false 177998 <![CDATA[Fragrant Harbor]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172456287m/177998.jpg 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

]]> 177998 12 1744275 2002 Fragrant Harbor total:87|5:14|4:35|3:28|2:7|1:3| 87 311 127 16 33359 3.58 559 106 42790373 1578258 177998 0142003379 9780142003374 11 <![CDATA[Fragrant Harbor]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172456287m/177998.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/177998.Fragrant_Harbor 3.64 69 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

]]> 3 0 false Mon Jan 12 09:40:47 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 12 10:05:31 -0800 2009 more...]]> 18825758 1880 2900584 8433972650 9788433972651 1 <![CDATA[Puerto De Los Aromas, El]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2900584.Puerto_De_Los_Aromas_El 3.00 1 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

]]> 3 0 false Sun Nov 06 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Fri Mar 28 01:48:09 -0700 2008 Fri Mar 28 01:52:53 -0700 2008 more...]]> 28135795 1090620 177997 0571214703 9780571214709 3 <![CDATA[Fragrant Harbour]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172456286m/177997.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/177997.Fragrant_Harbour 3.00 4 Fragrant Harbour is the story of four people whose intertwined lives span Asia’s last 70 years. Tom Stewart leaves England just before it is hit by the Great Depression to seek his fortune, and finds it in running Hong Kong’s best hotel. Sister Maria is a beautiful and uncompromising Chinese nun whom Stewart meets on the boat out from England; their friendship spans decades and changes both their lives. Dawn Stone is an English journalist who becomes the public face of money and power and big business. Matthew Ho is a young Chinese entrepreneur whose life has been shaped by painful choices made long before his birth, and who is now facing his own difficulties, and opportunities, in the twenty-first century.

The complacency of colonial life in the 1930s; the horrors of the Japanese occupation during the Second World War; the post-war boom and transformation of Hong Kong into a laboratory of capitalism at its most cut-throat; the growth of the Triads; the handover of the city to the Chinese – all these are present in Fragrant Harbour, an epic novel of one of the world’s great cities. The novel’s shape and scale, its emotional power and beauty, make it John Lanchester’s finest book to date.]]> 4 0 false Mon Jul 28 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 23 22:32:27 -0700 2008 Sun Jul 27 19:19:33 -0700 2008 more...]]> 73567667 2801198 177998 0142003379 9780142003374 11 <![CDATA[Fragrant Harbor]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172456287m/177998.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/177998.Fragrant_Harbor 3.57 87 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

]]> 4 0 false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Mon Oct 05 17:59:02 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 05 18:00:17 -0700 2009 3406747 210238 177997 0571214703 9780571214709 3 <![CDATA[Fragrant Harbour]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172456286m/177997.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/177997.Fragrant_Harbour 3.00 4 Fragrant Harbour is the story of four people whose intertwined lives span Asia’s last 70 years. Tom Stewart leaves England just before it is hit by the Great Depression to seek his fortune, and finds it in running Hong Kong’s best hotel. Sister Maria is a beautiful and uncompromising Chinese nun whom Stewart meets on the boat out from England; their friendship spans decades and changes both their lives. Dawn Stone is an English journalist who becomes the public face of money and power and big business. Matthew Ho is a young Chinese entrepreneur whose life has been shaped by painful choices made long before his birth, and who is now facing his own difficulties, and opportunities, in the twenty-first century.

