This is a tale told
with great authenticity, told with 5 distinct voices and yet
successfully forming a single whole.
The backdrop of the
tale is the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong, it is a tale about
identity rather than a dramatised history lesson about the Japanese
occupation, but clearly one of the ways in which it unlocks the
identities is through the disruptive transposition of Hong Kong's
“British” ruling elite into interned enemy aliens. Although
there is clearly some level of suffering as a result of internment
this is not a tale of horrors, such as characterised the Japanese
treatment of PoWs, it is a tale about the subtleties of the exercise
of power rather than brutalities.
That the central
“British” characters are Welsh adds an extra layering to the
complexity of identity – and the experience of Mari, Hong Kong
born, of the return “home” to Wales tells us of an important
dynamic within the colonial experience – there was within it an
expansive understanding of what it was to be “British”. That
“home” was a place that she had never been, and a place that she
never really seems to fit in is effectively conveyed.
It is also a tale
about the challenges of family life – in a number of different
configurations – and again it is very real – these are people
that you can believe in and can easily share in their experiences,
their joys and also their sorrows.
No comments:
Post a Comment