From the author of BROWNOUT ON BREADFRUIT BOULEVARD and SOUR SWEET, a novel narrated by Rey Castro, a black Amerasian who, born in destitution, is cared for by an eccentric Jesuit until fate forces him to be made the scapegoat of a crime and is forced into semi-slavery overseas.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Over the last two decades Timothy Mo has been responsible for producing some of the best postcolonial fiction written in English. From his debut Monkey King, to two of his finest novels Sour Sweet and An Insular Possession, Mo has written with great wit and political intelligence about the postcolonial condition from his own uniquely Anglo-Asian perspective. With Renegade or Halo Mo confirms his status as one of the finest novelists currently writing about globalisation, decolonisation, migrancy and cultural hybridity.
Renegade or Halo2 is narrated by Rey Archimedes Blondel Castro, a black Filipino who size and skin colour owe more to his anonymous American GI father than his Filipina bar-girl mother. Lifted from the barrios of Mactan by an unlikely pair of Jesuits, Rey begins the most extraordinary of picaresque journeys across the globe, which takes him from the Philippines to Hong Kong, Thailand, the wonderfully evoked fictional Gulf state of Bohaiden, London and Cuba. Along the way Rey moves in and out of the high and low of Mo's vividly imagined world, from the frighteningly macho fraternities of Manila high society, to the stateless and the dispossessed who haunt the backstreets of the Gulf states and the fringes of London's metropolis. A true renegade, Rey never fully embraces any of the communities through which he moves, shrugging off the fear and racism he encounters with his own unique response, summed up by the first words in the book: "Love your enemies. Far better than your friends, the dolts define you."
This is a wonderful novel which never descends into an idealisation of the emigrant, as Rey's encounters and adventures lurch from incongruous hilarity to sickening violence and depravity. Rey is a marvellous imaginative creation (as are some of his many sidekicks along the way), a fascinating and unlikely mixture of ingredients, as appealing as the Filipino desert Halo, which gives the novel its title. Whilst the novel resists the usual moralising of so many bildungsroman novels, it's a stinging but also very humane meditation on the enduring tribalism and racism of our global world. --Jerry Brotton
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
£ 4.80
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Seller: WorldofBooks, Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom
Hardback. Condition: Good. The book has been read but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact and the cover is intact. Some minor wear to the spine. Seller Inventory # GOR001076627
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Fair. No Jacket. Former library book; Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 1.76. Seller Inventory # G095241936XI5N10
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Better World Books Ltd, Dunfermline, United Kingdom
Condition: Good. First. Ships from the UK. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # GRP12468826
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Greener Books, London, United Kingdom
Hardcover. Condition: Used; Very Good. **SHIPPED FROM UK** We believe you will be completely satisfied with our quick and reliable service. All orders are dispatched as swiftly as possible! Buy with confidence! Greener Books. Seller Inventory # 4668241
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Richard Senior, Periers, France
Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. Lge 8vo. First impression. Publisher's dark blue cloth, gilt. An excellent copy of Mo's fith novel; 478pp. This book is heavy and may require extra postage. Seller Inventory # 2140
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: tinyBook, Bath, United Kingdom
Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: fine. First edition. pp. 478. An as new, unread copy in unclipped dust jacket, with a slight hint of toning to page edges. Seller Inventory # 00003029
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Adelaide Booksellers, Clarence Gardens, SA, Australia
Hardback. 1st Edition. Octavo Size [approx 15.5 x 22.8cm]. Very Good condition in Very Good Dustjacket. DJ protected in our purpose-made clear archival plastic sleeve. A nice copy. Robust, professional packaging and tracking provided for all parcels. 478 pages. Seller Inventory # 307931
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: GoldenDragon, Houston, TX, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: very good. Very Good Copy. Fast Shipment. Seller Inventory # SilverDragon095241936X
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: zenosbooks, San Francisco, CA, U.S.A.
hardcover. Condition: Very Good in Dustjacket. 1st edition. Seller Inventory # z31732
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: GoldenWavesOfBooks, Fayetteville, TX, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_095241936X
Quantity: 1 available