The Year of the Woman by
Jonathan Gash
pbk out October 05
(Allison Busby)
at £6.99
An extraordinary chap, this Jonathan Gash. Although best known for his
twenty-three 'Lovejoy' novels, the television adaptations of which have
enthralled millions, he has written many more books in addition to his
'proper job'! Like the present reviewer, he is now a retired doctor,
pathologist, Army medical officer and university lecturer, his speciality
being tropical diseases. This new book arises out of his time in Hong
Kong where he not only lectured at the university, but immersed himself
in Chinese culture and even studied Cantonese.
The book could not be further removed from Lovejoy and his antiques,
for all its characters are Chinese and there is not a policeman in sight, so
although there are a couple of murders, these are almost incidental to the
story.
It concerns a poor Chinese girl, Kway Fay, who was one of the three-
hundred thousand 'cockroach children' who live homeless in Hong Kong,
scavenging on the streets. A crippled food-stall owner befriends s her and
teaches her to read and write, so that eventually she graduates to a tin
shack on the side of Mount Davis and gets a job as a lowly clerk in a
crummy investment company, run by a fat sexual harasser, H C Ho.
Kway is also harassed by the ghost of her long-dead grandmother, who
comes in the night and robs her of sleep by insisted on interrogating her
about her knowledge of ancient Chinese customs. Perhaps a little like
Lovejoy, Kway is 'fey' and seems to have the gift of forecasting events,
such as the rise and fall of currencies and even the winners of horse races.
She comes to the attention of the leader of a major Hong Kong Triad,
who has supreme power over almost all commercial and even political
events there. However, he is concerned by the imminent 'hand-over- of
1997 to China, who will stamp on illegal activities and needs a 'divvy' to
foretell the future and advise him on various ploys. He begins to watch
over Kway, but she gets her wires crossed and thinks that he is a poor old
man in the power of 'threat-men', the thugs who provide the muscle for
the Triads. She tries to help him and rejects the gifts and money that he is
trying to shower on to her.
The story is both poignant and funny, but is also a treasure-trove of
information about Chinese customs and traditions. I thought it a
marvellous book, though I will admit that my admiration must in large
part arise from knowing Hong Kong so well, as I could identify with
every street and district that is described in the book. Even so, it must
surely be a good read for everyone, watching this naïve girl press on with
her drab life, unaware of the latent power she has in her gift of foresight.
(
Bernard Knight
ex Home Office Pathologist and author of the highly acclaimed Crowner John series)
The Year of the Woman by
Jonathan Gash
