"... A fine piece of writing that speaks not only of Macau's uniquely Eurasian society but of human experience at the most universal level. The characters -- their humanity and their dignity -- are sensitively drawn and the narrative is absorbing." - Alice Clemente, Brown University

"... Details the complex realities that beset a romance reaching across cultures and classes in 1930s Macao, of a poor Chinese water-seller whose braid imbues sweet sensuality for a Portuguese society playboy. Its ending is hopeful, even surprising, rather than sentimental; as one character says: 'The union of their souls, so different in their background and culture, shouldn't surprise anyone. This, after all, is Macao ...'" - Xu Xi

David Brookshaw is Professor of Luso-Brazilian Studies, University of Bristol, England. He is the compiler and translator of Visions of China: Stories From Macau (Gavea-Brown Publications and Hong Kong University Press, 2002).