Scratch the surface of Hong Kong’s glitzy expat lifestyle and you’ll easily uncover a seedy, dark and entirely illegal underworld.
At least, that is the premise of 28-year-old author Andrew Carter’s debut novel “Bright Lights and White Lights”, which was released today.
In 2011, Carter moved from Leeds, England, to Hong Kong to work as an English teacher until he moved back last summer.
Living in Wan Chai, where “there are plenty of vices readily available should you want them” as Carter describes it, apparently offered a well of inspiration, with “drink, drugs and crime” being the prevalent themes of the book.
The novel follows Troy, a mid-twenties British expat who ends up over his head in the local cocaine scene after having his heart broken by his girlfriend.
Though Carter admits he “made a lot of it up”, he did his research on cocaine in Hong Kong by using the good ol’ interwebz and by interrogating his friends who were casual coke users.
“You only have to go a bar in Lan Kwai Fong on a Saturday night to see that there is a fair bit of cocaine around in Hong Kong,” Carter says.
“Seeing sharp-suited men, sweating and shouting at each other (but thinking that they are having a great conversation), whilst occasionally sniffing aggressively is fairly self-explanatory.”
But he is quick to point out that the book is not based on his life.
“The novel is partly based on my own experiences in Hong Kong but much of it is pure fiction!”
“As a law-abiding, relatively well-behaved expat, the vast majority of what happens in my book has come straight from my imagination,” Carter explains.
“Although booze, drugs, prostitutes and suspicious-looking characters are all around [in Wan Chai], I never once felt in danger and I’d say there is more belligerence on a Friday night in Leeds than there is in Hong Kong!”
Remind us to avoid the Hong Kong cocaine scene at all costs, and to never go to Leeds.
“Bright Lights and White Lights” was released today and can be found at Dymocks bookstores and on Amazon.