The complacency of colonial life in the 1930s; the horrors of the Japanese occupation during the Second World War; the post-war boom and transformation of Hong Kong into a laboratory of capitalism at its most cut-throat; the growth of the Triads; the handover of the city to the Chinese – all these are present in Fragrant Harbour, an epic novel of one of the world’s great cities. The novel’s shape and scale, its emotional power and beauty, make it John Lanchester’s finest book to date.]]> 1 0 false Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Mon Jul 23 08:41:32 -0700 2007 Mon Jul 23 08:41:32 -0700 2007 more...]]> 10372123 672270 177998 0142003379 9780142003374 11 <![CDATA[Fragrant Harbor]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172456287m/177998.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/177998.Fragrant_Harbor 3.57 87 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

]]> 4 0 false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Thu Dec 13 10:11:09 -0800 2007 Fri Dec 21 01:47:20 -0800 2007 more...]]> 2392015 154132 177998 0142003379 9780142003374 11 <![CDATA[Fragrant Harbor]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172456287m/177998.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/177998.Fragrant_Harbor 3.57 87 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

]]> 4 0 false Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Jun 26 06:27:22 -0700 2007 Wed Dec 16 22:43:48 -0800 2009 963962 73686 177997 0571214703 9780571214709 3 <![CDATA[Fragrant Harbour]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172456286m/177997.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/177997.Fragrant_Harbour 3.00 4 Fragrant Harbour is the story of four people whose intertwined lives span Asia’s last 70 years. Tom Stewart leaves England just before it is hit by the Great Depression to seek his fortune, and finds it in running Hong Kong’s best hotel. Sister Maria is a beautiful and uncompromising Chinese nun whom Stewart meets on the boat out from England; their friendship spans decades and changes both their lives. Dawn Stone is an English journalist who becomes the public face of money and power and big business. Matthew Ho is a young Chinese entrepreneur whose life has been shaped by painful choices made long before his birth, and who is now facing his own difficulties, and opportunities, in the twenty-first century.

The complacency of colonial life in the 1930s; the horrors of the Japanese occupation during the Second World War; the post-war boom and transformation of Hong Kong into a laboratory of capitalism at its most cut-throat; the growth of the Triads; the handover of the city to the Chinese – all these are present in Fragrant Harbour, an epic novel of one of the world’s great cities. The novel’s shape and scale, its emotional power and beauty, make it John Lanchester’s finest book to date.]]> 4 0 false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0800 2003 Tue May 01 05:45:08 -0700 2007 Wed Dec 16 18:42:15 -0800 2009 13970783 851230 177998 0142003379 9780142003374 11 <![CDATA[Fragrant Harbor]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172456287m/177998.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/177998.Fragrant_Harbor 3.57 87 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

]]> 4 0 false Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2003 Tue Jan 29 14:46:22 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 29 14:49:40 -0800 2008 29411236 1095035 177998 0142003379 9780142003374 11 <![CDATA[Fragrant Harbor]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172456287m/177998.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/177998.Fragrant_Harbor 3.57 87 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

]]> 5 0 false Wed Aug 06 08:28:41 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 06 08:34:30 -0700 2008 20746217 1014533 177998 0142003379 9780142003374 11 <![CDATA[Fragrant Harbor]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172456287m/177998.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/177998.Fragrant_Harbor 3.57 87 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

]]> 3 0 false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 22 15:58:11 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 22 15:59:44 -0700 2008 14188581 850876 177998 0142003379 9780142003374 11 <![CDATA[Fragrant Harbor]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172456287m/177998.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/177998.Fragrant_Harbor 3.57 87 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

]]> 3 0 false Wed Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Thu Jan 31 13:07:16 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 31 13:08:18 -0800 2008 15624825 903902 177998 0142003379 9780142003374 11 <![CDATA[Fragrant Harbor]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172456287m/177998.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/177998.Fragrant_Harbor 3.57 87 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

]]> 0 0 true Sun Feb 17 10:10:52 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 17 10:10:52 -0800 2008 "Longevity can be a form of spite."]]> 6273078 383153 177998 0142003379 9780142003374 11 <![CDATA[Fragrant Harbor]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172456287m/177998.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/177998.Fragrant_Harbor 3.57 87 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

]]> 0 0 false Sun Sep 16 06:27:27 -0700 2007 Sun Sep 16 06:27:48 -0700 2007 1979149 4512 177998 0142003379 9780142003374 11 <![CDATA[Fragrant Harbor]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172456287m/177998.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/177998.Fragrant_Harbor 3.57 87 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

