Tash Aw's
The Harmony Silk Factory is a stunning book. Not perfect, but stunning all the same.
This is the story of Johnny Lim, a Malaysian of Chinese descent. The story details parts of his life just before, during and after the second world war. Aw's brilliant use of 3 different narrators to tell the story is what makes this a compelling read. I am reminded of that classic play,
Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett, where three players talk about a man (Godot) and we never actually meet him, because he never turns up.
The first section is told by his son, Jasper, who narrates the story of his father based on his research. He paints a picture of a despicable man. He learns of his fathers early days working in a tin-mine owned by the British. The death an english boss results in a career-change and he becomes a successful fabric salesman who eventualy marries Snow Soong, the most beautiful woman in the Kinta Valley, we are led to believe.
The second section of the book is narrated by Snow. It is in the form of her diary, and details a bizarre honeymoon trip, which was more of a 'group' honeymoon with 3 (yes, 3) chaperones - a japanese 'Marquis', a british mine-owner, and another englishman, Peter.
The final section is told through the lens of Peter, and its an account of the same trip.
We see different aspects of Johnny in each section of the book, with Snow's & Peter's potrayal of Johnny quite different to Jasper's.
Aw is able to lend credibility to each of his characters by the use of totally different styles. Its impressive because its hard enough to write as yourself, but you need a great amount of emphathy required to sound like 3 different people. And although the narrations sometimes contradict each other (i believe this is done on purpose to show that different people perceive things and other people differently), its what makes the book good.
Tash Aw is Malaysian, and a Lawyer by training. He lives in London.
Highly recommended.
Labels: Books