The Harmony Silk Factory by Tash Aw

First reaction: WOW! Second reaction: Read it! The story revolves around the Harmony Silk Factory, a textiles shop in rural Malaysia run by Johnny Lim, part crook, part untouchable legend.

Three narrators – his resentful son, his beautiful wife, his one and only friend – recount their very different relationships with the unknowable Johnny. In Rashomon-style, Aw’s three narrators prove unreliable, their stories overlapping only over minute details. Ultimately, the reader must decide where the truth might lie – and whether truth is ever discernible.

Review: “New and Notable Books, AsianWeek, May 5, 2005

Readers: Adult

Published: 2005