The Impossible City: A Hong Kong Memoir
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- Create Date：2022-03-10 06:52:09
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Karen Cheung
- ISBN：0593241436
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Summary
An insider's account of Hong Kong--from its tenacious counterculture and robust underground music scene， to its unique history of youth-led protest--that explores what it means to survive in a city of broken promises。
Nothing survives in this city。 But in a place that never allowed you to write your own history， even remembrance can be a radical act。
Hong Kong has long been known as a city of extremes: a former colony of the United Kingdom that today exists at the margins of an authoritarian， ascendant China; a city rocked by mass protests， where residents once rallied against threats to their democracy and freedoms。 But it is also misunderstood and often romanticized， its history and politics simplified for Western headlines。 Drawing richly from her own experience， as well as interviews with musicians， protesters， and writers who have made Hong Kong their home， journalist Karen Cheung gives us an insider’s view of this remarkable city at a critical moment in history—both for Hong Kong and democracies around the world。
Coming of age in the wake of Hong Kong’s reunification with China in 1997， Cheung traverses the multifold identities available to her in childhood and beyond， whether that was her experience at an English-speaking international school where her classmates would grow up to be “global citizens” struggling to fit in with the rest of Hong Kong， or within her deeply traditional， multilingual family。 Along the way， Cheung gives a personal account of what it’s like to seek out affordable housing and mental healthcare in one of the world’s most expensive cities。 She also takes us deep into Hong Kong’s vibrant indie music and literary scenes–youth-driven spaces of creative resistance。 Inevitably， Cheung brings us with her to the protests， where her understanding of what it means to belong to Hong Kong finally crystallized。
Weaving together memoir， cultural criticism， and reportage， The Impossible City transcends borders to chart the parallel journeys of both a young woman and a city as they navigate the various， sometimes contradictory， paths of coming into one’s own。
Nothing survives in this city。 But in a place that never allowed you to write your own history， even remembrance can be a radical act。
Hong Kong has long been known as a city of extremes: a former colony of the United Kingdom that today exists at the margins of an authoritarian， ascendant China; a city rocked by mass protests， where residents once rallied against threats to their democracy and freedoms。 But it is also misunderstood and often romanticized， its history and politics simplified for Western headlines。 Drawing richly from her own experience， as well as interviews with musicians， protesters， and writers who have made Hong Kong their home， journalist Karen Cheung gives us an insider’s view of this remarkable city at a critical moment in history—both for Hong Kong and democracies around the world。
Coming of age in the wake of Hong Kong’s reunification with China in 1997， Cheung traverses the multifold identities available to her in childhood and beyond， whether that was her experience at an English-speaking international school where her classmates would grow up to be “global citizens” struggling to fit in with the rest of Hong Kong， or within her deeply traditional， multilingual family。 Along the way， Cheung gives a personal account of what it’s like to seek out affordable housing and mental healthcare in one of the world’s most expensive cities。 She also takes us deep into Hong Kong’s vibrant indie music and literary scenes–youth-driven spaces of creative resistance。 Inevitably， Cheung brings us with her to the protests， where her understanding of what it means to belong to Hong Kong finally crystallized。
Weaving together memoir， cultural criticism， and reportage， The Impossible City transcends borders to chart the parallel journeys of both a young woman and a city as they navigate the various， sometimes contradictory， paths of coming into one’s own。
Reviews
Janis Yue
，
Part memoir， part cultural commentary， The Impossible City embodied the infinite heartbreak that is loving Hong Kong。
Fon | movedbyprose
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Review to come soon。 Thank you Random House for the #gifted copy！
Jens H
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Karen Cheung depicts her life in China， and the different beauties and struggles that Hong Kong possesses。 With a broken family and a lack of acceptance， she tells the spectacular story of her growth。The story begins with her as a four year old girl， depicting the Hong Kong handover。 The word choice throughout the book makes this story flow smoothly， creating almost a rhythm that the reader can immerse themselves in。 Her story continues， leading into her teenage life， as she struggles with perso Karen Cheung depicts her life in China， and the different beauties and struggles that Hong Kong possesses。 With a broken family and a lack of acceptance， she tells the spectacular story of her growth。The story begins with her as a four year old girl， depicting the Hong Kong handover。 The word choice throughout the book makes this story flow smoothly， creating almost a rhythm that the reader can immerse themselves in。 Her story continues， leading into her teenage life， as she struggles with personal and societal acceptance。 It grants an incredibly unique view， one that many teenagers and young adults can relate to。 For me， I was caught by her beautiful language and the special perspective that is granted throughout her influential writing。 。。。more
Lauren Man
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i have never felt so seen by a book。 karen captures the collective heartache of slowly losing a place you love so well。 also bravo for bringing an apologetically local lens on HK for english media！！ anyway please read this book and see an english portrayal of hong kong that doesn’t paint us solely as some pawn piece in between US and china <3 but a real city with teal people <3
Hanson Ho
