CHINA DREAMS by Sid Smith. London: Picador, 2008, 183 pp., £7.99 (paper)
In 2005, American journalist Sheridan Prasso published "The Asian Mystique: Dragon Ladies, Geisha Girls & Our Fantasies of the Exotic Orient." While Prasso's 437-page book deals mostly with real people, a comprehensive review of fiction concerning romance between Asian females and Western males could easily fill a equally voluminous work.
Half a century after Richard Mason published his then-controversial novel (and subsequent blockbuster film) "The World of Suzie Wong," Tony Parsons' East-West romance has shifted the venue from Hong Kong to mainland China.