gentle books » Donation
Gweilo: Memories of a Hong Kong Childhood, Martin Booth
Gweilo: Memories of a Hong Kong Childhood, Martin Booth
2005
regular price
HK$50.00
regular price
sale price
HK$50.00
unit price
/
per
Evocative, funny and full of life, this is a beautifully observed childhood memoir of growing up in colonial Hong Kong in the 1950s.
As an inquisitive seven-year-old, Martin Booth found himself with the whole of Hong Kong at his feet when his father was posted there in the early 1950s. Unrestricted by parental control, he had free access to hidden corners of the colony normally closed to a Gweilo, a “pale fellow” like him. Befriending rickshaw coolies and local stallholders, he learned Cantonese, sampled delicacies such as boiled water beetles and one-hundred-year-old eggs, and participated in colourful festivals. He even entered the forbidden Kowloon Walled City, wandered into the secret lair of the Triads and visited an opium den. Along the way he encountered a colourful array of people, from the plink plonk man with his dancing monkey to Nagasaki Jim, a drunken child molester, and the Queen of Kowloon, the crazed tramp who may have been a member of the Romanov family.
Shadowed by the unhappiness of his warring parents, a broad-minded mother who, like her son, was keen to embrace all things Chinese, and a bigoted father who was enraged by his family’s interest in “going native,” Martin Booth’s compelling memoir is a journey into Chinese culture and an extinct colonial way of life that glows with infectious curiosity and humour.
share
about delivery & pick-up
about delivery & pick-up
we offer the following delivery options:
- domestic shipping
- SF Express pay-by-receiver, and
- local pick-up.
pick-up options are limited to book orders at the moment. if you select local pick-up (books only) at checkout, you can pick up your books at our next event! we'll be in touch to confirm your pick-up details.
about gentle books
gentle books hopes to build a circular book economy and nurture the community of readers here in Hong Kong.
a women-led business founded by book-lovers, the brand believes that books don’t belong in landfill - books deserve to be read! gentle books is a social enterprise that commits 20% of its profits to literacy and education-based NGOs.