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vikingwolf's review against another edition
2.0
Martin was 7 when his father was posted to Hong Kong and he found a whole new world of discovery in the hotel they first stayed in and on the streets of the city.He talks frankly about his parents arguments,his father's pretentions at being more important than he was,and all the people he met during his years there growing up.
It was a decent read and it was interesting to see what Hong Kong was like in the 1950's.
It was a decent read and it was interesting to see what Hong Kong was like in the 1950's.
amd2bear's review against another edition
4.0
Riveting, chilling, and particularly interesting if you're familiar with the Hong Kong area. Great, quick read that seems like fiction but is actually his life!
sarah_dietrich's review against another edition
5.0
Completely charming. Booth had a fascinating childhood, I love his descriptions of Hong Kong. I would happily read this again.
anveshjain's review against another edition
3.0
Its a nice memoir with avery rich details of hong kong and the target of the novel is achieved then and there. Martin booth really writes about tiny things happening in hong kong at that time period. Its a good read.
michelleful's review against another edition
5.0
Delightful memoir set in 1950s Hong Kong through the eyes of an adventurous child who managed to worm his way into all corners of it.
sugablob's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
slow-paced
2.5
it was for school but it was quite enjoyable, disagreed with some stuff but overall informative about the place i’m from. usually i hate the books our school gives us so this was nice
persey's review against another edition
4.0
This was a wonderful read edging into five-star territory, evocative and compelling about a place and a time long gone, and yet. I can’t ignore two overarching issues. The first is the author’s age especially at the start of the memoir, seven going on thirty-seven it seems, as he was a tiny man-about-town where he didn’t even speak the language at first. I’m not sure how much is memory and how much is later projection, especially given that the author returned to Hong Kong in a few years for good and it seems likely later experiences overlaid his earliest memories. I’m willing to give that a pass, but more troubling is his account of his parents’ relationship, where while the author is on his mother’s side and portrays his father as a vicious buffoon, it’s entirely obvious that she actively sought to undermine his relationship with his father to the point of cozening reactions that resulted in physical punishment. His father was a Colonel Blimp, but, unintentionally on the author’s part, his mother comes off equally badly. There’s not always two sides to every story, but it seems clear there were in this case.