British novelist, poet and historian Martin Booth passed away last year at the age of 59. In the two years prior to
his death from a brain tumor, he wrote this just released memoir of his three years living in Hong Kong as a young boy.
In
Golden Boy: Memories of a Hong Kong Childhood, Booth describes his perception and memory of Chinese life and culture
from 1952-1955, when he lived there with his parents while his father fulfilled a civil servant post. At the age of 7,
Booth and his parents left England for a month-long sea voyage to Hong Kong. The memories he shares include stories
about riding a rickshaw, visiting an opium den and living through a typhoon. These vivid pictures of place are weaved
together with pieces from Booth’s personal world too, recalling the marriage problems that continued to escalate
between his mother and father during their stay in China. Read Jonathan Yardley’s review in the
Washington Post for more.