My City
 by Xi Xi

It would be difficult to talk about Hong Kong literature and Hong Kong identity without mentioning My City. Initially serialised in Express Daily in 1975 and published by Hung-fan Bookstore in Taiwan in 1999, My City is a novel about grassroots Hongkongers in the 1970s seen through the eye of a high school graduate Ah Gor (Fruits). Written in Xi Xi's signature playful child-like style and not presented as a linear narrative, the book captures the spirit of the city and its people in the times of its rapid economic growth in the backdrop of decolonisation. The phrase 'my city' has since been used by Hongkongers as a way of expressing their identity: while most people have a country to refer to, Hongkongers have a city to refer to, in comparison to other people's 'nationality'. The question 'what makes a person a Hongkonger' is now being discussed heatedly with China 'Mainland-washing' the city. 'Zazie dans le metro in Hong Kong', My City is a modern classic that deserves reading and

re-reading.

​

About the author

Xi Xi (1937-2022) was born in Shanghai and moved to Hong Kong with her family in 1950. She was one of the most acclaimed writers in the Sinophone world. Hailed by critics as a major and unique voice in global Sinophone literature and a stylistic innovator across genres, she published more than 30 books of different genres in addition to newspaper and magazine columns and screenplays. Xi Xi was the winner of the 6th Newman Prize for Chinese Literature in 2019 and was awarded Life Achievement Award by the HK Arts Development Council in 2022.