By Jason Y. Ng Hong Kong State of Mind: 37 Views of a City That Doesn't Blink [Paperback]

by Jason Y. Ng

Hong Kong is a mixed bag of a city. It is where Mercedes outnumber taxi cabs, party-goers count down to Christmas every December 24, and larger-than-life billboards of fortune tellers and cram school tutors compete with breathtaking skylines.

HONG KONG State of Mind is a collection of essays by a popular blogger who zeroes in on the city’s idiosyncrasies with deadpan precision. At once an outsider looking in and an insider looking out, Jason Y. Ng has created something for everyone: a travel journal for the passing visitor, a user’s manual for the wide-eyed expat, and an open diary for the native Hong Konger looking for moments of reflection.

Together with No City For Slow Men (2013) and Umbrellas in Bloom (2016), HONG KONG State of Mind forms Ng’s "Hong Kong Trilogy" that traces the city’s sociopolitical developments since its return to Chinese rule.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Asia, China, History, Essays

Unknown Binding

First published December 25, 2010

About the author

Born in Hong Kong, Jason Y. Ng is a globe-trotter who spent his entire adult life in Italy, the United States and Canada before returning to his birthplace to rediscover his roots. He is a full-time lawyer, a published author and a freelance writer, contributing regularly to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), TimeOut, EJInsight, and Hong Kong Free Press.

Jason is the bestselling author of "HONG KONG State of Mind" (2010) and "No City for Slow Men" (2013). His latest tome, "Umbrellas in Bloom" (2016), is the first book published in English to chronicle the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong. Together, the three books form his “Hong Kong Trilogy” that tracks the city's post-colonial development. Jason's short stories have appeared in various anthologies. He is a member of the Foreign Correspondents' Club and the Hong Kong Writers' Circle.

Jason has been featured at, among others, the Hong Kong Book Fair, the Hong Kong International Literary Festival, the Beijing Bookworm Literary Festival, the Singapore Writers Festival, and the Cooler Lumpur Literary Festival. He has been profiled in the South China Morning Post, the Apple Daily, City Magazine, TimeOut, Ming Pao Weekly, Hong Kong Free Press, RTHK Radio 3, the Taipei Times, GB Times, the China Daily, and the Volkskrant. He has been interviewed or cited by the Wall Street Journal, BBC News, the Associated Press, the Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg News, the Voice of America, Radio France, Breitbart News, and the Dagens Nyheter. He speaks frequently on television and radio and at universities and cultural events.

Jason is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Hong Kong, where he teaches international securities law for the Master of Laws (LLM) program. He has given guest lectures and talks at Columbia University, New York University, University of California Los Angeles, the University of Toronto, York University, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and Hong Kong Baptist University.

Jason is also a social activist. He is an ambassador for Shark Savers and an outspoken advocate for Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement and the rights of foreign domestic workers and other minority groups.

In 2011, Jason was bestowed the title "Man of the Year" by Elle Men magazine for his diverse interests and balanced lifestyle. Later that year, he was featured in the SCMP Magazine for his travel exploits. In 2013, Jason was invited to be the keynote speaker at the Harvard Club Book Prize award ceremony.

Jason lives in Hong Kong and can be contacted at info@jasonyng.com. For more, visit www.asiseeithk.com.

Reviews

[Ville Verkkapuro · Rating 3 out of 5]

My dream came true: I traveled to Hong Kong. It's a city that has been occupying my mind since I first saw the films of Wong Kar-Wai in my teens. Years following that I watched them in different settings, with different lovers, in the midst of a heartbreak. And somehow that's very hongkongian: the constant state of flux, belonging to one nation and then to another, being torn in-between a world of money, markets and desires and the world of community, taoism and totalitarianism.
I was driven to produce art that reflects this world I was obsessed with: the forever-longing, displaced, dreamy and poetic universe of Kar-Wai and his cinematographer Christopher Doyle.
So, I landed to Hong Kong, with no sleep, coming from the new year's eve festivities of Bangkok. I was in total awe, ecstatic, present. I went to Lan Kwai Fong, Chungking Mansions, Kowloon, Portland Road, Whampton, Sheung Wan, the markets of Graham Street where Tony Leung and Faye Wong walked in Chungking Express. I walked into a book store and asked for a book written by a Hong Kong resident, in English. And I got this. I had it in my pocket during my trip, reading it on the subway on my trips, feeling like I had a friend to accompany me. And I got a lot of insight of that beautiful place, made some last-minute plans and had some adventures. And it rounded my image of the city, making it a bit less mythical and at the same time a bit more, paradoxically.
I fell in love. In love with change, journey, never getting answers.
I didn't have any questions, though: I just wanted to experience it. And in that state of not pushing everything came to me, I found the Midnight Express being turned into a 7-11, selling Finnish alcohol.
About this book: it was a bit silly, just a collection of Hong Kong, very shallow and with a surprising amount of stories from it's bordering countries, which are of course crucial to the soul of Hong Kong. I learned a lot of Bangkok, too, where I came from. Parts of this book were very dated, stuck in the time they were written. I guess that's pretty poetic too.

