This is a super interesting novel about the impact of cultural tensions in Hong Kong on regular people. I probably wouldn’t have hesitated to give it four stars if it were marketed as literary fiction rather than a psychological thriller. I enjoyed this book, but it wasn’t a thriller at all. There was no sense of danger or surprising twist. Instead, this was a character-driven novel about societal changes.

I very much enjoyed getting a look at Hong Kong culture, and the characters were well-written and felt real people. Their relationships with one another were multi-layered and dynamic, and there were some absolutely heartbreaking moments that will stick with me. I do feel the novel was a bit slow and repetitive, which was magnified by the fact that I was expecting a thriller.30 s2 comments Zana444 128

I'll admit, contemporary lit fic isn't really my jam. I picked this up because of the parallels between Hong Kong and Singapore when it comes to Mandarin usage. (I'm only an immigrant kid. I only know about this through my mother.)

But somehow, I ended up really liking this book!

The author does a really great job making the MC, Ling, a tolerable character. She's a people pleasing gossipy bully and the stereotypical Mean Girl in the teacher cohort. But the author manages to turn her into a well-rounded character that I actually felt sympathy for her at times.

The author also wrote Wai's character in a similarly skillful way. I felt bad for her personally, but I could also feel the annoyance seep through from Ling's headspace whenever she viewed Wai as an outcast with no social skills.

And the way that the author used both characters to approach the topic of Mandarin usage in Hong Kong education and instruction? Honestly, it was perfection.

I know nothing about this topic in Hong Kong, but through both Wai and Ling's experiences and attempts to either learn or dismiss Mandarin, there were layers of depth that I wouldn't be able to understand just by reading news articles or by Googling this topic. The author tackles this topic in such a way that I can understand why both Wai and Ling approached Mandarin learning in their own ways, however flawed they may be.

Thank you to The Feminist Press at CUNY and Edelweiss for this arc.arcs-read asian-authors d ...more11 s Bella Azam464 57

Whats interesting about Tongueless is the brutality of survival in a cut thoat jobs that required you to blend seamlessly in the crowd without standing out. Its a story on languages - the clashing between usage of Cantonese and Mandarin in Hong Kong, the political aspects of the situation that can be gleaned from the school's systemic competitiveness on changing the language to Mandarin to be used in teaching.

As we see Ling's perspective of a contract teacher after the devastating suicide of her colleague Wai and retracing the story from the beginning of these two colleagues's ways of survival in the school. Ling is more of a people pleaser kind of person, she adapted well, camouflaged her personality to suit the person she wants to be in favour with, making sure she befriends everyone, and this was the complete opposite of Wai. Wai was more rigid, sloppy at times, insisted to speak Mandarin as a way to learn the language even though she is really bad at it but her overzealous persistence led to her being snided upon.2 s Harmony Soto112

Little Fires Everywhere vibes but set in Hong Kong, focuses on the language conflicts between Mandarin and Cantonese, and our narrator is somehow even more vapid and deplorable than Elena Richardson. A great thriller.1 Robin56 2

Another The Feminist Press at CUNY banger. Tongueless focuses on the tragic reality of culture and language being slowly diluted. I actually have so much I want to say about this book but no one else has read it so I won't LMAO but there's a lot I'd want to talk about...anyway.

Hong Kong has a very unique culture due to its history and this novel goes into that without turning it into a history lesson. The protagonist Ling is so painfully realistic that I personally went through a number of emotions while reading this. Sometimes I was so angry with Ling and other times I felt downright awful for her. The novel doesn't excuse her actions but gives enough that you can understand them.

Mostly I walked away from this feeling so much towards Wai. Mostly how easily I could see someone Wai existing in the real world. A victim of society, who despite how much she tries to exist within it, remains ostracized and criticized by everyone around her. I just wanted to hug her and tell her her efforts wouldn't be in vain. If I think about Wai too much I feel I'm going to tear up...

