Xi Xu, The Unwalled City

Amy Lai (Hong Kong Polytechnic University)

Ed. by John Thieme, University of East Anglia
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 10.4.2: Hong Kong, Singaporean, Malaysian and Myanmar Writing and Culture.

Dates

First circulation or publication 2001

Places

Hong Kong (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

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Xu Xi’s fourth book of fiction rushes us across the last few years in the history of Hong Kong that precede the great historical moment on July 1, 1997 when the political changeover occurs. The title immediately draws us back to her first work,

Chinese Walls

, and in fact

The Unwalled City

is a kind of sequel to that book. Now that Hong Kong is finally “unwalled”, we are presented with the lives of a mixture of Hong Kong

yan

. As in Xu Xi’s previous works, all of these characters are global nomads, whose lives become intertwined as the story develops.

The first major character is Andanna Lee You Fun, a “local” girl, born and bred in Hong Kong, but who received her college education in Canada. She is also a model and jazz musician who later discovers her new life as a

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942 words

Citation: Lai, Amy. "The Unwalled City". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 02 December 2003 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=12475, accessed 19 April 2024.]

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