Published: 17 November, 2011
by HANNAH LOWE

Kerry Young’s Pao is an important novel, beautifully written and set against the background of the largely unknown history of the Chinese community in Jamaica.  

It chronicles the story of Pao, a Chinese immigrant to Jamaica in the 1930s, following his rise through the underworld of Kingston’s Chinatown.

Young was born in Jamaica and lived there until the age of 10 when she came to England with her mother.

She calls the book “a gift to my father”, a Chinese-Jamaican businessman who died when she was young and who she hadn’t seen for four years.

The research and writing of the novel were a cathartic process, involving numerous visits to Jamaica and long conversations with her mother about her father.

Pao’s character is partially based on him, particularly his humorous and reflective take on the realities of life in Jamaica both pre- and post-independence, a society characterised by social upheaval and unrest.

The plot is largely focused on the domestic and gangland struggles of Pao’s family and associates.

Pao and his mother arrive in 1938 to join Zhang, an old family friend who had come to Kingston in the early 1900s, full of disgust at British imperialist rule in China.

Pao’s father dies fighting for revolution in China and Pao and his mother sail at Zhang’s behest in 1938, by which time Zhang has established himself as an important figure in the Chinese community.

Zhang grooms Pao as his successor running his gambling operations and providing protection to Chinese businesses.

He also teaches Pao about Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, an ancient Chinese military treatise, the strategies of which guide Pao’s complicated manoeuvring through difficult and dramatic situations, involving murder, incest, blackmail and corruption.

Despite his criminal activities, Pao becomes a paternalistic figure to whom members of the community turn for help.

Pao is always willing to help his allegiances and is skilful in his manipulation of situations, but his own personal life is fraught with difficulties.

He marries the affluent Fay Wong, who resents his hoodlum existence and adulterous relationship with Gloria, his black mistress he originally meets through his protection racket.

When Fay finally leaves him, taking their two children to England, Pao’s devastation and eventual acceptance are evidence of a great humanity.

The complexities of character are subtly rendered throughout the novel.

Pao is a good man at heart but he acts in immoral and irresponsible ways, sometimes responding violently and impulsively to situations.

Young explains that through his character she is exploring the contrary impulses of reason and passion.

What is fascinating about Pao is his ability to contemplate and apply the wisdom of others to his own life, seeking guidance not only from The Art of War, but also from Father Michael, a Catholic priest who is heavily involved with the fate of Pao and Fay.

Young says she was brought to reading by James Baldwin and is heavily influenced by the writing of William Faulkner and Toni Morrison.

Indeed, there are several Faulkner-esque moments in the novel, when split-second decisions have long-ranging consequences.

The influence of Morrison arises most obviously in the telling of a specific and personal story against the backdrop of a broad and complicated social history.

Young says in writing Pao she wanted to “educate” readers about Jamaica, particular the complicated dynamics of race, class and skin colour.

In researching the book, she read and researched extensively to ensure the accuracy of her representations – the geography of Kingston, for example, and the complex political history of the country.

Young says that everybody “knows something about Jamaica – from reggae, Bob Marley, or about  the violence”. Yet she contends that many are unaware of the complicated patterns of migrations to the island, the large mix of ethnicities and the real reasons for the endemic violence there.

Pao’s story is intrinsically likened to the politics of the country, and readers will be surprised and engaged by the ways in which fiction and reality interweave in the novel.

Told in the first person, Pao speaks with a lilting and musical patois – a voice, Young says, that sprang into her mind while she was writing in Jamaica, and began to tell the story to her.

The novel is always full of energy, great dialogue, and wonderful characters whose vulnerabilities dictate their actions.

This is Young’s first novel and a fantastic achievement.

She is currently working on a second novel, focused on the character of Gloria, due next year.

• Pao. By Kerry Young. Bloomsbury £11.99