Sheung-King
Batshit Seven
Format
$24.95
From Governor General's Award-nominated author Sheung-King comes a novel about a millennial living through the Hong Kong protests, as he struggles to make sense of modern life and the parts of himself that just won’t gel.
Those on the ground, here, not famous, not infamous, the less assimilated, less important, filled with anger, are arrested, continue to be arrested.
Glen Wu (aka Glue) couldn’t care less about his job. He’s returned to
Hong Kong to teach English, just to placate his parents. But he shows
up hungover to class, barely stays awake, and prefers to spend his time
smoking up at Shenzhen Bay until dawn breaks.
As he watches the city he loves fall—the protests, the brutal arrests—
life continues around him. So he drinks more, picks more fights with
his drug dealer friend, thinks loftier thoughts about colonialism and
Frantz Fanon. The very little he does care about: his sister, who deals
with Hong Kong’s demise by getting engaged to a rich immigration
consultant; his on-and-off-again girlfriend who steals things from him;
and memories of someone he once met in Canada...
When the government tightens its grip, language starts to lose all
meaning for Glue, and he’s pulled into an unseemly venture, ultimately
culminating in an act of violence.
Inventive and utterly irresistible, Batshit Seven is Sheung-King’s bold
take on Asian identity. It’s an ode to a beloved city, an indictment
of the cycles of colonialism, and a reminder of the beautiful things left
under the hype of commodified living.
Those on the ground, here, not famous, not infamous, the less assimilated, less important, filled with anger, are arrested, continue to be arrested.
Glen Wu (aka Glue) couldn’t care less about his job. He’s returned to
Hong Kong to teach English, just to placate his parents. But he shows
up hungover to class, barely stays awake, and prefers to spend his time
smoking up at Shenzhen Bay until dawn breaks.
As he watches the city he loves fall—the protests, the brutal arrests—
life continues around him. So he drinks more, picks more fights with
his drug dealer friend, thinks loftier thoughts about colonialism and
Frantz Fanon. The very little he does care about: his sister, who deals
with Hong Kong’s demise by getting engaged to a rich immigration
consultant; his on-and-off-again girlfriend who steals things from him;
and memories of someone he once met in Canada...
When the government tightens its grip, language starts to lose all
meaning for Glue, and he’s pulled into an unseemly venture, ultimately
culminating in an act of violence.
Inventive and utterly irresistible, Batshit Seven is Sheung-King’s bold
take on Asian identity. It’s an ode to a beloved city, an indictment
of the cycles of colonialism, and a reminder of the beautiful things left
under the hype of commodified living.