The Feng Shui Detective
Encyclopedia
The Feng Shui Detective is a series of "comedy-crime" novels by Asian author Nury Vittachi
.
The books started to appear in Hong Kong
in 2000, but since have been printed around the world in multiple languages.
master, who is forced to take on an assistant named Joyce McQuinnie. Expecting to be moving furniture, she discovers that Wong specializes in crime scenes. Communication between the two is fraught - Wong speaks a mixture of pidgin English, augmented by phrases learned from a text book, while Joyce communicates in impenetrable youth argot. Wong tends to be sexist, racist, money-oriented and likes to eat small animals, alive if possible. Joyce is politically correct and a vegetarian.
There are five books in the series, with the most recent entrant, "Mr. Wong Goes West", appearing in February, 2008. They have also been numerous "mini-mysteries" - short tales about the same characters - which have appeared in magazines in China
.
The stories are widely seen as allegories of East and West ideologies and practices. Although the main players are suspicious of each other and find it almost impossible to communicate, resolution is only possible when they work together.
Nury Vittachi
Nury Vittachi is a journalist and author based in Hong Kong. His columns are published daily, weekly in a variety of newspapers in Asia as well as on his website. He is best known for the comedy-crime novel series The Feng Shui Detective, published in many languages around the world, but he has...
.
The books started to appear in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
in 2000, but since have been printed around the world in multiple languages.
Characters and plot
They tell the story of CF Wong, a feng shuiFeng shui
Feng shui ' is a Chinese system of geomancy believed to use the laws of both Heaven and Earth to help one improve life by receiving positive qi. The original designation for the discipline is Kan Yu ....
master, who is forced to take on an assistant named Joyce McQuinnie. Expecting to be moving furniture, she discovers that Wong specializes in crime scenes. Communication between the two is fraught - Wong speaks a mixture of pidgin English, augmented by phrases learned from a text book, while Joyce communicates in impenetrable youth argot. Wong tends to be sexist, racist, money-oriented and likes to eat small animals, alive if possible. Joyce is politically correct and a vegetarian.
There are five books in the series, with the most recent entrant, "Mr. Wong Goes West", appearing in February, 2008. They have also been numerous "mini-mysteries" - short tales about the same characters - which have appeared in magazines in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
The stories are widely seen as allegories of East and West ideologies and practices. Although the main players are suspicious of each other and find it almost impossible to communicate, resolution is only possible when they work together.
Published novels
- The Feng Shui Detective (ISBN 9781387802128, July 2000, Chameleon Press)
- The Feng Shui Detective Goes South (ISBN 9789628631933, March 2002, Chameleon Press)
- The Feng Shui Detective's Casebook (ISBN 9789889706036, 2003, Chameleon Press)
- The Shanghai Union of Industrial Mystics (ISBN 9781741147797, June 2006, Allen & UnwinAllen & UnwinAllen & Unwin, formerly a major British publishing house, is now an independent book publisher and distributor based in Australia. The Australian directors have been the sole owners of the Allen & Unwin name since effecting a management buy out at the time the UK parent company, Unwin Hyman, was...
) - Mr. Wong Goes WestMr. Wong Goes WestMr. Wong Goes West is the fifth novel in The Feng Shui Detective series, first published in 2008.-Plot summary:Pursuing his passion for money, Feng Shui master CF Wong set up Harmoney Private Limited, a firm acting as middleman to potentially lucrative transactions...
(ISBN 9781741753851, February 2008, Allen & UnwinAllen & UnwinAllen & Unwin, formerly a major British publishing house, is now an independent book publisher and distributor based in Australia. The Australian directors have been the sole owners of the Allen & Unwin name since effecting a management buy out at the time the UK parent company, Unwin Hyman, was...
)