Damn Kathleen. Where does this kind of writing come from?
“The deconstructed dichotomy provides dissonant experiences beyond the simple juxtaposition. She used to witness it all from tram windows. Slow moving in a fast city. Taking in all the culture, all the life. Neon lights, crowded restaurants, anything you could dream of buying displayed in a window.”
Thanks Ben! I think the place itself inspired me! Also I was not aware of this juxtaposition you mention. It sounds like I switched from academic talk to prose “of the everyday” which I guess is how I live so thanks for noticing this :) and for restacking! 😊🙏🏽
So much depth to this, Kate. Ivy feels so real, and once again I really feel for her. Good on Bob for being so nice.
This is my favourite line. Such vivid description: "On stage, he didn’t look like a man dying of cancer. His wrinkles danced with his words and his eyes emitted light through his professorial glasses like moonbeams."
It is “finished” - I’ve since been working on other manuscripts. However, I am tweaking a few minor things since this publishing project. More so, the comments or the way I’ve looked at it again are informing some of the new work.
I had 3 great Welsh friends in HK! (Well still friends, just not in HK anymore.) None were named Bob but they were all very nice, like him. Funny it was your grandfather’s name! ☺️
PKL is just so good. Like reading little story sketches in form of poetry (he also published some prose). You may find him in libraries either in that name or YeSi. I recommend City at the end of time as a starter which is a short anthology and has a preface from my PhD supervisor who was really more poet than researcher in spirit at least 😁😁
I loved learning more about the city and the characters in it in this chapter. Beautiful, immersive. It's like you embodied how Hong Kong was breathing at the time, what the people were experiencing, with your writing. Some striking lines:
"In Hong Kong, she felt the strangeness of always being surrounded by strangers."
"It was true that sometimes the nights were repetitive, the stories predictable."
"By the third sentence he had told her about his wife’s single miscarriage a decade ago that had them both in fear for so many things and in fear for life itself."
"Not the most alone in physical solitude, but alone amongst humanity."
"It was about that identity of its people, about the invisible culture."
"The deconstructed dichotomy provides dissonant experiences beyond the simple juxtaposition."
"Because if you understood it, you understood real freedom."
Thank you so much, Nadia. I like the way you describe HK as “breathing” because I think of the city as a character in the story. So lovely to choose some lines you like; this really helps me see what parts of the language are working. Thanks again ☺️☺️☺️
I sense much truth in this rich and vibrant writing of yours, Kate. How you weave historical facts and blend them seamlessly with Ivy's journey, one could think it all happened exactly like that.
Alibaba after all bought out SCMP in December 2015 and HK's fate after the 2019/20 protests seems sealed, or maybe it was always "living on borrowed time."
I love, love the intertextual nuggets, found throughout.
Also love this part: "In Hong Kong, she felt the strangeness of always being surrounded by strangers. They became your friends. You learned how to be comfortable with them; sometimes it was even easier. You could constantly reinvent. Your past informed only you and not their perceptions of you. You could talk to all kinds of people about all kinds of things, and they would listen."
This is so cool to hear you’re vibing with the intertextuality, Alexander. It’s hard to know how many details to include, but yes weaving is the aim. 🪡
And thanks for also mentioning this line you liked! For me at least, immersion in HK feels like this. It’s easy to miss - a kind of camaraderie. 🖤
Damn Kathleen. Where does this kind of writing come from?
“The deconstructed dichotomy provides dissonant experiences beyond the simple juxtaposition. She used to witness it all from tram windows. Slow moving in a fast city. Taking in all the culture, all the life. Neon lights, crowded restaurants, anything you could dream of buying displayed in a window.”
Thanks Ben! I think the place itself inspired me! Also I was not aware of this juxtaposition you mention. It sounds like I switched from academic talk to prose “of the everyday” which I guess is how I live so thanks for noticing this :) and for restacking! 😊🙏🏽
So much depth to this, Kate. Ivy feels so real, and once again I really feel for her. Good on Bob for being so nice.
