Get to know Peter Corris

For those of you outside Australia, Peter Corris could be the most famous writer you’ve never heard of. Best known for his crime fiction featuring detective Cliff Hardy, Corris’ vast body of work has earned him a place in Australia’s literary walk of fame in Sydney’s Circular Quay. Corris also brings the immediacy and engagement of whodunits to more serous fiction. His latest novel, Wishart’s Quest takes readers on a remarkable journey across four countries and four decades as a foundling child’s encounter with a portrait in a country town art gallery where white and black Australia meet ignites a search for his roots. As I wrote in Asia Times, the book draws on Corris’ background as a student of Australian and Asian history to tell a compelling story. In short, it’s one of our finest contemporary writers at the top of his game. Enjoy it.

Totally globalized native New Yorker and former broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is author of Hong Kong On Air, a novel set in his adopted hometown during the 1997 handover about television news, love, betrayal, financial crisis, and cheap lingerie.

Novelist wrestles Asian trophy wives

Award winning novelist Christopher G Moore has been in New York this month for the US launch of Paying Back Jack, the 10th installment in his Vincent Calvino crime novel series. Moore also writes literary fiction – I’m a big fan of Waiting for the Lady, a novel set in Burma that centers on Aung San Suu Kyi – and books about Thai language. In addition to a favorite read of mine, Moore has been a friend for 15 years, and a mentor as both a writer and an expatriate in Asia.

In a show of extraordinary bravado or extreme foolishness, Moore recently tackled the subject of Asia trophy wives on his blog. Moore lives in Bangkok and is married to a Thai woman, so the subject is fraught with particular danger for him. But, as usual, Moore writes intelligently on this highly charged cross-cultural subject.

What I found astonishing was the article by Ying Chu that triggered Moore’s consideration of the question. The article is an outstanding example of how vapid popular magazines have become. I’ll simply add one footnote: of all things I’ve previously heard (from mutual acquaintances) and read about Wendy Deng, Rupert Murdoch’s current wife, the word “trophy” hardly seems applicable.

Totally globalized native New Yorker and former broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is author of Hong Kong On Air, a novel set in his adopted hometown during the 1997 handover about television news, love, betrayal, financial crisis, and cheap lingerie.