Syndetics cover image
Image from Syndetics

The impossible city : a Hong Kong memoir / Karen Cheung.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Random House, [2022]Copyright date: ©2022Edition: First editionDescription: xix, 320 pages ; 22 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780593241431
  • 0593241436
Other title:
  • Hong Kong memoir
Subject(s): Genre/Form:
Contents:
A map of Hong Kong, 2021 -- 1997 -- Festivities -- Parallel universes -- 2003 -- Twenty-two roommates -- 2014 -- Through the fog -- The former international school kid -- Language traitors -- Welcome to the factories -- A city in purgatory.
Summary: "In a place where time is running out, sometimes the most radical act is remembrance. Hong Kong has long been known as a city of extremes: a former colony of the United Kingdom that today exists at the margins of an authoritarian, ascendant China; a city rocked by mass protests, where residents take to the streets to rally against encroaching threats on their democracy and freedoms. But it is also misunderstood and often romanticized, its history and politics oversimplified in Western headlines. Drawing richly from her own experience, as well as countless interviews with the artists, protesters, students, and writers who have made Hong Kong their home, journalist Karen Cheung gives us an insider's view of this remarkable city, making the case along the way that we should look to Hong Kong as a warning sign for what lies ahead for other global democracies. Coming of age in the wake of Hong Kong's reunification with China in 1997, Cheung traverses the multifold identities available to her in childhood and beyond, whether that was at her English-speaking international schools, where her classmates were often the children of diplomats or corporate officers, or within her deeply traditional family. Along the way, Cheung gives a personal account of what it's like to seek out affordable housing and mental healthcare in one of the world's most expensive cities. She also takes us into Hong Kong's vibrant indie music and literary scenes--youth-driven spaces of creative resistance. Inevitably, Cheung brings us with her to the protests, where her understanding of what it means to belong to Hong Kong finally crystallized"-- Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Dr. James Carlson Library Biography CHEUNG, K. C526 Available 33111010631667
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library Biography CHEUNG, K. C526 Available 33111010772313
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A boldly rendered-and deeply intimate-account of Hong Kong today, from a resilient young woman whose stories explore what it means to survive in a city teeming with broken promises.

" A pulsing debut . . . about what it means to find your place in a city as it vanishes before your eyes."- The New York Times Book Review

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR- The Washington Post

Hong Kong is known as a place of extremes- a former colony of the United Kingdom that now exists at the margins of an ascendant China; a city rocked by mass protests, where residents rally-often in vain-against threats to their fundamental freedoms. But it is also misunderstood, and often romanticized. Drawing from her own experience reporting on the politics and culture of her hometown, as well as interviews with musicians, protesters, and writers who have watched their home transform, Karen Cheung gives us a rare insider's view of this remarkable city at a pivotal moment-for Hong Kong and, ultimately, for herself.

Born just before the handover to China in 1997, Cheung grew up questioning what version of Hong Kong she belonged to. Not quite at ease within the middle-class, cosmopolitan identity available to her at her English-speaking international school, she also resisted the conservative values of her deeply traditional, often dysfunctional family.

Through vivid and character-rich stories, Cheung braids a dual narrative of her own coming of age alongside that of her generation. With heartbreaking candor, she recounts her yearslong struggle to find reliable mental health care in a city reeling from the traumatic aftermath of recent protests. Cheung also captures moments of miraculous triumph, documenting Hong Kong's vibrant counterculture and taking us deep into its indie music and creative scenes. Inevitably, she brings us to the protests, where her understanding of what it means to belong to Hong Kong finally crystallized.

An exhilarating blend of memoir and reportage, The Impossible City charts the parallel journeys of both a young woman and a city as they navigate the various, sometimes contradictory paths of coming into one's own.

LONGLISTED FOR THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL

A map of Hong Kong, 2021 -- 1997 -- Festivities -- Parallel universes -- 2003 -- Twenty-two roommates -- 2014 -- Through the fog -- The former international school kid -- Language traitors -- Welcome to the factories -- A city in purgatory.

"In a place where time is running out, sometimes the most radical act is remembrance. Hong Kong has long been known as a city of extremes: a former colony of the United Kingdom that today exists at the margins of an authoritarian, ascendant China; a city rocked by mass protests, where residents take to the streets to rally against encroaching threats on their democracy and freedoms. But it is also misunderstood and often romanticized, its history and politics oversimplified in Western headlines. Drawing richly from her own experience, as well as countless interviews with the artists, protesters, students, and writers who have made Hong Kong their home, journalist Karen Cheung gives us an insider's view of this remarkable city, making the case along the way that we should look to Hong Kong as a warning sign for what lies ahead for other global democracies. Coming of age in the wake of Hong Kong's reunification with China in 1997, Cheung traverses the multifold identities available to her in childhood and beyond, whether that was at her English-speaking international schools, where her classmates were often the children of diplomats or corporate officers, or within her deeply traditional family. Along the way, Cheung gives a personal account of what it's like to seek out affordable housing and mental healthcare in one of the world's most expensive cities. She also takes us into Hong Kong's vibrant indie music and literary scenes--youth-driven spaces of creative resistance. Inevitably, Cheung brings us with her to the protests, where her understanding of what it means to belong to Hong Kong finally crystallized"-- Provided by publisher.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 299-320).

Powered by Koha