This is my favourite line. Such vivid description: "On stage, he didn’t look like a man dying of cancer. His wrinkles danced with his words and his eyes emitted light through his professorial glasses like moonbeams."
Thanks Nathan! That was one of those little “word sketches” that ended up in the novel.
Fantastic. It was woven in perfectly, then.
I meant to ask: is the novel finished? Or are you still writing parts?
Thanks that’s good to hear 😄
It is “finished” - I’ve since been working on other manuscripts. However, I am tweaking a few minor things since this publishing project. More so, the comments or the way I’ve looked at it again are informing some of the new work.
All an experiment!
That's great to hear. I like how this can be experimental and malleable.
I'm starting to feel the anticipation that readers of the Strand Magazine must have felt when waiting for a story from Conan Doyle!
I noticed you have a Welsh character called Bob. That was my Welsh grandfather's name! Also "Postcards from Prague"! I must check out Leung.
Looking forward to ep 3. Loving this.
Conan Doyle? You make me blush. 🙇🏼♀️
I had 3 great Welsh friends in HK! (Well still friends, just not in HK anymore.) None were named Bob but they were all very nice, like him. Funny it was your grandfather’s name! ☺️
PKL is just so good. Like reading little story sketches in form of poetry (he also published some prose). You may find him in libraries either in that name or YeSi. I recommend City at the end of time as a starter which is a short anthology and has a preface from my PhD supervisor who was really more poet than researcher in spirit at least 😁😁
Thanks Jules!
I loved learning more about the city and the characters in it in this chapter. Beautiful, immersive. It's like you embodied how Hong Kong was breathing at the time, what the people were experiencing, with your writing. Some striking lines:
"In Hong Kong, she felt the strangeness of always being surrounded by strangers."
"It was true that sometimes the nights were repetitive, the stories predictable."
"By the third sentence he had told her about his wife’s single miscarriage a decade ago that had them both in fear for so many things and in fear for life itself."
"Not the most alone in physical solitude, but alone amongst humanity."
"It was about that identity of its people, about the invisible culture."
"The deconstructed dichotomy provides dissonant experiences beyond the simple juxtaposition."
"Because if you understood it, you understood real freedom."
Thank you so much, Nadia. I like the way you describe HK as “breathing” because I think of the city as a character in the story. So lovely to choose some lines you like; this really helps me see what parts of the language are working. Thanks again ☺️☺️☺️
It really is an important character too. There are so many more lines. But I thought I would share a few.
I look forward to this every weekend 💜 thank you so much for sharing this story with us 😊
I’m so happy to hear that. Thank you, Lyndsay ☺️🩵
I sense much truth in this rich and vibrant writing of yours, Kate. How you weave historical facts and blend them seamlessly with Ivy's journey, one could think it all happened exactly like that.
Alibaba after all bought out SCMP in December 2015 and HK's fate after the 2019/20 protests seems sealed, or maybe it was always "living on borrowed time."
I love, love the intertextual nuggets, found throughout.
Also love this part: "In Hong Kong, she felt the strangeness of always being surrounded by strangers. They became your friends. You learned how to be comfortable with them; sometimes it was even easier. You could constantly reinvent. Your past informed only you and not their perceptions of you. You could talk to all kinds of people about all kinds of things, and they would listen."
This is so cool to hear you’re vibing with the intertextuality, Alexander. It’s hard to know how many details to include, but yes weaving is the aim. 🪡
And thanks for also mentioning this line you liked! For me at least, immersion in HK feels like this. It’s easy to miss - a kind of camaraderie. 🖤
Yes, that's why I loved it. It's how I felt even on my short visit. Completely different vibe as for example Bangkok.
Keep weaving, readers can pick whichever and as much as they like. I always feel apprehensive about overloading as well, so I tend to hide them.
Pick and choose for readers - exactly! That’s the ideal.