The Girl in the Golden House

In 'The Girl and the Golden House', the author has painted a convincing picture of Hong Kong, capturing its atmosphere and the culture of its people, giving the reader an insight into life in this city-state

John Biggs spent most of his professional life as an academic in several countries, including Hong Kong. Falling leaves return to their roots, as the Chinese proverb says, so this leaf fell back to Hobart, where he now writes fiction. He has published several award winning shorts stories and two other novels.

Chris Wong is brought up to believe in the old proverb: ‘In books, there are golden houses and beautiful girls’. Studying law provides the golden house readily enough, but Chris finds wisdom of another sort in searching for the right girl with whom to share it. His sexual awakening is complicated by the political realities of modern Hong Kong and traditional Chinese beliefs on love, marriage and career. After the Tiananmen Massacre, many Hong Kong men became ‘astronauts’, parking their families overseas while they continued working in Hong Kong. Many families snapped under the strain, Chris’s included. He eventually finds his girl in a room he thought was locked.

..a remarkable piece of characterisation... a powerful portrait of a man forced to reconcile the expectations of his family, his ancestors and the weight of Chinese tradition with the very different attitudes of the West, while trying, in the middle of things, to find love. (The Age).

His portrait of Hong Kong – its sights, smells, noise and confusion – is convincing, and his descriptions convey the beauty and the darker sides of the territory. .. His treatment of Wong’s emotional struggle is as deft and moving as his exploration of Hong Kong in turmoil is bold. (South China Morning Post)