Fixer Chao: A Novel

Han Ong has written a brilliant exploration of race and class, of character and identity, and of the slippery natures of privilege and expertise. William Paulinha, a Filipino street hustler, is in the early days of self-imposed reform when he meets Shem C. A failed writer now ostracized by his wife and New York City's literati, Shem recruits Paulinha to retaliate against the community that has spurned him. Under Shem's guidance, Paulinha becomes Master Chao, a revered practitioner of Feng Shui—the Chinese art of creating a harmonious environment. As this latter-day confidence man cuts a swath through upper-crust society, his biting observations form a comic picaresque of class resentment and revenge.