Fiction

On Java Road: ‘The bastard child of Graham Greene and Patricia Highsmith’ METRO

On Java Road: ‘The bastard child of Graham Greene and Patricia Highsmith’ METRO

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  • Create Date：2022-07-25 00:51:35
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Lawrence Osborne
  • ISBN：1781090807
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Summary

A veteran British journalist living in Hong Kong investigates the disappearance of a student protestor amidst the pro-democracy demonstrations in this unsettling new novel from the acclaimed author of The Forgiven

After twenty indolent years as an ex-pat reporter in Hong Kong， Englishman Adrian Gyle has almost nothing to show for it。 And now the streets are choked with students demanding democratic freedoms， and the old world begins to fall apart 。 。 。

Watching from the skyrises overlooking the protests is Adrian's old friend Jimmy Tang， the scion of a wealthy Hong Kong family， who has begun a reckless affair with Rebecca， a leading pro-democracy protestor， full of idealism and reeking of tear gas。 The couple are dancing over the abyss， and Adrian is drawn into their clandestine romance with a mixture of complicity and envy。

But when Rebecca disappears and Jimmy goes to ground， Adrian unearths the familiar old urge to investigate， and personal loyalties evaporate overnight。 Now an unwelcome foreigner in a hostile land， Adrian must reckon with these vanishings as old Hong Kong quietly slips off the stage。 Pursuing Rebecca's ghost to Java Road where the city's dead congregate， Adrian re-assembles her final hours - as he struggles to distinguish between delusion and reality。

'Osborne goes from strength to strength' LIONEL SHRIVER

'Osborne handles surface and depth with immense skill， as only great writers can' DEBORAH LEVY， FINANCIAL TIMES

'If the purpose of a novel is to take you away from the everyday and show you something different， then Osborne is succeeding， and handsomely' LEE CHILD， NEW YORK TIMES

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Reviews

Sarah-Hope ，

In terms of genre， Lawrence Osborne's On Java Road is a mystery novel， but in my experience as a reader， the mystery didn't drive the novel。 What kept me reading was the exploration of the effects on different communities of the British return of Hong Kong to China。 The book is set several years into that process when younger Hong Kong residents are demonstrating for democracy and the Chinese government is beginning the crackdown it had promised Britain wouldn't happen。The central characters are In terms of genre， Lawrence Osborne's On Java Road is a mystery novel， but in my experience as a reader， the mystery didn't drive the novel。 What kept me reading was the exploration of the effects on different communities of the British return of Hong Kong to China。 The book is set several years into that process when younger Hong Kong residents are demonstrating for democracy and the Chinese government is beginning the crackdown it had promised Britain wouldn't happen。The central characters are Adrian Gyle， an aging British journalist and long-time ex-pat， and Jimmy Tang， a member of Hong Kong's wealthiest classes。 The two became friends during their college years in Britain and have a pleasant， if imbalanced， relationship years later in Hong Kong。 Jimmy's wealth leaves Adrian， not dependent on Jimmy， but aware of his own， much narrower world。 The two meet for lunches and dinners。 Jimmy occasionally treats Adrian to a bespoke suit he'll have no occasion to wear and introduces Adrian to some of his many paramours。 The mystery plot focuses on the death of Jimmy's latest flame， Rebecca， who was a student activist about thirty years younger than him。 Ostensibly she committed suicide， but at the moment staged suicides are one of the ways police are eliminating student activists and Jimmy may have his own reasons for wanting a an unequivocal end to the relationship。 As Adrian investigates Rebecca's death， his relationship with Jimmy becomes increasingly strained。But as I said， the real heart of the novel for me was its temporal setting。 Adrian has his British passport and is wondering when or if it will become advisable for him to leave Hong Kong as the violence and press crackdown worsen。 In order to protect his and his family's wealth， Jimmy has to offer visible， if token， support for the Chinese regime， while determining how soon he will have to leave Hong Kong and how he will protect his wealth。 A pair of Adrian's friends， jaded reporters who see the Chinese absorption of Hong Kong as inevitable and not necessarily bad， add another interesting perspective to the mix。 Finally there are the Chinese students protesting and residents of Hong Kong who welcome mainland control and attack those they see as insufficiently committed to the national government。Osborne has a gorgeous prose style that evokes his settings with precision and affect。 In other words， even though the mystery may not carry the novel， Osborne keeps readers engaged regardless。I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher; the opinions are my own。 。。。more

