A Hong Kong Memoir of Triumph Against the Odds

Sonia Leung’s The Girl Who Dreamed: A Hong Kong Memoir of Triumph Against the Odds is an uncompromising account of resilience and perseverance in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges. In a narrative rich with allusions to the classics of Chinese literature, Leung details how her dream of self-actualisation in Hong Kong was brutally unraveled by those she trusted, shortly after rejoining her family from the Mainland in a slum in Diamond Hill. The book marks a watershed moment in memoir-writing in Hong Kong literature. Never before have the firsthand experiences of impoverished Mainland immigrants arriving into Hong Kong in the 1980s been so carefully narrated from a young woman’s perspective. Her story of brutal violence experienced at the hands of local and expat men in Hong Kong is likely one that rings true for many women who have migrated to Hong Kong. In a remarkable display of fortitude and authorial conviction, Leung repeatedly demonstrates how hope and conviction can be found in reading and writing, even when pain becomes too suffocating to endure or even acknowledge.

Moderator: Anasuya Sanyal