Lipstick and other stories - Alex Kuo

The first foreign book to be honoured with an American Book Award in 2002, this Hong Kong debut bridges oceans, cultures and generations. From grade-schoolers terrorising Beijing's Bank of China to seeing Elton John at the Holiday Inn-Lido, from an imaginary interview with Chairman Mao's trusted confidant and advisor to encountering a Christian evangelist at the Great Hall of the People, these stories play with and explode the intricate and often murky relationships between ideology, dissidence and just plain survival.