British novelist tells a gambler’s story in the city

Lawrence Osborne, novelist and author of the book “The Forgiven”, which was named one of the best books in 2012 by prominent newspapers such as the Economist and the Guardian, has written another novel about the story of a London pathological gambler, titled “The Ballad of a Small Player.”
Mr Osborne told the South China Morning Post that “the aura of supernatural” in Chinese casinos always fascinates him.
As a westerner who lives in Asia, the author said that the character, to some extent, mimics his own life. However, he does not think that he was writing “expat fiction” because he has been living outside his home country for a large part of his life.
Moreover, the writer said that he chose Hong Kong and Macau for the background of his novel because he believes that his story is “a fable of money” and hence should “take root in a city devoted to money in a spectacular and visceral way.”
The writer said that the two cities “have always raised [his] adrenalin” because of their connections to chaos and money.
Furthermore, Lawrence Osborne said that he feels “more a bemused incomprehension and also a forbearance” in mainland China. This is very different, he thinks, when it comes to Hong Kong, which is a hybrid city with a colonial past.
He concluded that his experience living overseas has changed his writing and worldview fundamentally. Nevertheless, he does not agree with those who “go native” and repudiate everything occidental. “Cultures have much in common but their variability is a precious thing,” Mr Osborne remarked. JPL