Other Voices, Other Eyes: Expatriate Lives in Hong Kong

Emeritus linguistics professor Nunan’s “admittedly haphazard exploration into the place of expatriates within the social fabric of life in Hong Kong” collects anecdotes, but with no clear organizing principle or thematic constraints—love, sex, murder, toilet seats, gym etiquette, business, and conspiracy theories all make random-feeling appearances. Jarringly, the format of the stories switches between first-person tales, in which Nunan recounts talking to someone about his or her life, and third-person recreations of others’ experiences with no indication of their provenance. Nunan unquestioningly repeats what he’s told; prejudiced ideas about race, an implausible secret method of getting a book onto bestseller lists, and an extreme conspiracy theory about Jon Benet Ramsey’s murder are all included without comment or analysis. Nunan is aware that not all of his selections will strike readers as relevant or insightful; he notes in the text that an editor friend who read a draft did not understand what the book had to do with the city. Most will feel the same about this unsatisfying, disjointed reading experience. [em](Aug.) [/em]