Filth: Failed in London, Try Hong Kong

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However, Hong Kong-based jokers The Expats think there could be another reason for the unabated British migration. And, in contrast, how the extreme wealth of Hong Kong’s richest dynasties makes the plight of the territory’s underprivileged even more poignant. More to the point this is also a witty novel, I'm pleased to report that I disturbed my fellow travellers by immodesty laughing while enjoying this book - well that'll learn them to abandon book reading in favour of playing with their phones. But having been to both HK and Shanghai, I can say there is a world of difference between Westerners in both cities.

Now I've read in the news that with the competition from mainland graduates with degrees from top US/UK universities combined with inflow of mainland cash into HK, there is now less and less need for firms in HK to hire FILTH. Ok, I don't want to trigger heated arguments with this thread, but I am curious to know, just how relevant are the "FILTH" expats in HK 20 years after the handover?

Yet, instead of seeing him as a pathetic character, I became both sympathetic with him and more and more interested in his story. Shuttlecocked to and fro between institutions and colonies, Eddie's odyssey is a sad mock epic version of the wanderings of the children of the British empire, partly based on the early life of Rudyard Kipling.

FILTH is an acronym for "Failed in London, Try Hong Kong", which describes a particular sector of the British professional and civil service classes, with the not so subtle implication that those who chose to work in former outposts of the empire may not have done so as a first choice. However, please be assured that ' Old Filth' is a real treat, and I cannot wait to read more of Jane Gardam's work. The book actually covers quite a bit of his past when he was growing up and in his college years (and WWII was sandwiched in there). One could guess it wasn’t very good from occasional references to it in the middle parts of the book. Jonathan is still sleeping on the floor in his brother's small flat (three are sharing the two- bedroomed apartment).I had read The Flight of the Maidens about 3 weeks ago and really liked it, and very much liked her writing style. This is partly because the the declaration reflected the value that the British placed on Hong Kong. This novel is hugely entertaining, as well, with a nice little mystery at its core as an added bonus. One of the most rewarding things about reading is discovering a character, a piece of history, a perhaps arcane bit of information that somehow finds its way into your life, even if it just leads you to another great book.

This figure, Filth's adversary and latterly his close companion, has had a love-affair with Filth's wife, Betty, giving her the sensual tenderness missing from her Raj orphan husband.

This is a British Empire novel but perhaps not just an Empire story, similar ones get told all the time, in the sense of impacts upon lives, families, generations, the hauteur and the moments of realisation "Blacks - here he was disturbed by a cluster of different coloured people surrounding his bed. Detailing the life of Sir Edward Feathers, a distinguished advocate and judge, Jane Gardam presents a detailed character study of a man who is, quite literally, a foreigner in his own life. Images of her tripping on the steps at the Great Hall of the People and reports of Deng Xiaoping’s irritation at her proposal of keeping a British presence in Hong Kong, have been well documented and criticised. With anatomical precision, Gardam reveals that, contrary to appearances, Sir Edward’s life is seething with incident: a “raj orphan,” whose mother died when he was born and whose father took no notice of him, he was shipped from Malaysia to Wales (cheaper than England) and entrusted to a foster mother who was cruel to him. Just like in the British HK days, Britons were always the top officials in the goverment of British HK.