]]> 4 0 false Thu Jun 14 15:49:31 -0700 2007 Wed Dec 16 21:35:37 -0800 2009 9218867 604783 1746581 0771045980 9780771045981 1 <![CDATA[Fragrant Harbour]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1187684987m/1746581.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1746581.Fragrant_Harbour 3.00 1 Fragrant Harbour is the story of four people whose intertwined lives span Asia’s last 70 years. Tom Stewart leaves England just before it is hit by the Great Depression to seek his fortune, and finds it in running Hong Kong’s best hotel. Sister Maria is a beautiful and uncompromising Chinese nun whom Stewart meets on the boat out from England; their friendship spans decades and changes both their lives. Dawn Stone is an English journalist who becomes the public face of money and power and big business. Matthew Ho is a young Chinese entrepreneur whose life has been shaped by painful choices made long before his birth, and who is now facing his own difficulties, and opportunities, in the twenty-first century.

The complacency of colonial life in the 1930s; the horrors of the Japanese occupation during the Second World War; the post-war boom and transformation of Hong Kong into a laboratory of capitalism at its most cut-throat; the growth of the Triads; the handover of the city to the Chinese – all these are present in Fragrant Harbour, an epic novel of one of the world’s great cities. The novel’s shape and scale, its emotional power and beauty, make it John Lanchester’s finest book to date.


From the Hardcover edition.]]> 3 0 false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Fri Nov 16 20:06:56 -0800 2007 Sun Nov 18 12:30:00 -0800 2007 81061227 2982160 177998 0142003379 9780142003374 11 <![CDATA[Fragrant Harbor]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172456287m/177998.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/177998.Fragrant_Harbor 3.57 87 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

]]> 3 0 false Tue Dec 15 01:40:24 -0800 2009 Tue Dec 15 01:40:24 -0800 2009 80496744 2662864 177998 0142003379 9780142003374 11 <![CDATA[Fragrant Harbor]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172456287m/177998.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/177998.Fragrant_Harbor 3.57 87 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

]]> 2 0 false Wed Dec 09 21:00:13 -0800 2009 Wed Dec 09 21:00:13 -0800 2009 79540135 1837319 1746580 057121469X 9780571214693 0 <![CDATA[Fragrant Harbour]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1187684986m/1746580.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1746580.Fragrant_Harbour 3.75 4 Fragrant Harbour is the story of four people whose intertwined lives span Asia’s last 70 years. Tom Stewart leaves England just before it is hit by the Great Depression to seek his fortune, and finds it in running Hong Kong’s best hotel. Sister Maria is a beautiful and uncompromising Chinese nun whom Stewart meets on the boat out from England; their friendship spans decades and changes both their lives. Dawn Stone is an English journalist who becomes the public face of money and power and big business. Matthew Ho is a young Chinese entrepreneur whose life has been shaped by painful choices made long before his birth, and who is now facing his own difficulties, and opportunities, in the twenty-first century.

The complacency of colonial life in the 1930s; the horrors of the Japanese occupation during the Second World War; the post-war boom and transformation of Hong Kong into a laboratory of capitalism at its most cut-throat; the growth of the Triads; the handover of the city to the Chinese – all these are present in Fragrant Harbour, an epic novel of one of the world’s great cities. The novel’s shape and scale, its emotional power and beauty, make it John Lanchester’s finest book to date.]]> 0 0 false Tue Dec 01 11:26:37 -0800 2009 Tue Dec 01 11:26:37 -0800 2009 79197223 2134139 1685361 0399148663 9780399148668 0 <![CDATA[Fragrant Harbor]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1186857999m/1685361.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1685361.Fragrant_Harbor 2.00 1 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

]]> 0 0 false Sat Nov 28 08:53:59 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 28 08:53:59 -0800 2009 8 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=177998