Notes

278 p Summary: Set in Wellington in the years 1905 to 1922. For most people Haining Street has an infamous reputation, allegedly full of opium dens, weird food, gambling and strange Chinese cultural practices. But for the few Wellington Chinese it is a safe haven, a refuge from the anti-Chinese racism which pervades the wider community. This is the setting for an unlikely love story. Katherine is a lonely European widow struggling to support her children. Yung is a young Chinese man who runs a vegetable shop. Their love affair is conducted in secret. But how can a European woman have a successful relationship with a Chinese man? When her hostile son discovers what is happening, a tragic outcome seems inevitable New Zealand author
NZ Post winner of Best Fiction Award 2010
staff