Chit Chat # 16

A Tell of Two Sickees
Bob Chen

    The title is a pun on " A Tale of Two Cities". It is timely in light of next week will be the first anniversary of reunification of Hong Kong with PRC. The article is a book review of two books that are related to Hong Kong from the 50's to '97. The two sickees are: The authoress of the first book "Falling Leaves", and the leading male character of the second book "Last Year in Hong Kong". They are both victims of circumstances, and qualified to be called sickees for the following reasons: Adeline was mistreated by a French/Shandong stepmother all her life. Robbie, the Tibetan/English Imperial College (U. K. 's equivalent of M.I.T. for Engineering) graduate willingly gave up an American divorcee to follow Dalai Lama, and his own grandmother's wishes. To me, these are signs of masochists.
    The authoress, and author came from diverse backgrounds. Their stories intercept in Hong Kong around the same time period of all Lighters' years at Pui Ching and beyond. Adeline Yen Mah went to high school in Hong Kong, graduated from London University in Medicine, collected her MRCP's (London and Edinburgh) in internal medicine, went back to Hong Kong in '63, and came to the States later. Robert S. Elegant, an old Chinahand with more than thirty years as a journalist in Asia, mainly as East Asian correspondent and Hong Kong bureau chief for Newsweek and the Los Angeles Times.
    Adeline's book was given to me by my daughter, Barbara, for Father's day. She had the fortune of listening to Dr. Mah (Adeline) in a talk at Cal-State Fullerton on "Traditional Chinese Culture and the Dynamics of Secrecy...". She wants me to write a review of the book for Chit Chat, citing the fact that I read most of Amy Tan's books (Joy Luck Club, Kitchen God's Wife, etc.), and knowing that they are not fictions, but Tan's mother's real life history. "Falling Leaves" is an autobiography as well. Anyone, who's a member of Royal College of Physicians, does not mind washing dirty laundries in public, and telling the world at large that a step-sister (same father, different mothers) is far better than the full blooded eldest sister and brothers, deserves to be praised for her unpretentious straightforward nonfiction writing. Although her unwanted status is not unusual in China, her story will lead the likes of Sam Donaldson and Harry Woo, or Wu, some third rate or lower reporters, to equate her misfortune to Chinese human-rights violation during Clinton's nine day visit. I doubt these people will ever read the book, but who knows? May be Debrah Wang.
    Now, to the second book "Last Year in Hong Kong: A Love Story" by Robert Elegant. It is a repeat of " Love is a Many Splendored Thing" by Han Sui Ying. The catch is the gender reversal of the leading figures. William Holden's American reporter becomes an American Divorcee, Lucretia Hatton Barnes. Jennifer Jone's Han Sui Ying becomes Robbie, also a Eurasian, but of different mix, Tibetan/English. The rest is less interesting. Elegant did present many local colors (i.e., eating at Dai-Pai-Dong off Jordan Road, celebrating Chung Yeung, September 9th, by climbing up to the Peak, sailing in a junk...), but they are trivial stuff. It is nothing more than a love story casted in '97's Hong Kong to cash in on the handover coat-tail. There is no substance!
    To prove my points of view, I logged on to Amazon.com, to see what others say. Sure enough, "Falling Leaves" got five stars, and "Last Year in Hong Kong" got zero. BTW(by the way) the prices for best sellers are true discounted at Amazon, not the technical books. You can get better discounts at Border or local college book stores.