BOOK: The (Unlikely) Hong Konger

WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU COULDN'T DO ANYTHING?

Sophia is 26, out of work, out of luck, and out of treatment plans for her hodgepodge of autoimmune diseases. With no way to support herself, she’s feeling pretty hopeless... until she’s gifted an iPad.

Bored and bedridden, Sophia creates a parody of a New Yorker magazine cover that portrays her hometown, Hong Kong. Hopes aren’t high when she posts the doodle on Instagram, but suddenly, demand is.

Exhibitions in torrential typhoons, creepy fans, an experimental intravenous drug, and a raging uproar from a mob of robot enthusiasts suddenly have Sophia playing out an unexpected new life as an artist.

However, as dwindling Covid-19 restrictions, demands from new clients, and a deadline to move out loom, the sustainability of this new art career flies up into the air. Whether or not Sophia can juggle illnesses she never planned on having with a business she never planned on starting is anyone’s guess.

The (Unlikely) Hong Konger is an illustrated and autobiographical take on being chronically ill, Eurasian, female, young, working, failing, and of course, a Hong Konger.

Featuring Sophia Hotung’s original 100-artwork collection of The Hong Konger, plus 12 never-before-seen new Hong Kongers from the vault, The (Unlikely) Hong Konger is an uplifting, witty, and true story of failing up, living within limitations, and finding contentment in creativity, home, and one’s self.

210 x 297mm (A4)

Hardcover

348 pages

Learn more about author and illustrator, Sophia Hotung, in our Ask the Author blog series.