[Michal · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read, but I happened to read "No city for slow men" (the second collection of essays about Hong Kong) first and the latter one seemed to be organized better. "Hong Kong State of Mind" has some great essays, but some of them felt uneven and written half-heartedly.

Nevertheless, he precisely describes the everyday life in Hong Kong and shows the metropolis in a wider perspective, with its interesting past and some outlooks on the upcoming future. Maybe my biggest disappointment with this book was, that the author wanted to create a book for everyone and It just put me off stride. This feature is even mentioned on the back cover. The author himself seems to understand that inconsistency, because his second book. "No City for slow men" was a treat and completely satisfied my growing interest in Hong Kong.

I am looking forward for more from Jason Y. Ng and his first two books were money well spent. The next one that hits the bookstore shelves will be my instant buy. Don't forget to check his blog, where he keeps his bi-weekly column about Hong Kong!

[Feldie · Rating 1 out of 5]

The man is observant and wry, but his prose was very discordant and jarring. It wasn't for a lack of vocabulary or experience or description, either. Something about his use of language felt very forced and didn't sit well with me. The one saving grace was the quirky illustrations. Still... it would be a good read for someone who is trying to find out about life in Hong Kong.

[ani ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

📌TLDR: This was nice enough, engaging and lively but flawed, not really a local take on HK i was hoping for, will keep reading the author’s other books to see if anything changes

Regarding the points the author made about HK, I think readers should keep reminding themselves these short essays are personal observations
Yes, a lot of the things he said about HK are certainly true, but only in the sense that they are quite stereotypical and generalised, because of course every individual is different, living in the same city does not mean sth is the same for everyone, cultural stereotypes speak only on a surface level

Not trying to be unkind, but just speaking on a broader perspective, i can’t help but feel the author hasn’t really experienced HK, and his writing reflects that
For one, he mostly writes about scenes that take place in HK Island, there’s very little about Kowloon and the NT

Also, author is always writing about the happenings in the US, while i understand he spent his formative school years over there and worked in NY for some time, and in each piece of essay he wouldn’t go completely “off topic” and would eventually make a connection to HK, this is not what i expected to see in a book titled Hong Kong State of Mind
Almost every piece of writing here somehow has sth to do with the US, comparing it to HK

It felt like author is using this space to discuss about things he experienced in America as much as HK, lowkey stealing the spotlight, which i thought was supposed to be HK, as the title suggests

I understand these were originally blog posts(?), but i think they should be edited to put the focus back to HK

Still the prose is witty and clever, i enjoyed reading it, but sadly, it also rubs me in the wrong way sometimes
I am not questioning the heart and soul behind this book, and i do agree with the author on most things, just that the tone unfortunately can come across as condescending and superior

I can only conclude readers are certainly seeing a HK from the eyes and impression of someone who was, to use author’s own words, repatriated back to HK

I can’t speak for the things he wrote about other countries esp the culture in US, but as a born and raised HK person, i think his writing is sometimes very subjective remarks passed off as an immutable, objective truth of the general public

The criticism he made of HK is no less true, nonetheless it feels very much like a westernised overview on this city

With this written in English, and considering the content, it’s not a big leap to say the majority of the book’s target readers is a white audience

Moreover, author keeps referring the HK people as Hong Kong Chinese….ahhh…..

[Nicholas Driscoll · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would probably give this book three and a half stars. Basically, it's a collection of short essays, mostly about Hong Kong, which apparently originated as blog entries written by an HK lawyer (I think) who has also lived in New York. Each essay is accompanied by a black and white illustration by his father, which is pretty cool.

Part of me is a little turned off by the idea that this is just a bunch of "free" writing slapped together to make a buck. Why not just go read the blog? After all, even put together as a book like this, it still feels unfocused and scattered. My other big annoyance with the book is that so much of it--an entire section in fact--isn't actually about HK, but rather other cities he has visited for fun and profit. Why call a book "37 Views of a City That Doesn't Blink" when almost the entire third section (not a third of the book) is about various other cities, from Bangkok to Tokyo to New York?

Still, criticisms aside, I bought this book knowing it was based on a blog. I picked it up in HK last year because I like to try to read a book about each of the countries/places I visit, and this was the one I picked up for HK. Mr. Ng writes in a winsome way that made me want to pick up his book and read more. Each essay is short, so it's easy to read nugget-sized bits and learn a few things about Hong Kong culture and history. I learned some surprising and interesting things about the city and it's people. Some bits that stuck out to me include the old ladies who curse people for a few and use slippers in their incantations; Ng's ruminations about Tiananmen Square; the former airport that was too close to the city so that airplanes practically flew through the streets; the issues surrounding the double-decker buses and the sheer astonishing NUMBER of those buses running for the convenience of the populace.

