Year of Fire Dragons: An American Woman's Story of Coming of Age in Hong Kong by Shannon Young

Title: Year of Fire Dragons: An American Woman's Story of Coming of Age in Hong Kong
Author: Shannon Young
Publication: Blacksmith Books (15 Jun. 2015)  
Summary: In 2010, bookish 22-year-old Shannon follows her Eurasian boyfriend to Hong Kong, eager to forge a new love story in his hometown. But when work sends him to London a month later, Shannon embarks on a wide-eyed newcomer's journey through Hong Kong – alone.

She teaches in a local school as the only foreigner, explores Asia with other young expats and discovers family history in Hong Kong, all while trying to hold on to her thwarted romance. The city enchants her, forcing her to question her plans. Soon, she must make a choice between her new life and the love that first brought her to Asia.

What I Think

Living in Hong Kong I have a particular interest in reading books set in this little pocket of Asia and it's an extra special treat to read a book that reminds me what a vibrant and exciting city this is. Hong Kong is multifaceted and each morning Shannon Young leaves "behind one world and enter[s] an entirely different, more Chinese one." 

"The time was right for an international long distance relationship," writes Young about her relationship with Ben, managing to stay in daily contact via Skype, phone, email and instant messaging. This is in stark contrast to the annual letters Young's grandmother sent back to the U.S. She had also moved abroad to teach, met her husband, got married and started a family. In the 1950s they were stationed in Hong Kong. Including fragments of these letters evokes not only the feeling of a different world, but draws comparisons with the physical changes in Hong Kong. 

Living abroad isn't always easy. "Friendship is fast, cheap, and interchangeable in the expat world." Young's writing is full of such insights as she delves further into the Chinese culture, language, her teaching position as the only Native English Teacher and whether she wants to stay in Hong Kong without Ben, or move to yet another foreign place to be with him.  

Shannon Young's writing is as full of life as this city and I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in travel, living abroad, teaching or a good old-fashioned love story. 

About the Author

Shannon Young is an American writer currently living in Hong Kong. She is the author of a coming of age travel memoir called Year of Fire Dragons (Blacksmith Books) and a Kindle Single on student debt. She has edited an anthology of creative non-fiction by expat women in Asia and written e-books including a mini travel memoir, The Olympics Beat, and a novella, The Art of Escalator Jumping.

A graduate of Colgate University in New York, Shannon's writing has appeared in the Hong Kong Women in Publishing Society's anthology, on numerous websites, and on an iPhone travel app. She writes a blog called A Kindle in Hong Kong and likes to spy on other people's books on the train.


You can follow Shannon's work and join her email list at the following sites:

Website: shannonyoungwriter.com
Blog: akindleinhongkong.blogspot.com
Twitter: @ShannonYoungHK

Hong Kong Noir by Feng Chi-shun

About the Book

Title: Hong Kong Noir 
Author: Feng Chi-shun
Publication: Blacksmith Books (2012)
Summary: Fifteen true tales from the dark side of the city.

What I Think

Feng Chi-shun is a pathologist and has, therefore, seen a fair amount of deaths, whether they be natural or unnatural. He is also "not unfamiliar with the underbelly of Hong Kong society". He tells us in the prologue "When I was in my forties, I made my worst financial decision ever [...] I invested in part-ownership of a bar in Kowloon City: a part of town where the Sun Yee On triad faction originated." These fifteen true tales are divided into three sections: Losers and Boozers, Beyond Villains and Victims and Sex and the City. 

These stories in Hong Kong Noir don't happen in my Hong Kong. The city that I live in is clean, safe, full of polite and friendly people. I have been morbidly fascinated to read about these tales of sordid Hong Kong: triad members, arranged marriages, street sleepers, riots, tattoos, girlie bars.  

One thing I really like is that each story has a quote at the beginning of it, for example: Story 12. A Hardcore Childhood, "Of all known tortures in the whole wide world, those originating from China are the cruelest" - Anon. Each quote has been chosen very carefully and is very apt for the story. They effectively foreshadow for the reader what the story will be about. 

Extremely varied, each story is intriguing and compelling in its own way. I highly recommend this collection. 

About the Author

Feng Chi-shun is a naturalized US citizen, but considers Hong Kong - where he grew up and attended medical school - his home. His formative years were spent in Diamond Hill, where people were poor but life was rich. 

Trained as a pathologist, he has published close to 100 scientific articles on his medical research. He has also been a columnist for the South China Morning Post, the leading English newspaper in Hong Kong. 

Feeling deprived as a child, he is making up for lost time by living life to its fullest. He is an aficionado of wine and cigars, and a part-time punter attracted to roulette, poker, mahjong and horse racing. In his spare time, he plays golf and tennis, and shoots a mean game of pool. His three US-born children - Angel, Gina, and Stephen - and his Canadian wife Cathy are his best friends. So far, he has two grandchildren, Amirah and Qairo. He intends to live in Hong Kong for the rest of his life. (Blacksmith books)