On Java Road by Lawrence Osborne Hardback Book 9781781090800

A veteran British journalist living in Hong Kong investigates the disappearance of a student protestor amidst the prodemocracy demonstrations in this unsettling new novel from the acclaimed author of The ForgivenAfter twenty indolent years as an expat 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 Adrians old friend Jimmy Tang the scion of a wealthy Hong Kong family who has begun a reckless affair with Rebecca a leading prodemocracy 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 envyBut 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 Rebeccas ghost to Java Road where the citys dead congregate Adrian reassembles her final hours as he struggles to distinguish between delusion and realityOsborne goes from strength to strength LIONEL SHRIVEROsborne handles surface and depth with immense skill as only great writers can DEBORAH LEVY FINANCIAL TIMESIf the purpose of a novel is to take you away from the everyday and show...