I enjoyed reading about the other cities he visited and his own idiosyncratic impressions of each. (He goes on at great length about the friendliness of the Thai people, and I have often heard that from others as well--but when I visited Bangkok, I kind of felt they were in genenral less friendly than other countries I had visited.) Also interesting for me was that he sometimes glosses words with their Cantonese names--this book was written for HK natives it seems.

Definitely enjoyable book, and interesting for those looking for an eclectic commentary on modern Hong Kong.

[Reka Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a nice read although I have to add that half of the stories were not even about Hong Kong but instead about the author's lavish trups to South korea, Japan, Thailand or abut New York And even though the author might deserve through his own merits all of his amazing livestyle and the perks of being well-off I still felt it was not enecessary to flaunt it just as much as he did in these stories about fancy hotel suites and shopping trips to other countries.

[Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since this book is complied of short essays it's really hit or miss. Some chapters really captured my interest, while others were down right boring and skip worthy. I bought this book to learn more about the culture and day-to-day lives of locals in Hong Kong in excitement for my upcoming trip. While some chapters delivered on that, others did not. It's a fast read though regardless.

[Jasmine Wei · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating short essays (originally magazine columns) about HK and other Asian countries, covering all interesting social topics. The writing is skillful, it makes the book really enjoyable to read and gives enjoyment or laughter every other sentence.

[Cal Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mishmash of unorganized blog posts. The interesting insights are diluted by the unsupported judgements, the lack of personal charm, and pre-2014 political opinions that have not stood the test of time.

[Keith Holder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely five stars if you live in Hong Kong and want a different perspective on the Territory. Jason still does a weekly blog of the same title so you can keep up to date with his musings...

[Mashed Potato · Rating 4 out of 5]

great!

[Cal]

i just find this just nice to read

[Joss · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice project. One can really feel the "outsider looking in / insider looking out" paradigm all the way through, as the author lived outside of Hong Kong long enough to build an inner sense of the culture of other cities like New York City, yet retained some remnants of the idiosyncrasies of Hong Kongers (such as the habit of sharing details out of context, like when he needs to specify the type of wine he ordered in a text not related to cuisine or drinking). (This reviewer has been living in Hong Kong for more than a decade.)

Although I knew I was reading a blog made into a book, I found some points of view out of place. I would dare to say that the reader does not care whether the author likes milk tea ("What's in a cup?"), when a chapter is really about local tea culture, not about the author.

As the book progresses, the writing gets more interesting, in my humble opinion, and I could not help but wonder if the chapters had been put in chronological order of their writing. In the end, I felt it represented many things I had personally shared with friends and family over years of living here and away from them.

I had offered a copy of this book as a present to a visitor a few years ago when it came out, without having read it. I am happy to say that, now that I have read it, I do not regret it, and I would do it again. It is not necessarily the best read for someone living in Hong Kong, but it most definitely explains a lot to the outsider better than a tourist guide book can do, and better than the point of view of a "real" outsider can deliver.

[JD Robles · Rating 4 out of 5]

The thing about Hong Kong is everything is fast paced, direct to the point, detailed, sometimes to the point of being unemotional, although I would have to admit, this book was written in a controlled poignancy which somehow reflects how Hong Kong is influenced by British culture. I am an avid fan of literature because somehow it mirrors the culture that is impregnated at every page of a book. Reading Jason Ng's blogs and this book is not like reading a travel guide, it is more of like basking into the culture of a city a lot of us fell in love with. Walking through its alleys, sitting on a table at one of their local restaurants. Striking up a conversation and listening to that distinct accent and experiencing their thoughts, their ideals, dreams, pet peeves even their sense of humor that sometimes I still don't get. To put it simply, if you are an expat like myself, and you want to know more about Hong Kong, its places and people, in the context of how they really see things, this is a nice place to start with.

[Spendi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hong Kong State of Mind (First book of Hong Kong Trilogy) is a collection of short essays which was written by a Hong Kong born writer Jason Y Ng. Many people first visiting Hong Kong only know of popular tourist destinations such as Victoria peak, Lan Kwai Fong or the big buddha. In fact, Hong Kong has its own interesting culture and unique life style that tourist may not know about.

My favorite essays are ‘Kowloon Complex’ and ‘A Little No More’ which are about the history of the Kowloon and the oldest neighborhood WanChai. ‘Flip-Flops Culture’ told the story of filp-flops in Hong Kong culture, that is not only for footwear but also is a weapon of traditional witchcraft. ‘The Secret of Preservation’ explains the history of healthy food in Chinese culture and the tradition for mum’s secret family soup recipe for a healthy life.

