Kowloon Tong: A Novel of Hong Kong
From the best-selling author of My Other Life comes a witty novel set against the backdrop of Hong Kong's reunification with China.
Neville "Bunt" Mullard and his mother, Betty, see Hong Kong as part of Great Britain; a cozy, monotonous, beguilingly pleasant part, in which the family business has afforded them a comfortable living. They can see China from their living room, but they have never been there. Here in Hong Kong it is possible to despise Chinese food while enjoying big breakfasts, high tea, the race meetings at Happy Valley, and the "Blue hotels" of Kowloon Tong, where Bunt sometimes rents a room by the hour. Certainly they have never been forced to think about the impending "Chinese take-away" until mainland businessman Mr. Hugo offers them a tidy sum for their textile factory. Bunt refuses him out of hand, but it soon emerges that this well-spoken gentleman is different from the Hong Kong Chinese the Mullards have lived alongside for years: Mr. Hung will accept no refusals. The disappearance of a young woman from the factory forces Bunt to make decisions that matter, and at age 43, perhaps he may also discover true love.