A review by sofiazee
The Harmony Silk Factory by Tash Aw
2.0
A gripping story of how Johnny Lim, a textile merchant & Communist, became what he came to be. Johnny's life was never portrayed straightforwardly; instead it was narrated by 3 important persons in his life: Jasper, his son; Snow, his wife; and Peter Wormwood, his only best friend.
It was an interesting take on how the author portrays his invisible protagonist. We could never know what Johnny really felt & thought in those situations depicted by those 3. Perspective is a personal thing; and it is not wrong to see how perspectives of different people differs or even contradicts each other. That was perhaps the intention of Tash Aw, but something that disturbed me as I could not accurately grasp who Johnny actually is. Even after finishing the whole book, Johnny remains a myth to me.
Albeit the plot can be quite distracting (for me) due to the alternating past & present, it's still quite a breezy read. Nothing too fascinating, but good to kill time.
It was an interesting take on how the author portrays his invisible protagonist. We could never know what Johnny really felt & thought in those situations depicted by those 3. Perspective is a personal thing; and it is not wrong to see how perspectives of different people differs or even contradicts each other. That was perhaps the intention of Tash Aw, but something that disturbed me as I could not accurately grasp who Johnny actually is. Even after finishing the whole book, Johnny remains a myth to me.
Albeit the plot can be quite distracting (for me) due to the alternating past & present, it's still quite a breezy read. Nothing too fascinating, but good to kill time.