First-time lucky for global nomad
When asked why he left his job as a software developer in New York, moved to Dalian to be an English teacher, and wrote his debut novel about contemporary China, global nomad Mo Zhi Hong answered simply: "Because I'm Chinese".
The Commonwealth Writer's prize-winner talked with readers at the Shanghai International Literary Festival (SILF) last month, discussing with moderator Stephen McCarty about his debut novel The Year of the Shanghai Shark, which won the Best First Book in the South East Asia and the South Pacific region of the 2009 Commonwealth Writers' Prize.
The book is a loosely structured account of a teenage boy in Dalian, Liaoning province, about the people and life changes around him. Living with his professional pickpocket uncle, Hai Long roams the city observing people and learns about their disillusion, anxiety and aspirations. "It is written from the point of view of a youngster, because that is a period when one's ideas, personality and values are formed," Mo says. "I wanted to show how external forces shape Chinese kids today."
