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Fragrant Harbour

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Epic tale spanning seventy years of Hong Kong.

If you have an interest in the ebb and flow of history as it affects individual lives, "Fragrant Harbour" might be right up your alley. It's more than just a story; it's an evocative tapestry of personal narratives set against the rich backdrop of Hong Kong's transformation. This book will draw you in with its deep dive into how a place's changing fortunes can shape destinies, offering a poignant look at the past century through intimate eyes.

  • James Tait Black Memorial Prize Nominee for Fiction (2002)
  • Premi Llibreter de narrativa (2005)
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.
Sale

Fragrant Harbour

Regular price $11.90 $9.90 17% off
Unit price
per
ISBN: 9780571294855
Authors: John Lanchester
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Date of Publication: 2013-01-03
Format: Paperback
Related Collections: Contemporary, Travel, Historical Fiction
Goodreads rating: 3.8
(rated by 1996 readers)

Description

Two brilliant novels in one, John Lanchester's Fragrant Harbor presents a traditional colonial narrative set in the 1930s and 1940s inside a larger, dizzyingly complex tale of big business at the turn of the 21st century. Lanchester's main character, Tom Stewart, is a Kentish lad who journeys to the exotic Far East in 1935, just as the commercial prospects of Hong Kong are becoming apparent. On his voyage out, Tom is made the object of a curious bet between a Chinese nun and language teacher, Sister Maria, and an anti-Catholic English businessman. As a result, he becomes proficient in Cantonese with only six weeks' study. This skill, unusual in an Englishman, is the making of Tom's career. Although they part on bad terms, Sister Maria remains a shimmering figure on the periphery of Tom's life in Hong Kong, and their one thought as the Japanese invade the region is to protect each other. Lanchester was raised in Hong Kong (his grandparents had settled there in the 1930s and been interned by the Japanese during the war), and his insider view of the place is about as far from the small, lyrical Western-Asian novels of recent years as can be imagined. The broad scope and jerking pace of Fragrant Harbor can be disconcerting, but they vividly convey the shifting fortunes and alliances of this crowded, corrupting, and much-contested territory. --Regina Marler
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Epic tale spanning seventy years of Hong Kong.

If you have an interest in the ebb and flow of history as it affects individual lives, "Fragrant Harbour" might be right up your alley. It's more than just a story; it's an evocative tapestry of personal narratives set against the rich backdrop of Hong Kong's transformation. This book will draw you in with its deep dive into how a place's changing fortunes can shape destinies, offering a poignant look at the past century through intimate eyes.

  • James Tait Black Memorial Prize Nominee for Fiction (2002)
  • Premi Llibreter de narrativa (2005)
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.