Hong Kong Literary Notes: Hong Kong has not left a deep impression on global literature. Perhaps, for too long in its history, it lacked the allure of neighbouring Shanghai and the recent economic dynamism has yet to find a literary expression. There is a rich tradition of Cantonese literature but this has not made much of an impact in translation either. Some of the best works on Hong Kong are histories or travel writing rather than pure fiction. Probably the best of the histories is Frank Welsh's A Borrowed Place: A History of Hong Kong (1997). Jan Morris' Hong Kong - Epilogue to an Empire (1997) is a typically lyrical summary of the territory's character in the twilight of colonialism, recently updated to cover the latest developments. Mark Roberti's The Fall of Hong Kong: China's Triumph and Britain's Betrayal (1996) is an understandably angry survey of events before, during and after the 1997 hand-over. East and West (1999) is a thoughtful and, often very angry memoir by former British governor Chris Patten, detailing the events leading up to and beyond the handover of sovereignty in 1997.
As for novels, Paul Theroux's Kowloon Tong (1997) focuses on cultural interaction and colonial legacies in the plight of a Hong Kong English trading family on the eve of the hand-over. Timothy Mo's An Insular Possession (1986) is concerned with Macau more than Hong Kong but nonetheless manages to be a subtle and polished work, describing the European enclave of a bygone era. Most recently, John Lanchester's Fragrant Harbour (2002) takes his characters, Englishman Tom Stewart and Catholic nun Sister Maria, through the turbulent trading years and Japanese invasion of Hong Kong in the 1930s and 1940s. Lanchester was born and raised in Hong Kong and provides his readers with a powerful insight into the city.
Otherwise, Hong Kong is a staple of genre fiction. John Le Carré's The Honourable Schoolboy (1977) is one of the better spy novels to deal with the territory. Any reader looking for the blockbuster view of Hong Kong should read James Clavell's Noble House (1981) and Tai-Pan (1966). The World of Suzie Wong (1957), by Richard Mason, conjures up a paradoxical, yet atmospheric, world of vice, prostitution and the quest for enduring romance in one of Hong Kong's seedier districts. The success of the film it inspired is probably testament to the fact that Hong Kong has been best captured on celluloid - Jackie Chan makes as good a swashbuckling cultural hero for the place as anyone.