The Honourable Schoolboy
by John le Carre
Second in the series of George Smiley spy novels—the first being Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy—The Honourable Schoolboy is part of John LeCarre’s engagement with the Cold War world. Stakes are high as master spy Smiley goes head-to-head with his Soviet enemy and tries to run an offensive espionage op to keep the secret intelligence service, known as the “Circus,” alive and kicking. The trail leads us to Hong Kong where everything unravels.
The Piano Teacher: A Novel
by Janice Y. K. Lee
It is 1942, and the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong is imminent as WWII ravages the world. Set against this backdrop is an impossibly doomed love story between an Englishman and a beautiful woman of Portuguese-Chinese decent. The novel skirts between their tragic love affair and another affair, ten years later, harnessing the passion, difficulties, and betrayals of these two intertwined relationships.
Kowloon Tong: A Novel of Hong Kong
by Paul Theroux
Set in the weeks leading up to the British handover of Hong Kong to the Chinese, English family, Bunt Mullard and his mother, Betty, are made an offer on their textile factory by a shady figure, Mr. Hung, who will stop at nothing to attain it. Secrets, lies, and betrayals keep Kowloon Tong moving at a delectable clip. Voted one of the best novels of the 1990s, the book’s satire of colonialism makes it an essential read.
Hong Kong
by Jan Morris
The mystery that is Hong Kong has seduced and perplexed visitors, who continue to arrive in droves, for a chance to experience this unforgettable city. Travel writer Jan Morris, whose has an eye for the nuances and subtleties of culture, delivers one powerful book on Hong Kong. We learn of the frenzied and dazzling final days of British rule; the convergence of extreme wealth and abject poverty; and the endless enigmas that vivify the city.
White Ghost Girls
by Alice Greenway
In this story of two sisters, we discover a powerful tale of family, tragedy, and solidarity against all odds. War rages in neighboring Vietnam, while an American family hunkers down in Honk Kong, as their war-photographer father leaves his wife and two daughters behind. We follow the girls as their lives become irrevocably changed in an instant, and the unique bond between sisters comes starkly into focus.