Customer Reviews

Fragrant Harbour

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Seeing that the only previous reviewer gave it one star and I absolutely loved the book, I just had to write a review to set the record straight:

This book has everything: It's very suspenseful and moving, beautifully written and I loved the structure: Four parts, each with a different narrator and different length. All interconnected, but to various degrees. When the first part finished and I realised that the next part was starting with a new character in a different period, I felt regret as I didn't want to leave the previous part. But after only a few lines I was roped in to the new story.
Hong Kong and its fascinating history provides a great backdrop, but the novel is mainly about those four people, how and why they came to Hong Kong and what happens to them.

I was amazed how different this book is compared to the previous novels by Lanchester ('The Debt To Pleasure' & 'Mr Phillips'). In my opinion he's getting better and better. Looking forward to his fourth.

PS: I also enjoyed James Clavell's novel 'Tai-Pan' very much. If you're interested in a novel about how Hong Kong started, read that.

The New York Times selected this as a notable book, but one wonders why. Cardboard characters and flat dialogue here. Starts out promising, but quickly becomes a tedious read. The author had an excess of riches to work with..afterall, Hong Kong is teeming with a richness in color & history, but he fails to bring it to life.
Save your money and skip this dud.

A couple of interesting points about HK, but very cliched. An educated amah surprise surprise!
Characters poorly developed. Dismal dialogue. Structure is good but the underlying story nothing special. There are 4 parts:
- Part 1 is rubbish - you will end it hating the character and the author too.
- Part 2 is much better
- Part 3 - just a plot linking ploy
- Part 4 - a decent ending.
Could have been so much better.

What a waste of time. Hong Kong is a wonderful place with an infinate number of stories that could have been told about it. Too bad a bad writer with no imagination chose to do it. Some of the great events of our century pass by in this book with all the feeling of a trade journal.