Gweilo is a memoir written by Martin Booth, and was first published in 2004 shortly after Booth’s death. In writing this novel, Booth aims to share his childhood memories with his children, and is incredibly moving and engaging as he is writing about the happiest years of his life, which were spent in Hong Kong. Booth stayed in Hong Kong from 1953 to 1955, left and then went back again in 1959 to finish his secondary education.
In the light of being diagnosed with brain cancer in 2002, Martin Booth wrote Gweilo to tell his children about his childhood spent in Hong Kong. However, in the process of doing so, Booth plunged into the depths of his memories and ultimately realized that Hong Kong was always his home. The novel was also successful in displaying the culture in Hong Kong, and has allowed Booth to replay his happiest childhood memories “over and over again as if on an endless loop”. Gweilo is an autobiography, namely a memoir, which is written in the first person. By writing in the first person, Booth uses words like “I“ and “my”, which makes every sentence much more personal and powerful. Every detail and every emotion that the author feels is recorded in the book through the author’s own words, and ultimately allows the reader to experience every raw emotion in the book. Furthermore, in choosing to write about his childhood in Hong Kong, which is a place very close to his heart, Booth has been able to “rekindle lost names and put faces to them”. This memoir is his own diary, and has allowed Booth to relive his happiest years before is unfortunate passing. By writing down all of these memories, Booth has preserved all of those emotions in Gweilo, and has allowed many others to experience and live through all of the events in the book. Many of the memories depicted are personal, but at the same time are very common. For example, Booth writes about his relationship with his parents, his first day of school and family trips. All of these events in the book create a sense of empathy, as the reader can relate their own life experiences to Booth’s life experiences. This allows Booth’s memories to be more powerful, and makes these descriptions much more engaging for the reader.
Gweilo, however, has the greatest emotional effect on the author’s children. The book is in their father’s voice, and by reading every word they would formulate an image of their father’s early life, hereby gaining a greater understanding of their father through this book. Booth’s children also gained more knowledge about Hong Kong, which would allow them to create more emotional connections towards Hong Kong. Booth ends the author’s note, explaining, “Hong Kong was my home, was where I spent my formative years, is where my roots are, is where I grew up.” Booth’s use of the word “formative” tells us that Hong Kong has had a lasting impression on him in the past. However, he moves on and changes in to the present tense when he explains that Hong Kong “is where my roots are, is where I grew up.” This once again exhibits the fact that Booth’s main aims in writing this book was to tell his children about how Hong Kong became his home, and that these experiences in Hong Kong has influenced and built him up to be the person he is today.
Booth wrote this book to keep his memories alive for his family, and also asks them to be less afraid for him as he battles brain cancer, explaining to them that he has already lived a remarkable and colourful life. Booth uses a method of foreshadowing in Gweilo to give his family comfort, asking them refrain from being worried about his sickness. One example of foreshadowing was when Booth’s mother Joyce took him to a fortuneteller. The fortuneteller announced, “ … In your fifty – seventh year, you will have much illness but in the remainder of your life you will be healthy.” Although it is unknown to readers whether this event really happened, it is true that the author was diagnosed with cancer when he was fifty-seven. Booth cleverly uses the fortuneteller’s words to tell his children that he would be happy and healthy for the remainder of his life, and that they were not to worry about his passing. This idea is reinforced throughout the novel as Booth’s mother Joyce exclaims several times “see, the fortuneteller was right!” This belief in a fortuneteller may be absurd to many readers, and we often think of fortunetellers as magical. Only a naïve, innocent child would believe in a fortuneteller. Booth explains to readers from the beginning that his cancer was “incurable, essentially inoperable and immune to chemotherapy”. His family had already lost hope in his recovery. However, by introducing a fortuneteller and telling the entire story through the eyes of a child, Booth tells his children to believe in miracles, and that nothing is impossible. Booth acquired a belief in a world that is beyond the control of humans as he was growing up in Hong Kong, and his words have allowed readers too to experience that magic.
Gweilo, being the title of the book, was also a word used frequently throughout the novel, which enabled Booth to explain the social situation in Hong Kong during the 1950s. Booth also creates an image for himself through the use of Cantonese words. Gweilo is Cantonese slang for a European male, and “Gwei” mean pale ghost, “lo” meaning fellow. Citizens of Hong Kong often used this word as a derogatory term to describe Europeans as “the white devil”. Booth chose this term to be the title of his book because he came into the Chinese society as a foreigner and as someone who the general public disliked. However, he immersed himself in the culture of Hong Kong, and throughout the years he had become a member of Hong Kong, a true “China hand”. His attempt to become a real citizen of Hong Kong was evident through him learning the language of the society – Cantonese. In Gweilo, Cantonese words were constantly used and spelled out, and Booth often used words like “dai pai dong” (street side stalls that sell food) and “dor jie” (Thank you) to tell his stories. Booth has clearly understood the culture of Hong Kong. The use of Cantonese terms increases as the novel develops, which shows Booth’s growing interest and love for Hong Kong as his stay gets longer and longer. Booth describes himself as a “Gweilo”, but he also attempts to tell us that he is British on the outside and is truly a Chinese person at heart. Gweilo is a generalized term for white people, and the author sets himself apart from these people by creating a large contrast between him and other foreigners. In his memories, he constantly wanders around the streets of Hong Kong, and has developed relationships with many different people from all sectors of the society. He wandered into places like the Kowloon Walled Park, places were foreigners and other “gweilos” would never visit. Booth was fascinated with the temples and the gods of the Chinese, and although he was Christian, he had great respect for the religion of the Chinese, and even burnt incense for the deities in the temples. His lifestyle was different from Chinese people in Hong Kong, as he had servants, went to prestigious schools and had tea at the renowned Peninsula Hotel. However, he explained that he was a gweilo like no other – although he enjoyed the same luxuries as other foreigners, he was willing to break down that wall between him and the people of Hong Kong. He believed that this was what all foreigners were suppose to do, and was unhappy due to the fact that most foreigners – even his own father was full of pride and was abusive to the Chinese people. This was seen further through the characterization of Booth’s parents Joyce and Ken.
