Five Star Billionaire
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Tash Aw
HarperCollins India
500 pages, Rs 399
Prize-winning writer Tash Aw’s latest novel charts the overlapping lives of migrant Malaysian workers in sprawling Shanghai. Phoebe has come to China buoyed with hope, but the job she was promised seems never to have existed. Gary is a successful pop star, but his fans disappear after a bar-room brawl. Yinghui was once a poetry-loving activist but is now a wealthy businesswoman. Justin works hard for his powerful family, but wonders if his efforts are appreciated. And then there is the Five Star Billionaire himself, pulling the strings of destiny. Tash Aw charts their journeys in the new China, counterpointing their adventures with their old life in Malaysia.
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