In mid-century Hong Kong, Robert Lomax, expatriate and itinerant artist, rents a room in the Nam Kok Hotel. He soon discovers why the rent is so cheap; he is the only person not renting by the hour. Surrounded by sailors and bar girls, whom he quickly befriends, he decides not to avail himself of their services; it would be a bit too close for comfort.
Originally published in 1957, The World of Suzie Wong richly deserves its inclusion in the Penguin Rediscovery reprint series. Mason's style is easy and conversational; no literary pyrotechnics, just a good story--one good enough to spawn a theatrical adaptation, followed in 1960 by a very popular movie starring William Holden.
Inevitably, Robert falls for one of the bar girls: Suzie Wong, a sassy, savvy, illiterate beauty. Their trials and tribulations include (as might be expected) other men; Suzie's insistence that she is just a "dirty yum-yum girl"; and her need to find permanent support for her sickly child. A diverse cast of bar girls and patrons hovers around Robert and Suzie, in a story that offers a rich tapestry of ethnicity, class, the waning influence of British hegemony in Hong Kong, the culture of prostitution and the possibility of love between two people of very different backgrounds. --Valerie Ryan, Cannon Beach Book Company, Ore.