Pao
Kerry Young
3.5*
I recently received this ARC to review and I have to admit that the synopsis on the back did not immediately capture my interest. Despite my initial disinterest this book ended up being an unexpected delight. Pao tells the story of Pao, a young boy who flees to Jamaica with his mother and brother after his father is killed in the Chinese Civil War. Upon arrival they are taken in by his father's friend Zhang Xiuquan who teaches Pao to follow in his footsteps as a mafia figure in his town of Kingston. However Pao is quite unlike the stereotypical gangster. His sensitive nature and careful strategical approaches to matters of business and the heart are modeled after the sage advice immortalized in The Art of War, written by the ancient Chinese military general, strategist, and philosopher Sun Tzu. Set against the backdrop of post-colonial Jamaica, the reader gets a sense of the changing economical and political conditions that contribute to the course and direction of Pao's life. This global and historically accurate context gives the plot and characters a realistic quality which makes this book a genuinely entertaining read.
No comments:
Post a Comment