If you are interested in the other side of this international city, this book will give you a different insight into Hong Kong. Also, Jason Y Ng writing style is clear and simple which makes you enjoy reading it.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite an interesting read. The book itself is divided into two parts. The first focuses on Hong Kong while the latter part talks about the author's experience in various Asian cities.

For the first part, I think it's a good read and of course there are many areas where I can relate. Would be more interesting if there were more examples or more indepth examples. Then again the content is derived from his blog, so maybe this is for a later book.

As for the second part, I think the observations are good and the ideas of how the happenings of other cities relate to Hong Kong is interesting. Could be a basis for further discussion.

Overall, a good read. Interested to read the next book.

[Emily Ng · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honest and vivid. I grew up in similar shoes of being one foot in Hong Kong and one foot in the United States, so most of this book resonated so truly with me (definitely the first book to do so). However, the writing is definitely over-the-top at times and a bit too dramatic. But that is very Hong Kong to do so, no? It's a city of staggering proportions. And, it's a book full of the perspective from the privileged (he writes a lot on his extensive travels and his "sophisticated" taste). But again - I agree with him that it's very Hong Konger to have this perspective as well. So, this book is honest to its core.

[Anna Denney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a must read for all expats in Hong Kong, especially if you've spent time in NYC. I gained so much insight into HK culture and found myself nodding my head in agreement and saying "yes!" to so many of the authors observations about HK. I lived in NYC for 10 years and appreciated many of the NY/HK analogies, even though I disagree with some (NYers know good coffee!!!) I found this book immensely worthwhile.

[Brishen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is worth reading if you're interested in understanding more about living in Hong Kong. The chapters on Hong Kong were enlightening for me and have helped understand this new city that I live in when so much of the other English media that I've read is far more based on the expat view of things. The other chapters weren't that interesting to me; however, I liked the parts enough to buy his next book.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

After calibrating for the Asian hyper criticalness of the author, this was a fun series of short reflections on the changing cultures of Hong Kong and nearby cities in East Asia. At least three had me laugh out loud; comparing HK, Macau, and Shanghai as 3 dysfuctional sisters was a unique and interesting metaphor. The blog format makes for a quick read, though not certain how informative. Would have enjoyed more in depth discussions of some of the cultural trends observed.

[Sandesh Anand · Rating 4 out of 5]

For someone who makes flyby visits to Hong Kong and is blissfully unaware of the cultural nuances of Asia (outside the Indian subcontinent), I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I went "ah, now that makes sense" at least a dozen times.

The sermons on Obamacare (and his obvious admiration of Obama) seemed misplaced in the book and was the only time I was distracted as I read it. Otherwise, an easy to read, fun guide to Hong Kong!

[Sasha · Rating 2 out of 5]

TL;DR Cutting critique of HK and its surrounding neighbours - with a pinch of love, the way parents talk about the imperfections of their unruly first borns.

HK born corporate lawyer/essayist, grows up in NY, chooses to move back to Hong Kong, likes to complain and take expensive holidays around Asia. HK is shallow and snobbish. Sometimes they protest and become less shallow and snobbish.

Felt like ruffling through my dead husband's old clothes.

[Jeremy Blum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jason's first collection of HK-oriented essays is good, but I give it 3 stars mainly because the sequel, No City for Slow Men, blows it outta the water. Still worth reading, though a few of the essays seem underdeveloped, but be sure to buy it alongside Jason's second book for a more complete Hong Kong learning experience.

[cantread26 · Rating 5 out of 5]

perfect introduction to the city of hong kong and all of its idiosyncrasies!! the short little "blog posts" make it a quick read and Ng provides the perfect perspective given he has been both an insider and outsider of HK. he also isn't afraid to point out the city's flaws which is important. made me really excited to be there and experience it all for myself in about a week eeeeep.

[Gab · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book but would have enjoyed it a lot more if each chapter was longer. Also, I could have done without the section on the author's travels to other parts of Asia - I bought the book because it was about Hong Kong

[Peter Gyongyosi · Rating 2 out of 5]

It does indeed offer an interesting glimpse into everyday life in Hong Kong but that's about the only reason I haven't abandoned it halfway through. It's as if Carrie Bradshaw suddenly moved to Southeast Asia and you had to read her faux-deep op-eds about the people of the big city.

[Charles Denison IV · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some great anecdotes about life in Hong Kong. Really gave a me a taste of what it's like to be a local there.

[Olga · Rating 5 out of 5]

A witty and observational book, the author seems to understand the heart of Hong Kong better than anyone else. A good read for sure.