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A Hongkonger with a complicated relationship with the city she grew up in， documenting the post-handover version of said city not for outsiders， but for folks who already know parts of it， as it changes and shifts with the increasing influence of the CC。 Cheung dissects nuances about HK that few outsiders even know exist: on class， language， culture， and its relationship with the rest of the world （as well as itself）。 It reads like both a celebration and a eulogy， and honestly just a person bear A Hongkonger with a complicated relationship with the city she grew up in， documenting the post-handover version of said city not for outsiders， but for folks who already know parts of it， as it changes and shifts with the increasing influence of the CC。 Cheung dissects nuances about HK that few outsiders even know exist: on class， language， culture， and its relationship with the rest of the world （as well as itself）。 It reads like both a celebration and a eulogy， and honestly just a person bearing witness to a city that may soon disappear， one that not many outsiders even know。 。。。more
Adrian Hon
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Bursting with energy， with a fierce eye on the Hong Kong of today and a fierce yearning for the joy of what's already lost。 More （non-famous） people should write memoirs in their 20s！ Bursting with energy， with a fierce eye on the Hong Kong of today and a fierce yearning for the joy of what's already lost。 More （non-famous） people should write memoirs in their 20s！ 。。。more
Kathleen Gray
，
Hong Kong is one of my favorite cities but my Hong Kong is not Cheung's Hong Kong because， most importantly， she's a resident who grew up and experienced all the changes the city has experienced since handover in 1977。 This is more memoir than travelogue （duh） and readers should know that at times， her mental health struggles are universal。 That said， it's also a cogent and thoughtful look at young people living in the middle of a city that's in conflict with itself on so many levels- economic， Hong Kong is one of my favorite cities but my Hong Kong is not Cheung's Hong Kong because， most importantly， she's a resident who grew up and experienced all the changes the city has experienced since handover in 1977。 This is more memoir than travelogue （duh） and readers should know that at times， her mental health struggles are universal。 That said， it's also a cogent and thoughtful look at young people living in the middle of a city that's in conflict with itself on so many levels- economic， social， and political。 I appreciated the insight into the protests。 Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC。 An interesting read。 。。。more
Sara Broad
，
In "The Impossible City，" Karen Cheung presents a narrative about the complex nature of Hong Kong as a result of its handover to China and how one develops a personal identity in a place that is rapidly changing。 One way that the contents reflect the title of the book is the near impossibility of having a comfortable existence， or increasingly to even exist at all， in a city that promotes rapid development that is mostly accessible to its wealthiest citizens。 The elements of Hong Kong that made In "The Impossible City，" Karen Cheung presents a narrative about the complex nature of Hong Kong as a result of its handover to China and how one develops a personal identity in a place that is rapidly changing。 One way that the contents reflect the title of the book is the near impossibility of having a comfortable existence， or increasingly to even exist at all， in a city that promotes rapid development that is mostly accessible to its wealthiest citizens。 The elements of Hong Kong that made it one of the world's most unique and exciting cities， such as the fishing villages， mom and pop stores， and glowing neon signs， have been and are being overtaken by luxury buildings and the communist need for uniformity。 Also， Cheung highlights how the apparent promise to allow Hong Kong to maintain its independence was a total lie， and now all generations， especially that to which Cheung belongs， is struggling with the decision to stay in a place that is marked by the replacement of free elections and some democracy with the Chinese police state。 Cheung's education in a mix of local and international skills highlights the city's global element， but it will be interesting to see how Hong Kong continues to change in the forthcoming months and years。 。。。more
Megan
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*I received an eARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review。*Part memoir， part protest reporting， and part cultural analysis， Karen Cheung weaves together a moving narrative about Hong Kong from the 1997 handover to 2021 through the lens of her own experiences。 She talks about being a child during the handover and her lack of interest in politics growing up and the moment that interest shifted for her。 And she talks about her family issues and her struggles with her mental health and her *I received an eARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review。*Part memoir， part protest reporting， and part cultural analysis， Karen Cheung weaves together a moving narrative about Hong Kong from the 1997 handover to 2021 through the lens of her own experiences。 She talks about being a child during the handover and her lack of interest in politics growing up and the moment that interest shifted for her。 And she talks about her family issues and her struggles with her mental health and her inability to fit in whether that be at the international primary school she attended or the "local" school where she finished her education and the lack of housing options and so much more。 Parts of the narrative felt disjointed。 At the end， there is a note about how some of the pieces were adapted from essays she wrote for other publications and I'm not sure how successful the merge of those pieces was into a cohesive book。 That being said， I really liked enjoyed Cheung's writing。 Whether she was writing about her personal struggles or the struggles of the city or the way she was trying to come to terms with her feelings on her home， the whole book was steeped in a sort of nostalgia that was very evocative。 。。。more
Susan
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I would give it 100 stars if I could。
S C
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Take out all references to Hong Kong and you'd think this was written by a self-absorbed American millennial。 Nice to know that attitude is an international plight。 A must read if you enjoy whining and self-assigned victim status。 Take out all references to Hong Kong and you'd think this was written by a self-absorbed American millennial。 Nice to know that attitude is an international plight。 A must read if you enjoy whining and self-assigned victim status。 。。。more
Geoffrey
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