Synopsis from amazon.co.uk: "Shortlisted for the 1982 Booker Prize, this novel explores the clans and conflicts of Soho's Chinatown, where the Chen family arrive and want to succeed as restaurateurs in the 1960s. No family can survive for long without encountering the Triads."

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Will be posted to ApoloniaX via surface mail tomorrow, as part of the Two Worlds VBB. Surface mail takes a few months (usually around three months) to arrive, sorry about the long wait!

Edited 1 August: I found this book, as well as some others that I thought I had sent out, in the bottom drawer of my desk at work this week. I'll be sending the book out via airmail! So sorry about this!

Received this today.

Thank you, klaradyn, no problem about the delay, I'm glad it didn't get lost in the mail.

A brilliant book. It’s mainly about the experiences of a Hong Kong Chinese immigrant family in Britain, and interspersed with this is the tale about secret society members in London. This other line of the story is a threat that is not clear at the beginning, but constantly, ominously lurking in the background, bringing more dimensions to the whole story. Mo’s descriptions are detailed and precise as usually only in classic novels, and the characterisations of the protagonists really bring them to life. Recommendable.

Travelling overseas,
to another Thimblan
of the international BC-Monopoly game.
Happy reading!

Gosh, did I somehow miss journaling this amidst all the excitement of receiving Genevera and the waffles? My apologies. This book looks interesting indeed. Thanks.

This one is a really slow read for me. The triad thread of the story, especially, took me a long time to warm up to. I guess triad stories are more enjoyable on the movie screen. The description of the rituals and dealings is quite authentic though. The underground society originated in the 17th century, with the glorious and patriotic goal of toppling the Manchurian invaders, and restoring the Ming Dynasty. Hence there is a lot of password and secrecy to avoid arrest and infiltration by the new government. Well, Ming dynasty was never revived, and even the Qing dynasty ended, but the triads survived on and evolved into criminal organizations.

Much easier to follow, and more interesting for me, is the storyline of the Chen family - a family of new immigrants from Hong Kong and China trying to make a living in a new country without much knowledge of the new language or culture. There are some humorous situations, though as the link between the two story lines become apparent, the ending is bittersweet.

Now sending this to theRubycanary who requested it from the Yummy vbb.

This one looks really interesting, and an angle of Chinese/American fiction that I haven't touched before.