Gweilo: Memories of a Hong Kong Childhood

Regular price RM15.00 MYR
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Childhood adventure in 1950s colonial Hong Kong.

If you're drawn to vivid recollections of a bygone era, "Gweilo: Memories of a Hong Kong Childhood" might be your next favorite read. The charm of this book lies in its ability to transport you back to the vibrant streets and the mysterious corners of 1950s Hong Kong through the eyes of a curious child. Laden with cultural insights and edged with the bittersweet nuances of family dynamics, it's not just a memoir; it's an immersive escape into history.

Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.

Gweilo: Memories of a Hong Kong Childhood

Regular price RM15.00 MYR
Unit price
per
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ISBN: 9780553816723
Authors: Martin Booth
Publisher: Bantam Press
Date of Publication: 2005-09-06
Format: Paperback
Related Collections: History, Travel, Biographies & Memoirs
Goodreads rating: 4.19
(rated by 2161 readers)

Description

Evocative, funny and full of life, this is a beautifully observed childhood memoir of growing up in colonial Hong Kong in the 1950s. As an inquisitive seven-year-old, Martin Booth found himself with the whole of Hong Kong at his feet when his father was posted there in the early 1950s. Unrestricted by parental control, he had free access to hidden corners of the colony normally closed to a Gweilo, a “pale fellow” like him. Befriending rickshaw coolies and local stallholders, he learned Cantonese, sampled delicacies such as boiled water beetles and one-hundred-year-old eggs, and participated in colourful festivals. He even entered the forbidden Kowloon Walled City, wandered into the secret lair of the Triads and visited an opium den. Along the way he encountered a colourful array of people, from the plink plonk man with his dancing monkey to Nagasaki Jim, a drunken child molester, and the Queen of Kowloon, the crazed tramp who may have been a member of the Romanov family. Shadowed by the unhappiness of his warring parents, a broad-minded mother who, like her son, was keen to embrace all things Chinese, and a bigoted father who was enraged by his family’s interest in “going native,” Martin Booth’s compelling memoir is a journey into Chinese culture and
 

Childhood adventure in 1950s colonial Hong Kong.

If you're drawn to vivid recollections of a bygone era, "Gweilo: Memories of a Hong Kong Childhood" might be your next favorite read. The charm of this book lies in its ability to transport you back to the vibrant streets and the mysterious corners of 1950s Hong Kong through the eyes of a curious child. Laden with cultural insights and edged with the bittersweet nuances of family dynamics, it's not just a memoir; it's an immersive escape into history.

Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.