Discover β†’ Short Story

Bag Ladies: A Hong Kong Story on Obsession and Grief

By Cherry Rao

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Ghulam Shabbir

Reviewed on Jul 1, 2021

Must read πŸ†

Cherry Rao knows the humanitarian values in society. Her continuous writing is a pleasant blow for the sleepy and unconscious people.

Synopsis

Salted duck eggs are a delicacy in the Cantonese culture. Each duck egg is encrusted with layers of damp, salted charcoal. The yolk, in its tangerine color, resembles the aesthetics of a sunset. Salted duck eggs go best with rice or congee. The magic of salted duck eggs is that it only takes so little of the egg to give you the taste of heaven. One single salted duck egg can last for several meals, if you wish.

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A Hong Kong tale evolving around a Cantonese phrase – selling salted duck eggs, it features the bag ladies in Hong Kong – those who are obsessed with luxurious handbags, and a bag lady who lives and sleeps on the busiest street in Central, Hong Kong, in the middle of all luxury brands, with countless plastic bags wrapped around her body. It is a short read of obsession and grief that explores how the bag, a container, contains its owner’s belongings and also her sense of belonging.

The writer unclothed the social disorders through two main characters. There is a lesson for those who have become meth and do not think about the necessities and needs of people. The plot of the story has chosen from a living world. The ordering of atmosphere is artistically twisted with the plot. 3000 words were not easy to work but it is the result of Cherry's strong imagination and creativeness. To emboss the purpose she shaped the thing through literary technics and made them balloon for the viewers. The problems of a middle man tactfully painted on the face of merciless age.

The illustrated tile "Bag Ladies" of the story is important to discuss because the label tells all the hidden stories. The Bag shows the responsibilities of women, their commitment towards their duties. Cherry herself is a lady and knows better the philosophy of Bag in civilized societies, especially in the city of Hong Kong where life is as fast as a rocket.

In every community, the artist is called an eye of the society, and Rao honestly gives back the grief of mankind to our heart's bowl for assessment. The controlled language and thoughts can be seen in the Bad Ladies which is the additional quality of the writer.

A good story having torrential problems of brotherhood and sisterhood on the Earth. No poor mysterious game is seen that characters and scenes are coming from the moon.

In a very effective way, Cherry represented the stressed women in the world.

Maya Angelou once said that "Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his needs, is good for him". In light of this quote, Cherry Roa's book is recommended for a good read as it is a friend in grief and joy. It's a friend of all seasons.





 

Reviewed by

passionate reader with Bachelor's degree in literature. I live in Pakistan (Sargodha District). I have two kids who are school-going. I wrote my first poem in 9th class.

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