Dr. Feng Chi-shun
Dr. Feng Chi-shun, pathologist and author of bestselling novel “Diamond Hill” has come out with a new book: “Hong Kong Noir.” He enlightens Rachel Goldfeld about his creative process and what it’s like to gain inspiration from Hong Kong’s oft neglected underbelly.
HK Magazine: What was the inspiration behind “Hong Kong Noir”?
Dr. Feng Chi-shun: It’s funny, it’s almost as if “Hong Kong Noir” was born out of writer’s block. After reading a book about the afterlife I became tremendously intrigued by the whole concept. I intuit that an afterlife must exist, that some vital part of a person’s identity transcends the death of their body; the problem I encountered was explaining this phenomena. After doing much research into the topic, and trying to approach it from an academic standpoint, I became increasingly frustrated. The more frustrated I became, the greater number of familiar gory stories of the sort featured in the novel started swimming around in my head.
HK: Why did you select these fifteen stories?
FC: These are the stories that were so vivid in my mind that I felt haunted by them. Despite being popular stories, I felt compelled to tell them my own way. I felt the need to put these stories down on paper. The whole process was incredibly cathartic.
HK: What do you think makes a story worth telling?
FC: If you find yourself consumed by a story, then you should share that story with others. I decided because these stories were so intriguing to me, that they must be intriguing to others. What is more important is how the stories are told. I believe that you have to hook your readers in the first paragraph. Losing the reader at the beginning can result in great stories being left unheard.
HK: Did you have another title in mind?
FC: I wanted to call the book “Hong Kong Stories.” Then I realized there were already many books about Hong Kong called “Hong Kong Stories”—I guess I’m not the only one intrigued by tales of our city. My publicist recommended I change the book to “Hong Kong Noir,” which I think is an apt name given the content of the stories. The genre is definitely a far cry from chick lit.
HK: Were you writing for a particular demographic?
FC: I don’t write to make money, and so I don’t write for a particular set of people in mind. I write because it is something I am passionate about—I must add, it’s convenient that my hobby happens to be lucrative. It’s much more cost-effective than collecting cars! I guess I am just lucky that what I enjoy writing, people enjoy reading. I suppose, because my books are in English and about Hong Kong, the default demographic would be expatriates and westernized Chinese with some connection to Hong Kong.
HK: Which authors inspire you?
FC: I don’t spend too much time reading what is typically termed “literature” or “classic literature.” I enjoy reading crime fiction novels from the bestsellers lists—particularly novels by John Grisham, Raymond Carver and, as of late, Lee Child. These are all wonderfully fast paced and reliably engaging.