Mandarin, Bo Yang's The Ugly Chinaman, and Jan Morris's Hong Kong - read those if you like this one, or are planning to visit/live in Hong Kong, or just plan to visit from the armchair!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
For me, the way Theroux writes smacks of Hemingway. It has that seemingly naive, innocence, yet an undertone which speaks of the types of people that abound in Hong Kong. Like Hemingway, the narrative is simple, while dwelling on seemingly irrelevant circumstances. Like the great Ernest, do not expect a happy ending.
It tells of Bunt and his mother Betty. It is 1996 and the handover of Hong Kong to China (the Chinese takeaway) is looming. When Mr Chuck, Bunts business partner dies, it triggers a chain of events. Mr Hung comes over the border, with a sinister past, and unscrupulous motives, to take over his company (Imperial Stitching). As the plot unfolds we are treated to some gloomy insights of Hong Kong, the very real fears of a future under Communist China, and a bunch of mercenary colonials who cast away their nationalism for profit. It is packed full of social observations, about colonials and the Chinese, and creates a sense of helplessness which is so typified by the miserable ending.
For me, the entire story of Hung was a microcosm for the way China did its business, and the takeover of Hong Kong. He threatens, bribes, and will use any underhand technique in his arsenal to achieve his ends. This leads up to a chilling ending, that is suitably ambiguous. It never explains what happened to Mr Woo and Mei Ping, only making assumptions, which, for me, was slightly unsatisfactory.
It seemed very xenophobic with respect to the Chinese, but it is so hard to discover whether these were just the views of Bunt and co., or whether it was more deep rooted in the author. At times it paints a vivid and terrifying image of Hong Kong under Chinese rule, especially the dream Mei Ping has about Ah Fu. It sympathises with the Hong Kong Chinese, like the workers in Imperial Stitching, who have no choice, they cannot emmigrate to escape it.
Overall, thought provoking and written in a style both flowing and simplistic. It will not leave you with a warm feeling at the end, more a feeling of injustice and sorrow not just for the protagonists, but for Hong Kong itself.
It tells of Bunt and his mother Betty. It is 1996 and the handover of Hong Kong to China (the Chinese takeaway) is looming. When Mr Chuck, Bunts business partner dies, it triggers a chain of events. Mr Hung comes over the border, with a sinister past, and unscrupulous motives, to take over his company (Imperial Stitching). As the plot unfolds we are treated to some gloomy insights of Hong Kong, the very real fears of a future under Communist China, and a bunch of mercenary colonials who cast away their nationalism for profit. It is packed full of social observations, about colonials and the Chinese, and creates a sense of helplessness which is so typified by the miserable ending.
For me, the entire story of Hung was a microcosm for the way China did its business, and the takeover of Hong Kong. He threatens, bribes, and will use any underhand technique in his arsenal to achieve his ends. This leads up to a chilling ending, that is suitably ambiguous. It never explains what happened to Mr Woo and Mei Ping, only making assumptions, which, for me, was slightly unsatisfactory.
It seemed very xenophobic with respect to the Chinese, but it is so hard to discover whether these were just the views of Bunt and co., or whether it was more deep rooted in the author. At times it paints a vivid and terrifying image of Hong Kong under Chinese rule, especially the dream Mei Ping has about Ah Fu. It sympathises with the Hong Kong Chinese, like the workers in Imperial Stitching, who have no choice, they cannot emmigrate to escape it.
Overall, thought provoking and written in a style both flowing and simplistic. It will not leave you with a warm feeling at the end, more a feeling of injustice and sorrow not just for the protagonists, but for Hong Kong itself.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By N. Morton
Format:Paperback
I grew up on the Kowloon Tong Garden Estate and struggle to recognise the stereotype expat Brits and *wily Orientals* that Theroux writes about, or for that matter the streets of my home town.
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2.6 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting but insubstantial
Marketed as a thriller but really the moment of suspense lasts only a few pages and then the book is over. Read more
Published on 7 May 2010 by Huck Flynn
4.0 out of 5 stars
Shame about the ending
The book was enthralling; from the first page I was captivated by the comical depiction of the expats and the sinister Mr Hung, but was sorely disappointed by the ending.
Published on 26 Feb 2007 by Ms. T. Quinn
3.0 out of 5 stars
What !! ..... SO Paul Why the Silly Ending ???
What a strange book ! i was very impressed till about 5 pages from the end . then comes the end ! what a great build up and then what a poor ending ! Read more
Published on 3 Jan 2001
5.0 out of 5 stars
A novel of the human soul with the tension of a thriller.
Kowloon Tong reads like a tribute to Graham Greene. Certainly we are in Greeneland, a territory where people who are not bad do almost nothing that is good and where guttering hope... Read more
Published on 30 Dec 1999 by clive.maier.econology@dial.pipex.com
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