switterbug （Betsey） ，

There’s no Lawrence Osborne book that I didn’t absolutely love， and this one is no exception。 His writing is urbane， mercurial， and atmospheric—compellingly noir。 As a British ex-pat residing in Bangkok， Osborne’s Asian settings for his novels are enveloping and alluring。 His characters are typically lurid or naïve ex-pats themselves， and often deeply flawed in that alien culture way that gets them in trouble。 ON JAVA ROAD is centrally about a friendship between a British journalist， Adrian Gyle There’s no Lawrence Osborne book that I didn’t absolutely love， and this one is no exception。 His writing is urbane， mercurial， and atmospheric—compellingly noir。 As a British ex-pat residing in Bangkok， Osborne’s Asian settings for his novels are enveloping and alluring。 His characters are typically lurid or naïve ex-pats themselves， and often deeply flawed in that alien culture way that gets them in trouble。 ON JAVA ROAD is centrally about a friendship between a British journalist， Adrian Gyle， who has lived in Hong Kong for decades （he calls himself a hack）， and his good friend， Jimmy Tang， a wealthy local elite。 In Osborne’s usual measured voice and tone， a disappearance interferes， or threatens to interfere， with their friendship。 What I enjoy so much about this writer is how the language itself tells the story。Student protests against the extradition bill point the way to the darker side of Hong Kong politics。 Drian is covering some of these protests， and meets a rebel student half his age who is dating the married Jimmy。 Adrian is intrigued by this woman， who is independent and unthreatened by Jimmy’s marital status and unimpressed by his wealth。 However， when Tang’s power and potential betrayal comes knocking on Gyle’s door， Adrian’s investigative skills and inclination to delve further into sinister undercurrents in the city bring him to a precipice in his relationship with Jimmy。I was immediately installed in Osborne’s rich and textured tale， and， as usual， riveted by the moody and sensual narrative。 I read him for the prose as well as the story。 “…I wondered just how fully I understood the tight-knit warp and weave of a society like Honk Kong: incestuous， gossipy， given to rumors and backstabbing， its money all wrapped up in a few clans， always ready to flee to foreign parts if the going gets rough。” Mmm…tasty from start to finish。Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for sending an early copy for review。 。。。more

Kasa Cotugno ，

Lawrence Osborne once again inhabits the mantle of Graham Greene。 On Java Road has more than the usual infusion of historical interest against observance of the current condition， in this case， the state of Hong Kong on the 25th anniversary of the handover which has caused disruption and citywide unrest。 Old hand journalist Adrian Gyle， who has covered HK for over 20 years， met Jimmy Tang while both were students in England。 Jimmy， scion of a billionaire family insists on lavish lunches， rare wi Lawrence Osborne once again inhabits the mantle of Graham Greene。 On Java Road has more than the usual infusion of historical interest against observance of the current condition， in this case， the state of Hong Kong on the 25th anniversary of the handover which has caused disruption and citywide unrest。 Old hand journalist Adrian Gyle， who has covered HK for over 20 years， met Jimmy Tang while both were students in England。 Jimmy， scion of a billionaire family insists on lavish lunches， rare wines， and furnishing Adrian with （unwanted） sartorial delights， and it is their "friendship" that fuels the narrative。 Imbued with Osborne's trademark atmospheric pall， the reader gets more than bargained for thanks to an insider's knowledge of HK and how its elements clash and coalesce。 I'll read anything he writes。 。。。more

Sharon Dene ，

Very interesting book How Hong-Kong It was a part of the Britain but then he returned CHI NA。 This book is about a journalist named A DRI AN Who writes for a newspaper。 And his friends with a very prominent family called Jimmy。 And you see this in the sport cow very fun ship develops over time and then it's completely disappears you'll find this out later in the book。 Jimmy decides to have an affair with Rebecca who is demonstrating out demonstrating out in the streets against China China puttin Very interesting book How Hong-Kong It was a part of the Britain but then he returned CHI NA。 This book is about a journalist named A DRI AN Who writes for a newspaper。 And his friends with a very prominent family called Jimmy。 And you see this in the sport cow very fun ship develops over time and then it's completely disappears you'll find this out later in the book。 Jimmy decides to have an affair with Rebecca who is demonstrating out demonstrating out in the streets against China China putting restrictions on freedom of press。 The journalist gets caught up this a little bit as well and and you realize this is crazy Rebecca tries to have his affair with Jimmy but Jimmy doesn't realize how she's so involved out in the streets。 Part of the book is based on how Jimmy gets caught in this affair and has terrible connection points as which will find out later。 It's interesting how books are like this and it's called Java road。 And how the journalist gets very paranoid because he thinks people are listening to him because he wants to report on things happening and eventually realizes if you're too old for this and we've moved on with this life And Rebecca's family came over from China we're from China in 1947 and they were part of like a mob type thing so thanks so which meant they were like black marketing stuff like that it's very interesting how the past and the future all seems to mingle together。 This is why I thought the book was very interesting it showed respect upon everybody's side and how they came to this crazy conclusion 。。。more

Reference

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