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'Wild Swans meets Educated in this riveting true story spanning four generations
'The dreamer boy travelling on dragon hide ... a tiger running alone in the night ...
'Mimi Kwa ignored the letter for days. When she finally opened it, the news was so shocking her hair turned grey. Why would a father sue his own daughter?
'The collision was over the estate of Mimi's beloved Aunt Theresa, but its seed had been sown long ago. In an attempt to understand how it had come to this, Mimi unspools her rich family history in House of Kwa.
'One of a wealthy silk merchant's 32 children, Mimi's father, Francis, was just a little boy when the Kwa family became caught up in the brutal and devastating Japanese occupation of Hong Kong during World War II. Years later, he was sent to study in Australia by his now independent and successful older sister Theresa. There he met and married Mimi's mother, a nineteen-year-old with an undiagnosed, chronic mental illness. Soon after, 'tiger' Mimi arrived, and her struggle with the past and the dragon began ...
'Riveting, colourful and often darkly humorous, House of Kwa is an epic family drama spanning four generations, and an unforgettable story about how one woman finds the courage to stand up for her freedom and independence, squaring off against the ghosts of the past and finally putting them to rest. Throughout, her inspiration is Francis's late older sister, the jet-setting, free-spirited Aunt Theresa, whose extraordinary life is a beacon of hope in the darkness.'
Source : publisher's blurb
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Large print.
Works about this Work
-
“House of Kwa” by Mimi Kwa
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: The Asian Review of Books 2021;
— Review of House of Kwa 2021 single work autobiography'Australian broadcast journalist Mimi Kwa comes from a lineage going back to imperial Beijing. In her new family memoir, House of Kwa, she tells the remarkable story that brought her father’s family to Southern China, Hong Kong, and Western Australia.' (Introduction)
-
The Trials of a Family Dynasty
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 24 July 2021; (p. 18)
— Review of House of Kwa 2021 single work autobiography'Television journalist and newsreader Mimi Kwa peers into the mirror, shocked by what she sees. Overnight, a thick sprig of her raven hair has turned grey. It is the morning after she has received yet another threatening letter from her father, this one outlining his intention to sue for her inheritance: Kwa v Kwa is headed for the Supreme Court of Western Australia.' (Introduction)
-
Books Roundup : The Mother Wound, House of Kwa, She is Haunted, The Newcomer
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: Kill Your Darlings [Online] , July 2021;
— Review of The Mother Wound 2021 single work autobiography ; House of Kwa 2021 single work autobiography ; She Is Haunted 2021 selected work short story ; The Newcomer 2021 single work novel
-
Books Roundup : The Mother Wound, House of Kwa, She is Haunted, The Newcomer
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: Kill Your Darlings [Online] , July 2021;
— Review of The Mother Wound 2021 single work autobiography ; House of Kwa 2021 single work autobiography ; She Is Haunted 2021 selected work short story ; The Newcomer 2021 single work novel -
The Trials of a Family Dynasty
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 24 July 2021; (p. 18)
— Review of House of Kwa 2021 single work autobiography'Television journalist and newsreader Mimi Kwa peers into the mirror, shocked by what she sees. Overnight, a thick sprig of her raven hair has turned grey. It is the morning after she has received yet another threatening letter from her father, this one outlining his intention to sue for her inheritance: Kwa v Kwa is headed for the Supreme Court of Western Australia.' (Introduction)
-
“House of Kwa” by Mimi Kwa
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: The Asian Review of Books 2021;
— Review of House of Kwa 2021 single work autobiography'Australian broadcast journalist Mimi Kwa comes from a lineage going back to imperial Beijing. In her new family memoir, House of Kwa, she tells the remarkable story that brought her father’s family to Southern China, Hong Kong, and Western Australia.' (Introduction)