THE MONKEY KING

by Timothy Mo ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 28, 1987

On the heels of Mo's third novel (the dazzling, seriocomic An Insular Possession, p. 88) comes the American debut of his first novel, a slim and engaging comedy-of-manners set in Hong Kong. Using his part-Portuguese ancestry as leverage, ambitious yet congenial Wallace Nolasco marries his way into the wealthy Chinese household of the Poons. But to his dismay he finds that the Poon patriarch, Old Mr. Poon, is a miser who keeps his house ill-heated and feeds his family only one full meal a day. Wallace snipes back by drawing his bride, May Ling, away from the house and into the social orbit of his friends, and finally by stealing an antique watch Poon had promised, but never delivered, as a dowry. Mo's characters speak in Hong-Kong fractured English (""Eiyah! What you said to Ah Lung?"") as he chronicles the intra-familial feuding in deft comic strokes, resorting at times to slapstick or even puns to punch up his narrative (a friend of Wallace's mistakes an Italian waiter's""cinque"" for the pejorative ""Chink,"" precipitating a wild, angry scene). After several years of bickering, Wallace takes a government clerical position that Mr. Poon promptly subverts into a base for kickbacks; when the law gets on Wallace's tail, Mr. Pooh exiles him and May Ling to a nearby rural village. There, Wallace finally proves his mettle, persuading the village to build a marina that becomes a booming tourist attraction. Eventually Wallace and wile return to the city; and when Mr. Poon dies, Wallace takes over his businesses: like the Monkey King of Chinese legend, he suffers, survives and, in the end, triumphs. Probably too parochial in subject to appeal to a wide readership, this offbeat social satire will, however, amuse those who dip into its stylish, arch pages.

Pub Date: April 28, 1987

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Morrow

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1987

Categories: FICTION