Hong Kong Karma by Kevin Brown is a plain spoken, realistic story set
in a domestic setting. It is told through a subjective,
close-up 1st
person point of view. The story is about a son recalling his
father’s
life. The father was a servant who bowed at everyone he worked for. He
came home and drank away his pain, sometimes beating his wife. The
father’s proudest moment was smelling Bruce Lee. The son had to crawl
to his father at the funeral, thus becoming the first person to bow
before his father. The story begins with a very strong hook:
“The summer I realized girls didn’t have cooties, my father died of
live failure. I was not
present at my father’s death, but figured it
even, as he was not present for most of my life.” This really sets up
the story and comes into play at the end also. It is used as a strong
book-end. The story also has strong images. Rather than seeing Bruce
Lee, the father smells him; and the mother comments the father’s death
is a failure, not a liver failure. All throughout the bowing plays a
part, pulling the reader to the end.