Temporalizing urban space: The making of place by three Hong Kong writers

Abstract

The formation of a place and community involves both a spatial definition and a coherent narrative of its historical existences. If a cohesive nation relies heavily on a unified and linear narrative of itself, then the acknowledgement of diverse and multiple temporalities would challenge and disturb that nation’s political discourse, which would, in turn, render its identity fluid and provisional. The three works discussed in this review touch upon different issues concerning Hong Kong and China. In various ways, the three writers put temporality on centre stage in order to challenge the notions of cohesive political discourse and fixed identity.