Nagwa Malik's Blog - Posts Tagged "kong-boys"

The title I liked: it was a little reminiscent of the 80s and 90s, and when I started reading it, the narration began in a beautiful, light, reminiscent tone and in the best way possible: not overly descriptive, not overwhelming: more to the point and still managing to stir up curiosity. And that was just the prologue. To be honest it was almost as if I was watching the opening scene of a Hong Kong movie. Maybe that had something to do with the ordered list of characters before the prologue, and being a scriptwriter I appreciated the format of it: as if I were reading a play. Coincidentally, this is the second book I have read that holds narration in the present tense, after many years. It was refreshing, actually, to read such a candid narration in the present tense (although I did come across one or two places where the tense shifted…normally that is deliberate, as an author I balance tense shifts myself, deliberately, but at one particular place I felt maybe the shift was unintentional). As someone who loves to travel, has lived abroad away from family, and secretly wishes to make numerous solo trips around the world, or least parts of the world, I find this book, with its subtle details, the different people and their behaviour, the reactions: “I looked him in the eye for five seconds, then slowly scanned the rest of the table for someone to call bullshit.”, just plain fun. It’s a wonderful read. Not something you would want to scan through, but one you need to make the mood for, to fully enjoy it.
Nagwa Malik
Author: The Terrific Three, The Mist series and A Novel