Xi Xi is Hong Kong's foremost woman writer, and My City: a hongkong story is one of her best novels. Written in the 1970s, My City presents life in this vibrant city through the eyes of its young protagonists. It was a time of tremendous growth for the territory not only in economic terms, but more significantly in terms of local self-confidence and the forging of a Hong Kong identity. It was also a time in which political and social problems which plague Hong Kong to this day came to the forethe influx of Chinese and Vietnamese refugees, and the shadow of China. My City is also notable for the author's experimentation with the Chinese language. She creates a deceptively child-like narrativerare in Chinese fictionwhich allows her to weave a variety of linguistic registers into a fresh tapestry rich in local colour. Seldom has a writer captured the spirit of a generation with such apparent simplicity and ease.