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The pervading humid heat of Hong Kong perfectly reflected by the elevated political temperature in this hugely readable depiction of turmoil as cultures clash. Very enjoyable!
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Mr Jack has excelled in recreating in words an exotic, exciting and privileged way of life long since gone. The central character is Mr Augustus John Polly, an academic of some standing, who gives us an insight to the broad philosophical and political thinking that was existent in Hong Kong prior to the revolution. The author is in an almost unique position, having been in his early formative years exposed to an intimate contrast of the different cultural norms of the time.
Interspersed with sexual fantasies, we get a detailed emphasis of the principal of “keeping face”, which is of paramount importance of Chinese culture.
Each chapter may be short, but beautifully written. The psychological academic arguments are intertwined with the imminent threat of political change, which ultimately leads to a cliff hanging and unhappy ending.
Hopefully Mr Jack will continue his storytelling as several characters are left with uncertain futures. An exciting and informative read.
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Malcolm Jack’s latest book is inventive, clever, witty and thought provoking. It is also quite a page-turner. Set in 1950s Hong Kong which is vividly brought to life the novel features Mr Polly, a history lecturer at the University. Despite appreciating the luxurious life style he is ill at ease and on edge. Something is going to happen but what. The author skilfully keeps us guessing until the very last page!
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Mr Polly’s Bonfire Party is a bold, intelligent and deeply atmospheric novel. Malcolm Jack conjures 1950s Hong Kong with vivid texture, where empire teeters and ideals crumble. Augustus John Polly is an unlikely hero—wistful, absurd, and perceptive —whose descent into intrigue is as comic as it is tragic. The novel dances between satire, menace and philosophy, drawing the reader into reflections on power, repression, and identity. Jack’s prose is rich and playful, making even the darkest turns strangely luminous. This is historical fiction with teeth and heart—an elegant, subversive tale that lingers like smoke from a fire long after it ends
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Hugely enjoyable and beautifully written, this was was a great opportunity to dive into a world which, while unfamiliar to me, is richly painted here from the author’s extensive experience and knowledge. I enjoyed spending time in Mr Polly’s company, and letting his commentary - and his mischief - guide me through colonial Hong Kong!
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Malcolm Jack’s ‘Mr Polly’s Bonfire Party’ brings vivid memories of colonial Hong Kong alive and reminds me of my late Mother’s family and the many parallels of their colonial past in another part of the British Empire. Jack’s thrilling and captivating account of Mr Polly’s life in H.K. in the 50’s and 60’s makes it difficult to put ‘Mr Polly’s Bonfire Party’ aside.
A story which in particular is a must for families and descendants of those that once made up the influential British society which shaped and created Hong Kong in a recent period of it’s history! Jack’s leading character Mr Polly shall do much to keep life as it once was in Hong Kong alive!
David Hay Gibson Van Diepen
The Netherlands, July 2025.
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This is a hugely enjoyable first novel from the pen of an author who has demonstrated his literary skills through the medium of several non-fiction works. It is truly fascinating account of the politics of 1950’s Hong Kong. It will come as no surprise to anyone who knows the author that his early years were spent in Hong Kong with all the richness and diversity of that period. More please.
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An engaging and surprising book, with well-realised and engaging characters set within an affectionate satire of academic life against the background of a closely-observed and evocative portrait of Hong Kong.
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While author wears his considerable learning lightly, this reader was left faintly unsure on a first reading that he had picked up all the philosophical and literary allusions, but he’s fairly confident he laughed in all the right places. There is an appropriate humidity in this comedy set in 1950s academia, very far away in location but perhaps not so much in spirit from Lucky Jim. Is there just a hint of sadness underlying the hilarity of cultural misunderstandings between East and West? The author clearly knows and loves his Hong Kong. The reader who comes for the comedy may find by the end that they have learned something about the unique character and resilience of the fragrant harbour.
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Lovely portrait of old Hong Kong within the twists and turns of Malcolm Jack’s entertaining novel. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
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An exotic setting, and an amusingly story. I enjoyed it enormously.
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Malcolm Jack's excursion into fiction is an unqualified success. His latest book, Mr Polly Bonfire Party unfolds in Hong Kong soon after the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. These are unsettling times: Mao's Communist Party is firmly installed in the mainland and the Fragrant Harbour is ripe with rumours and conspiracy. In this febrile word lives our protagonist, Augustus John Polly, Reader in Comparative History. When he is not teaching, his days are coloured with receptions, excursions and parties and enlivened with copious G and Ts and high level of testosterone. Whilst he is attracted to his ace student, Clarence and his muscular gardener in a platonic way, his real affair is with the beautiful and mysterious Cynthia Lee who is more than just a lover. Mr Polly is not immune to mischief as proved by an abortive attempt to burn down the famous Peninsula Hotel. As the narrative develop to a surprising and explosive climax, the reader learns not only about the academic, but also the social life of Hong Kong. And we cannot have a better guide than Malcolm who had grown up and, until recently, taught at the University there.
