Customer Reviews

Getting to Lamma

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As with many women's novels, this one centers on a search towards 'having it all '- but the protagonist, Madeleine Fox, certainly goes about it in an unconventional and adventurous manner.
So many people only fantasize about reinventing themselves in another part of the world, and Fox's quest takes her on an exciting journey full of passion, political intrigue and lots of soul searching.
For anyone interested in China, this book provides keen insight into the lives of some typical Chinese people in Shanghai prior to China's economic expansion, dramatically contrasted with those in Hong Kong during the massive boom there in the 1990s, just before the handover to the mainland.
There are also some colorful anecdotes and descriptions of other parts of Asia.
In all, a moving story about a complex woman's search for the most simple, yet satisfying, things in life.
The book could have wide appeal, though mainly to women.

As with many women's novels, this one centers on a search towards having it all . But protagonist Madeleine Fox goes about it in an unconventional and adventurous manner.
For anyone interested in China, this book provides accurate insight into the lives of the Chinese in Shanghai in the years just prior to its massive modernization, sharply contrasted with those in Hong Kong during the soaring economic boom of the 1990s.
There are also some interesting anecdotes and descriptions of other parts of Asia, passionate encounters, political intrigue and lots of soul searching.
In all, a moving story about a complex woman's search for the simple, yet satisfying, things in life.

This novel starts in the early 1990s as freelance writer Madeline Fox, newly divorced and looking for adventure, is being met at the Hong Kong airport by an old boyfriend. He's romantic but very married and there are signs from the beginning that this is not a relationship made in heaven. She's not planning on staying in Hong Kong though. She's on her way to Shanghai, where she has contracted to teach English. Here, she makes friends with the other teachers, and, after a bicycle accident in heavy traffic, she meets David, a young Chinese university student who yearns to go to America. She also makes friends with several other teachers, one of whom competes with her for David's affection.

But this is not a simple story. There's intrigue and high adventure as a plot forms to help David escape to Hong Kong. And, later, when her teaching gig is up and Madeline moves to Hong Kong, the story gets even better. It's a few years before the 1997 handover and the atmosphere is tense. Hong Kong is expensive, and so Madeline moves to Lamma, one of the 257 islands and a 50-minute ferry ride away. To Madeline it's a refuge, a state of mind and a stopping-off-place to rest.

But this is not only the story of one person. It's the story of Hong Kong and Shanghai in the 1990s, a world that is rapidly changing. Ms. Alexander captures essence of these places. I felt I was right there, hearing the sounds, inhaling the smells, experiencing the tension of political and economic clashes. I don't know if I'll ever get a chance to travel there. But I thank the author for giving me a chance to experience the voyage of the central character through her eyes. I loved this book and was left yearning for more because it ends before the actual handover of Hong Kong to China begins. But I'll long remember the descriptions of time and place and what it meant to be a woman during that turbulent decade. Recommended.