Tales from a Fragrant Harbour: Short Stories of Hong Kong and the Far East | |||||
Garry Kilworth | |||||
PS Publishing, 290 pages | |||||
A review by Kit O'Connell
Garry Kilworth's Tales From A Fragrant Harbour: Short Stories of Hong Kong and the Far East is the
latest entry in the mythology of a certain "lost" land. He and his wife spent 4 years there prior to the
turnover of power, and the stories also draw on similar experiences in overseas jobs in both Singapore and
Malaysia. The title of the book is drawn from the meaning of 'Hong Kong' itself in Cantonese, and it's clear
the author got more of the flavor of this culture than any mere tourist. While some of the stories are
told from the perspective of a foreign visitor looking down his nose at the native culture, it's clear
from others that Kilworth's efforts to befriend and understand the Chinese with whom he lived and worked
paid off in his writing.
Fragrant Harbour is divided into two halves. The first, Once-Told Tales, are non-genre, "realistic
fiction" stories that take place within the confines of Hong Kong and conventional reality. The Twice-Told
Tales add a supernatural element and venture further afield into other Asian countries and even Australia.
As a reviewer for a speculative fiction website, it pains me a little to say that I feel the first half of
the collection was stronger than the second. The tight focus on Hong Kong gives those stories a better sense
of cohesion. Kilworth's writing sometimes has a slightly antiquated feel to it, as if this were a musty
hardcover from your local used bookstore rather than one of the latest products of a modern SF small
press. In the first half, this worked in his favour, linking the stories to a wealthy tradition of similar
works I've already referenced. But after exploring everyday life in the "fragrant harbour" so vividly,
I found myself disappointed whenever a story departed from the confines of the former British territory.
In addition, the supernatural element often feels arbitrary or underdeveloped, and these elements are often
combined with characters who make it hard for the reader to sympathize with them when something weird or
unpleasant happens. Take "The Cave Painting," which I feel is a typical example of these stories. We are
introduced to a threesome on vacation in the Australian desert: a whiny, weak-willed male tourist; a macho
Australian native named Mace; and Janet, the tourist's former lover who is deliberately playing the two
off of each other. When the three camp out in a cave with an aborigine and the titular weird painting,
the world suddenly ends (or is transformed) and Mace disappears after a hasty resolution to the love
triangle. The story ends as abruptly as the world itself when some weird creatures (the inhabitants of
the new Earth) begin to approach the remaining characters.
Likewise, as a William Gibson fan, I was excited when I realized that the infamous Kowloon Walled City
was the setting for the Twice-Told "Inside the Walled City," but in the end it just mines the tired idea
of a building taking revenge -- with protruding nails and other architectural offences -- on those who
would destroy it. I got a much better sense of place in Once-Told stories like "Triads," where a man who
lives in the Walled City falls for a rich woman he glimpses on a boat. There are highlights such
as "Memories of the Flying Ball Bike Shop" which at first seems to be yet another iteration of "be
careful what you wish for," but enjoyably subverts the trope in the end; it also reminded me favourably
of some of Spider Robinson's better moments.
Kilworth's writing is direct and readable throughout, and even though it was not always deeply engaging
it was also never boring. I can't wholeheartedly recommend it to the audience of this website because
its best moments are those that aren't genre fiction at all. Still, this amateur Sinophile enjoyed it
a great deal and I imagine many of those readers with similar interests would as well.
Kit O'Connell is a writer, geek and Voluptuary living in Austin, Texas. Kit's poetry has appeared in Aberrant Dreams and Oysters and Chocolate. He can be found online at approximately 8,000 words, his homepage. |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
If you find any errors, typos or other stuff worth mentioning,
please send it to editor@sfsite.com.
Copyright © 1996-2014 SF Site All Rights Reserved Worldwide