I'm interested in seeing how others this and I think Feeley did an excellent job translating what I imagine was a very difficult work to adapt to an English audience! The explanation for those translations are given at the end but even if I skipped that I would have understood why certain things were written as they were.

Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for the ARC.e-book edelweiss-netgalley2 s Patrick Fassnacht97 3

[pregnant pause... leaning back reflectively... and mulling multiple fragmented thoughts...]

Pretty powerful read that has a great deal of things to say. Some things are pretty understated and muted with others being more overtly charged in a realtime political environment of changing realities. Very curious about all of the layered points and commentaries that this reader might have missed along the way. and, also, very interested to read more about the author and her reality. (The translators notes at the end are pretty informative about intentions and meaning and artistic liberties in attempting to capture the original meanings and assertions. Pretty cool seeing her explanation at the end.)

Loved how Lau Yee-Wa portrayed the current social and political climate. Eagerly turning pages and internalizing some facet of the current tensions facing China and Hong Kong today. Soaking up the author's masterfully-balanced handling of some incredibly weighty subjects while wondering about what was authentically captured and what might have been lost in translation.

The title's relevance aside, this reader found the entire literary effort here so wonderfully approached.. the complexities of the social topics and travails woven in throughout the story.. and the poignant character-driven tensions and day-to-day tribulations propelling things forward... the story amazingly maintains an understated tension that bubbles readers along, wondering how the tragic implications will play out.. without getting caught up in the simplistic politically-charged adversarial climate that things too often devolve into. Crafty balance of a 'thriller' (although can see why other reviewers push back on the simplistic label here), with a character-driven coming of age politically-charged modern day expose... all tied up in a tragedy underlying a sobering discussion that involved a sometimes ham-fisted central characterization.

Wow. Master class.
Somehow, Tongueless has a whole lot of potency without being heavy-handed and without alienating readers. (At least this one.)

So glad to have been privileged to receive the ARC for this one. Intrigued and curious to see it, Lau Yee-Wa outperformed my hopeful expectations by a wide margin.
Tongueless will stick with me for a bit. Elena L. 825 150

TONGUELESS revolves around two rival teachers at a secondary school in Hong Kong who are instructed to switch from teaching in Cantonese to Mandarin - Wai is weird and unpopular while Ling knows how to please her colleagues and especially her superior. When Wai dies by suicide, Ling is forced to face what Wai left behind.

Tension takes over the initial pages with a suicide, its presence lingering a threat that people from the school seek to remove. The characters' reaction infuriated me (Ling was grating to say the least), their avoidance of dealing with this tragic event and almost instantly moving on. Yee-Wa makes sharp observations on a society that is 'too realistic' (closest translation of ??), the fear of judgement, the absurdity of pursuing status and luxury and the toxic beauty standards.

Inspired by the increasing pressure for Hong Kong's secondary schools to transition from Cantonese to Mandarin as a medium of Chinese-language instruction - genuinely portrayed through Ling's moments of introspection, and as the events follow a trajectory to the past, this novel sheds light on the HK's residents concerns regarding housing crisis, immigration, mental health and political apathy.

One follows the changing linguist landscape from the strong incorporation of Mandarin that threatens Cantonese as a predominant Chinese language in HK, under the effects of westernization and colonization - this book is about the power and loss of language. This dives deep into the cultural nuances, political animosity and prejudice, also weaving the exploitative working conditions and workplace bullying.

More literary fiction than thriller (as marketed), the bold prose and metaphorical plot highlight the unsettling and jarring feeling while one witnesses the transformation of people who collapse under the pressure and lack of choice.

TONGUELESS (tr. Jennifer Feeley) is a contemporary Hong Kong literary work that delves into the mindsets of HK society in a shifting reality. This is a psychological novel which invites readers to digest about language and societal changes. I thought it was powerful and quite brutal; and hope you read this one.

- note: the translator's note adds an extra layer of information about language and cultural background

[ I received an ARC from the publisher - Feminist Press . All opinions are my own ]own Alan M611 30

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