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An alluring picture is painted of class, empire and societal structure in 1950s Hong Kong.
This is a mesmeric place, with the author focussing on picturesque sensory details throughout.
The beautiful prose and intelligent scene-setting, keep the pages turning. Be warned though, this book should be enjoyed at a slower pace and relished!
A riveting book, that depicts a time and place I yearn to visit, but fear the opportunity has long passed me by.
A fascinating and exquisite read.
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A great Hong Kong story by an original storyteller gifted with a keen sense of humour. A little gem to read - and re-read
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Ioannes Chountis de Fabbri
A great book, bringing the social milieu of Hong Kong alive. Very entertaining and highly recommended.
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Mr. Polly’s Bonfire Party with its vivid descriptions, brings the characters and the Hong Kong of a bygone era to life. A real page turner laced with both humour and pathos, all leading to a dramatic conclusion!
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A rich patchwork which works on many levels. Set in Hong Kong in the early 1950s, it tells of Augustus John Polly, a university lecturer (with William Beckford's Vathek in his pocket). Marvelously evoking the diverse worlds of the colony and academia. There are many surprises as we turn the pages. A work to be slowly re-read to fully savour its many subtleties
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Lovely insight into the world of Colonial Hong Kong
I enjoyed so much, I have bought a couple of copies for HK friends
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Much enjoyed Mr Polly‘s excursion to old Hong Kong which is vividly captured in Malcolm Jack‘s book.
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A tender and beautifully written evocation of a lost time;of the author’s early life in Hong Kong, with its colonial social mores and the complex relationships of its inhabitants . An exquisite read with a narrative which transports one to a gripping finale.Time for a sequel, Malcolm?
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Engaging, evocative and entertaining. Brings Hong Kong in another era to life. A very enjoyable read.
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Through his Mr Polly, the author deftly ignites little bonfires under many aspects of life in old Hong Kong: colonial attitudes, the academic world, and authority. Dialogue is brisk, witty. There's nearly always a stiff drink on hand (even during a Police interrogation), and there's at least one sweaty gardener for Mr Polly to admire. The occasional transliteration of spoken English by Chinese characters ("Vely selious. Levolution") is momentarily jarring, but such stereotypes apart, this history of this Mr Polly is above all an affectionate look back at heyday HK.
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A lively and moving take on the end of Empire and making life-changing choices in the name of courage in 1950s Hong Kong. A great read.
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Mr Polly's Bonfire Party is a gentle, reflective book that celebrates the curious theatre of ordinary life. With its subtle wit and emotional intelligence, it offers a tender portrait of ageing, tradition and the strange beauty of fleeting encounters. For readers who find comfort in the quiet flicker of well crafted prose, Malcolm Jack's story glows with understated brilliance.
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Set in 1950s Hong Kong, where the author grew up, Mr Polly’s Bonfire is simultaneously an affectionate portrait of a vanished world and an incisive political critique of that world. The titular Mr Polly is a university historian struggling to interest his students on dusty subjects like the Ottoman Empire while all too aware that, on the mainland, Chairman Mao and the Red Army offer a clear and present danger. How long can the scholarly teaching of history last, never mind the colonial merry-go-round of cocktail parties and skinny-dipping and casual flings with colleagues?
It is a remarkably assured first novel from a writer whose previous publications have been works of non-fiction. All the ingredients of a David Lodge-style campus comedy are there: the snobberies, the one-upmanship, the impossibly pretentious conversations. But better still is the charting of the creeping authoritarianism which so cannily prefigures the Hong Kong of today. In what is probably the best scene in the book, the main character is interviewed by the Chief of Police, who is simultaneously scrupulously polite and coldly uncompromising.
Throw in some amusingly steamy sex, and descriptions of Chinese food which will make the reader salivate, and you have the complete package. If the ultimate yardstick of a novel of this kind is how well it conveys a sense of time and place, Malcolm Jack has passed the test with flying colours.
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A great read and an amazing / articulate author! Hong Kong story for Hong Kong lovers
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A thoroughly enjoyable read, which bears re-reading. There are layers of suspense in this tale, and the pacing is excellent. Readers who miss “old Hong Kong” will not be disappointed.
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Malcolm Jack has excelled in this most delightful novella. All the ingredients for a great story are combined with mastery. A book to savour each and every page.
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I really enjoyed this jewel of a tale. Twists and turns, with a dose of naughtiness thrown in, it's a captivating read. I read it twice, that's how much I liked it. Malcolm Jack teases us to think one thing, when the truth is elsewhere. Thoroughly recommended.
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