The personality and actions of Booth’s parents in Gweilo were used to show the attitudes of foreigners towards the Chinese people in the 1950s. Ken and Joyce Booth were portrayed as two opposite ends of the spectrum in Gweilo. Booth’s mother Joyce was a “modern woman”, and when the family was in England she “had a job as a General Post Office telephonist”. The fact that his mother was a modern woman allows the reader to understand that Joyce was open to new ideas and was happy to accept the culture of Hong Kong. Because she no longer believed in the traditional ideas of superiority, Booth’s mother had many Chinese friends during her stay in Hong Kong. She even attempted to get a job in Hong Kong to teach English. Her actions show that she was constantly active, and had close connections with many of the citizens in Hong Kong. Furthermore, she had a great connection with the Chinese culture, and as they were leaving, she was given Chinese plates and ornaments, which were her “prized possessions until her death”. Joyce represented foreigners who loved Chinese culture and where kind to the citizens of Hong Kong, whilst Ken separated himself from the Chinese people. Ken Booth was posted to Hong Kong and had no feelings towards the Chinese people He was proud, and believed that he knew everything. Booth explains, “Although he made himself out to be an important man, he was in fact little more than a superior clerk.” Ken was part of the British army, and like many of his colleagues, he despised and looked down on the Chinese people. One memory that highlighted the differences between Joyce and Ken was when Martin Booth was taken to a leper’s hospital. Martin had allowed a dry leper to touch his head for good luck. Joyce thought that Martin was incredibly kind in offering the leper a token of good fortune. Ken, on the other hand, reprimanded Martin for allowing the leper to touch him. Booth wrote, “ It was from that moment that I hated my father, truly abhorred him with a loathing…” Booth didn’t hate his father because he beat him and scolded him as a child. He hated his father’s thoughts and actions towards the Chinese people, and believed that his father was full of pride, a racist and was heartless. Booth, as a child, would have taken great influence from his parents, but he followed his mother’s example, which allowed him to act kindly to the people of Hong Kong. He expresses gratitude towards his mother, as she was the one who had allowed him to travel abroad to Hong Kong. She was a reason why Booth developed a close connection to Hong Kong, as his mother had encouraged him to immerse himself in the culture. Booth believed that to a certain extent, the British extended kindness towards the people in Hong Kong and brought them good fortune.
Good fortune is a main theme throughout the novel, as is represented by Booth’s blond hair, which was often stroked by the Chinese people for luck. Booth uses himself as a representation of the British people and their actions in Hong Kong. Towards the end of the book, Booth expresses beliefs that the British did some good for Hong Kong, due to the fact that they helped the society in Hong Kong undergo many transformations. Booth explained that he had revisited an old part of Hong Kong, where he discovered that “the Ho Man Tin squatter area had been rebuilt but now it had a rudimentary sewage system and was provided with standpipes and a concrete laundry area. The thorough fares between the houses were wider in order to serve as fire breaks.” These changes in infrastructure were made by the British government, and enabled these living areas to be safer for the citizens of Hong Kong. However, he also reflected on the negative effects that the British had in Hong Kong. The Chinese weren’t given a lot of political freedom during British rule, as the British believed that “they were presided over by gods and not governments. They had no vote, for elections were never held: members of the Legislative Council, Hong Kong’s parliament, were appointed by the Governor. Booth “came to realize that the Chinese were a nation of spectators”. The author expressed his views that the British oppressed the Chinese people in the 1950s, and that the society was dominated entirely by the gweilos due to the fact that the Chinese were afraid of intervening. They only watched conflicts unfold, but were never brave enough to take on a greater role. The society in Hong Kong still believed in deities and a greater power, and still hadn’t been “woken up” to the reality of the political situation. Booths expression of these concerns furthermore shows that he had a love for Hong Kong.
Gweilo by Martin Booth was incredibly enjoyable for me because I’m from Hong Kong, and I grew up in this society that was so accurately described by Booth. The book was not only humorous, but also allowed me to experience Hong Kong through the e was incredibly enjoyable for me because I’m from Hong Kong, and I grew up in the society that was so accurately described by Booth. The book was not only humorous, but also allowed me to experience Hong Kong through the eyes of a foreigner decades ago.
The Typewriter 