Chinese Walls & Daughters Of Hui

Two early works by Hong Kong author Xu Xi, republished together.
Given the current uprising and protests in Hong Kong it seemed timely to read this third book of a set I picked up around 10 years ago, having never heard of the author.

The first, Chinese Walls is a full, albeit shortish novel. It follows the life of Ai-Lin, from age 9 in Hong Kong through her life until late thirties, and the life of her family as her two brothers migrate to the USA, and their parents remain in Hong Kong. It charts Ai-Lin's relationships and love life, her behaviours and a general examination of the life of an Indonesian Chinese who was brought up in Hong Kong and migrated to the USA.
The second part Daughters of Hui is made up of a novella, and a couple of short stories. For me these were less strong, although the novella was more compelling than the short stories.

The writing is interesting, and ties in key events - such as the 1997 handover of Hong Kong by the British, and the Tienanmen Square protests (and subsequent massacre) in 1998. These events give the stories context and tie them to a specific time.

I also enjoyed some of the Hong Kong references, although I have spent only a couple of weeks in total in Hong Kong, places like Chung King Mansion, Nathan Road, the Star Ferries and a few other memorable landmarks gave me some connection to the parts set in Hong Kong.

A good short read, and like the other two books in my set, this one is a solid 3 stars. Readable and enjoyable.