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The first is that, despite it now being 6 years since I read these books, I am staggered by the clarity and longevity of the pictures that Timothy Mo painted in my head. I have since found this with all of Mo's novels: the vividness of the depiction of the scenery or interiors makes me feel as if I've watched a film of the story, rather than read a book. I haven't sat back and analysed his writing to find out how he does it - and partly I haven't done so now for fear of spoiling the magic with which I remember the stories.
The second is that Mo's main characters in these two novels are unknowing innocents simply living their lives, such that the reader can see the wider implications of their actions when they cannot do so themselves. For example, in "The Monkey King" the reader is all too aware that Wallace Nolasco fits in far lower down the hierarchy of the Poon family than he thinks. Again, in "Sour Sweet", the thought of triad involvement is more often with the reader than with the characters. Often, the dramas that unfold in the stories are the result of quirky accidents rather than design - but that's what gives the stories such authenticity. Consequently, you feel as if you're a privileged observer quietly watching the characters live their ordinary lives for a few years. I could quite happily believe that the main protagonists had lived their lives like this before the events told in the story, and would continue to do so, just as naively, after the book is finished.
I thoroughly recommend Mo's writing to you if you enjoy novels that totally immerse you in the observation of others' lives - even where those lives are not always pretty. I found the "Monkey King" and "Sour Sweet" so deliciously different that I've subsequently read Mo's other 4 novels: "An Insular Possession", "A Redundancy of Courage", "Brownout on Breadfruit Boulevard" and "Renegade or Halo2". I suggest that you read them at a time when you can really indulge yourself by giving each of them the attention it deserves. These are absolute gems.
A great little find - set in '60s England, the Chen family are coming to... Read more
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