My Favourite Wife

By Tony Parsons

Book Overview

The world-wide, mega selling author of Man and Boy is back with a sizzling, Shanghai tale of sex, romance and second wives

Hot shot young lawyer Bill Holden and his wife Becca move with their four year old daughter to the booming, gold-rush city of Shanghai, a place of enormous wealth and crushing poverty, where fortunes are made and foreign marriages come apart in spectacular fashion.

Bill's law firm houses the Holden family in Paradise Mansions - a luxury apartment block where newly rich Chinese men install their second wives: fabulous young beauties like JinJin Li, ex-school teacher, crossword addict and the Holdens' neighbour.

After Becca witnesses a tragedy that awakens her to the reality of life beyond the glitzy surface of the city, she returns temporarily to London with Holly - and Bill and JinJin are thrown together.

Bill wants to be a better man than the millionaire who keeps JinJin Li as a second wife on the side. A better man than anyone who cheats. Becca is his best friend. And, in the end, adrift without his young family, can he give JinJin anything better than she had before?

My Favourite Wife is a book about where sex, romance and obsession ends, and where true love begins.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0007226497
• ISBN13: 9780007226498
• Release Date: August 2008
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Length: 422 Pages
• Weight: 3.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.1" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Spot on indeed! Forget the political motivated reviews

I loved this book. The characters are very realistic and also in their settings (modern shanghai). Just check the 'shanghaiexpat blogspot review' if you have any doubt. This book shows humans with realistic conflicting feelings or flaws and the story shows how they deal with them. Message for the one or two star reviewers, the asian 'political sensitive': It is true that the main chinese character in the novel tries to make a living, building up relationships with rich man. Yet she is drawn 'spot on' portrayed realistically, and lovable. Thats the strength anyway of this writer; the characters are very real. Just remember that the 'western' character doesn't come out 'morally' stronger; he is the one really cheating. And furthermore think of this. This is a novel not a political manuscript! And sometimes you need an outsiders point of view to see the reality which you try to hide for yourself. This counts for people, cultures and countries alike.