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A Family Memoir #1
Adrift: My Childhood in Colonial Singapore
In 1935, six-year-old Tzi Ki was taken away from his mother in Canton, by his grandmother, to live at Blair Road in Singapore.
This is the first part of David T. K. Wong’s multi-volume family memoir. It traces of his tumultuous growing-up years from his birth in Hong Kong, his early years in Canton, his childhood in Singapore—living with the complicated extended families of his polygamous grandfather and father—to his lean and turbulent early teenage years in Perth after escaping from the Japanese Occupation. This is a unique psychological journey of a young man in the twilight of colonialism, searching for where he belongs.
This is the first part of David T. K. Wong’s multi-volume family memoir. It traces of his tumultuous growing-up years from his birth in Hong Kong, his early years in Canton, his childhood in Singapore—living with the complicated extended families of his polygamous grandfather and father—to his lean and turbulent early teenage years in Perth after escaping from the Japanese Occupation. This is a unique psychological journey of a young man in the twilight of colonialism, searching for where he belongs.
- GenresNonfictionMemoir
328 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2015
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About the author
David T.K. Wong
11 books7 followersDavid T. K. Wong was born in Hong Kong and received his early education in China, Singapore and Australia. He has degrees in political science and journalism from Stanford University in America and a post-graduate diploma in public administration from the Institute of Social Studies at The Hague. Later, he also became a Fellow in Economics at Queen Elizabeth House at Oxford.
He worked as a journalist in Hong Kong, London and Singapore for a number of years before joining the Administrative Service of the Hong Kong Government. After retirement from public service, he became the Managing Director of an international trading firm for eight years before emigrating to London to embark upon a writing career.
He has published four collections of short stories and two novels. His short stories, some of which have earned him a number of awards, have appeared in various magazines in the United States, Great Britain, Hong Kong and other Asian countries.
Many of his stories have been broadcast by BBC Radio 4 in Britain, RTHK in Hong Kong and other stations in Ireland, Holland, Belgium and elsewhere. A number of his short stories have appeared in anthologies.
He is now resident in Malaysia where he is currently working on a multi-volume family memoir, of which this is the first volume.
He is the founder of the annual David T. K. Wong Fellowship in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia in the UK. The Fellowship awards £26,000 to a successful candidate to write a serious work of fiction set in the Far East.
He worked as a journalist in Hong Kong, London and Singapore for a number of years before joining the Administrative Service of the Hong Kong Government. After retirement from public service, he became the Managing Director of an international trading firm for eight years before emigrating to London to embark upon a writing career.
He has published four collections of short stories and two novels. His short stories, some of which have earned him a number of awards, have appeared in various magazines in the United States, Great Britain, Hong Kong and other Asian countries.
Many of his stories have been broadcast by BBC Radio 4 in Britain, RTHK in Hong Kong and other stations in Ireland, Holland, Belgium and elsewhere. A number of his short stories have appeared in anthologies.
He is now resident in Malaysia where he is currently working on a multi-volume family memoir, of which this is the first volume.
He is the founder of the annual David T. K. Wong Fellowship in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia in the UK. The Fellowship awards £26,000 to a successful candidate to write a serious work of fiction set in the Far East.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 31, 2020
This was an autobiography of Colonial Singapore.
There are a few parts to note:
1. Author's family tree - David's father and grandfather had multiple wives (monogamy was not for them), as well as the contrast between David's mother's and grandmother's attitude towards the additional wives (divorce versus tolerance).
Related to this are family ties.
2. Use of language - David grows up speaking Cantonese, and goes to both an English and Chinese school. This seems to be lightly touched upon.
3. Japanese occupation - David was lucky to escape; but there's talk about the scars it left on everyone else.
There are a few parts to note:
1. Author's family tree - David's father and grandfather had multiple wives (monogamy was not for them), as well as the contrast between David's mother's and grandmother's attitude towards the additional wives (divorce versus tolerance).
Related to this are family ties.
2. Use of language - David grows up speaking Cantonese, and goes to both an English and Chinese school. This seems to be lightly touched upon.
3. Japanese occupation - David was lucky to escape; but there's talk about the scars it left on everyone else.
Displaying 1 of 1 review